ICC to Offer Online Certification Testing
In an effort to make taking certification exams more convenient, the International Certification Commission (ICC) will soon offer online testing, a move that will open up more testing locations and provide a longer examination period.
Tue Nov 29 2011
In an effort to make taking certification exams more convenient, the International Certification Commission (ICC) will soon offer online testing, a move that will open up more testing locations and provide a longer examination period.
The ICC will convert to online testing for the spring 2012 exams for those interested in becoming a certified biomedical equipment technician, radiology equipment specialist, or laboratory equipment specialist.
“This change will make the examinations available to many more locations throughout the United States,” says Chris Nowak, chairman of the U.S. BMET Board of Examiners, which develops questions for the three certification exams.
The certification exams will still be held three times a year: in the fall and spring at various locations across the country, and on June 5 at the 2012 AAMI Annual Conference & Expo, which will run June 2–4 in Charlotte, NC.
But the testing window will change. Before, test takers only had one examination date in the fall and spring. With the online testing, there will be a two-week window to take the exam.
There will also be more than 200 testing centers, compared to the current 30 sites.
“Now most prospective test takers will have little travel and no overnight stays required, which has happened in the past if you were not near a major metropolitan area,” says Nowak, corporate director of clinical engineering services and healthcare technology integration for Universal Health Services of Delaware in King of Prussia, PA.
He hopes that the changes will spark “an increase in healthcare technology management professionals across the country deciding that now is the time to certify with these new conveniences.”