Biorisk Education & Professional Competency Maureen Ellis - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Maureen Ellis

Executive Director, International Federation of Biosafety Associations

Biorisk Education & Professional Competency

Biorisk Education & Competency

• Training and education programs in biorisk management are
• ffered 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

secretariat@internationalbiosafety.org

Thank you