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October 2011
It seems like yesterday that we were kicking off 2011, and we're now into the final quarter of the year. At NHA, we're determined to make the most of these last three months and are continuing to work hard, enhancing our current products and developing new ones, all with the goal of increasing your success, as well as that of your students.
This issue of NHA News will fill you in on many of our activities. It's been a great year so far and we look forward to continuing our partnership with you and ending the year on a high note.
First and foremost, you likely have received one of our letters sharing details about the recent launch of our new certification portal. This web-based entry point will give you and your certification candidates new and improved access to all of NHA's online certification management capabilities.
On another topic, we are committed to continually providing the best in certification exams to ensure medical professional competency and safe patient care. Consequently, we're excited to let you know of our newly revised pharmacy technician exam (ExCPT). We believe this exam reflects real-life scenarios for the evolving pharmacy technician industry. We will continue to enhance all offerings, and early next year, we'll have other exam updates to share with you.
As always, we appreciate your support and the trust you place in us. Please take a look at this issue of NHA News to learn more about our activities and initiatives, and feel free to let me know how I can further help you.
Sincerely,
Your NHA Team
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New NHA certification portal
We hope by now that you've had the opportunity to use our new and improved NHA certification portal. This portal will serve as your one-stop resource for scheduling exams, proctoring exams, managing candidate rosters and reporting for your institution. Among its many benefits, the certification portal makes it easy for you to view group reports anytime, and enables real-time access to your roster for scheduled exams. It also allows for ease of proctoring your institution's online exams.
Your students will benefit from access to immediate results for online exams. And non-passing candidates will receive individual, customized reports providing feedback on areas of study for their retake exam. The portal also offers students easy access to their certification status and continuing education to keep certifications current.
The portal replaces ePath and all online NHA national certification exams will be proctored via the new certification portal. Complete instructions on our certification portal can be found here. |
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New ExCPT exam launches
We're excited to announce that our updated Exam for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians (ExCPT) has just launched.
As we previously communicated, the Certification Governing Committee for the pharmacy technician certification program met late last year and approved the new test plan based on a comprehensive, nationwide job-task analysis conducted in 2010. Following the analysis, a group of subject-matter experts reviewed existing exam items and wrote new items to address new subject areas in the test plan. Over the course of the last nine months, the exam items were pretested and an updated exam was created.
A copy of the updated exam test plan is available here. You'll notice in the new ExCPT Candidate Handbook that both the current test plan and the new test plan are included, along with both lists of competencies. The new test plan should be used by anyone sitting for the ExCPT after Oct. 2.
Candidates will sit for 100 scored items and 10 pretest items. Two hours is allotted for the exam. The passing scaled score for the ExCPT is 390, and scores may range from 200 to 500. Candidates can download the complete ExCPT Pharmacy Technician Candidate's Guide, which covers many aspects of the exam including preparation, results, appeals and more. |
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Education Enrichment Conferences (EECs) debut to rave reviews
ATI Allied Health/NHA recently debuted three Education Enrichment Conferences (EECs) to high praise from all of you who attended. The day-long, complementary sessions, which launched in Chicago, New York and San Diego, were full of practical and education-based information clients could use immediately when they returned to their schools. We were pleased that your feedback indicated you found the days both fun and informative. In fact, one educator wrote on his post-event survey, "I truly took some useful information back to my college to share with my instructors and campus director."
The EECs also highlighted industry professionals and the ATI Allied Health/NHA team who shared their expertise and perspectives about today's healthcare environment. And more than anything, EECs gave educators the chance to network with their peers and discuss what's happening in the industry. These aspects also resonated with educators, earning comments like:
"I appreciated all speakers equally, as they each had pertinent input that is helpful in allied health education..." and "That was so right on with today's students and what we are dealing with, especially in the area of retention."
The ATI Allied Health/NHA team will use all of the EEC feedback to continue building on the momentum and providing even more value in future EEC's for our educator clients. |
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NHA: Working to promote our educators and their students
As educators, one of your major goals is getting your students and certificants well-placed in the job market. NHA, feels that assisting you in the process is part of our responsibility. On that note, Gary Pederson, executive vice president and general manager for ATI Allied Health/NHA, has penned an open letter to allied health employers outlining the benefits of hiring employees with an NHA certification. Available at employer letter.
We hope you'll review this letter and consider sending it to area employers in an effort to raise awareness about your school and the standards you set for students. With an ever-increasing focus on patient safety and quality, employers will benefit from knowing how stringent our certification standards are and the pass rates your schools experience.
School administrators and instructors should also feel free to provide a copy of the letter to students, encouraging them to package it with their resume and take it to job interviews. |
