Biorisk Education & Professional Competency Maureen Ellis Executive Director, International Federation of Biosafety Associations
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
IFBA’s Professional Certification Program • 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
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
Exam Delivery • 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
Online Exam Delivery • Uses a secure remote proctoring technology
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
Thank you Maureen Ellis Executive Director International Federation of Biosafety Associations secretariat@internationalbiosafety.org
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