Biorisk Education & Professional CompetencyInternational Federation of Biosafety Associations...
Transcript of Biorisk Education & Professional CompetencyInternational Federation of Biosafety Associations...
Maureen Ellis
Executive Director,
International Federation of Biosafety Associations
Biorisk Education & Professional Competency
Biorisk Education & Competency
• Training and education programs in biorisk management are
offered worldwide by many different organizations
• Training – impart knowledge & build skills around that knowledge
• Initial step towards competency
• Abilities – when knowledge and skills are consistently applied in
the real-world setting
• Competency – combination of knowledge, skills and abilities
Biorisk Education & Competency
• Previously no independent, internationally standardized
mechanism to assess and validate an individual’s “competency”
in biorisk management
• 2010 - IFBA asked by members and other partners to develop
a new certification program for safety and security of
individuals handling infectious disease agents
• Performance test to validate the individual’s knowledge, skills, and abilities
against a standardized competency model
• Essential component of overall effort to reduce biosafety and
biosecurity risks and strengthen global health security
• Ongoing independent assessment for competent
performance in a variety of technical disciplines
related to biosafety and biosecurity
IFBA’s Professional Certification Program
• Followed a rigorous process in accordance with ISO 17024
• Globally accepted benchmark for organizations certifying persons
• Uses psychometrically sound principles for measuring the
competency of individuals
• Produces valid, fair, reliable, and defensible examinations
IFBA’s Professional Certification Program
Developing Exams
• Exam content “Body of Knowledge” developed by Technical
Committees with worldwide representation – Identify Domains (topic areas) and knowledge, skills, abilities statements
Developing Exams
• Job Task Analysis by international community to assign
importance of each topic area
• Develop exam “blue print” (i.e. how many exam questions are
needed for each topic area)
• Exam questions “items” are written by Technical Committees
with guidance from psychometrician – Knowledge, skills, and abilities (application of knowledge, situational &
problem solving questions)
Developing Exams
• A new set of subject matter experts then set passing score for each
examination through an “Angoff ” study – Each SME evaluates each question and rates the % of minimally competent
candidates that would answer the question correctly
– Statistical analysis to set passing score
IFBA Professional Certifications Offered
• Professional Certification currently offered in 5 different technical
disciplines
• Biorisk Management (Certification in Biorisk Management is a pre-requisite
to all other certifications)
IFBA Professional Certifications Offered
• Biosecurity
• Biological Waste Management
IFBA Professional Certifications Offered
• Biosafety Cabinet Selection, Installation & Safe Use
• Biocontainment Facility Design, Operations & Maintenance
• Biorisk Management exams are offered in multiple languages
• French, Russian, Arabic, Spanish
Exam Delivery
• Exams are offered online and in paper-based sessions
• Only English version of exams are offered online at this time
• In conjunction with our IFBA Member Biosafety Association
conferences and other events
• Special exam sessions can also be scheduled and must be
proctored by one of IFBA’s approved exam proctors
Exam Delivery
• Uses a secure remote proctoring technology
Online Exam Delivery
Certifior Candidate Management System
• All candidates (online or paper-based exams at conferences)
must create an account in Certifior at https://ifba.certifior.com
• Issued a unique Candidate ID number
Exam Payment & Pre-requisites
• Candidates must pay the certification fee of $200 USD – Discounted pricing available for specified countries in this region
$100 USD
• Candidates must attest to the Statement of Confidentiality and
Code of Conduct
Exam Statistics to Date
• 673 total certifications completed/in progress – 98 candidates sat for the exam online
– 57 candidates identified as “veterinary/agricultural” sector
– 84 candidates required language other than English • French (41), Arabic (13), Spanish (18), Russian (12)
Exam Statistics to Date
• Candidates to date are from 58 countries around the world
Publish a Directory of Certified Individuals
www.internationalbiosafety.org
IFBA Certified Individuals
• Use the designation “IFBA Professional Certification”
• Valid for a period of 5 years – specific recertification requirements must be met to maintain
certification
Partners & Sponsors
• Many partners and sponsors in the delivery of the certification
program to all regions of the world
Next Steps
• Translate the remaining 4 exams into Russian, Arabic, French,
Spanish
• Develop new certifications including “Animal Biosafety” and
“Risk Assessment”
• Outreach to governments & institutions to adopt need for
certified individuals
Maureen Ellis Executive Director
International Federation of Biosafety Associations
Thank you