Karen Kain

Doctoral Dissertation Announcement

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Candidate: Karen Kain

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Educational Leadership, Research, and Technology

Title: Determining Characteristics that Increase Success on the National Asthma Educator Certification Exam

Committee:
Dr. Richard Zinser, Chair
Dr. Andrea Beach
Dr. Katherine Manley

Date: Monday, November 1, 2010 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
3006 Beltline Campus, Grand Rapids

Abstract:
The National Asthma Educator Certification Board, Inc. (NAECB) is a voluntary health certifying board created in 2001 to evaluate the professional competence of asthma educators. The primary purpose of the NAECB is to prepare and conduct examinations to test the qualifications of candidates for certification as asthma educators. Certification is voluntary and is not required by law for employment in the field, although some agencies may use AE-C® certification as a basis for employment, job promotions, salary increases, or other considerations. The mission of the NAECB is to promote optimal asthma management and quality of life among individuals with asthma and their families and communities by advancing excellence in asthma education through the Certified Asthma Educator process. The purpose of this study is to improve asthma curriculum and ultimately help candidates taking the National Asthma Educator Certification Exam by examining characteristics of participants who have successfully passed the assessment. Characteristics include profession, number of hours worked per week in asthma education, years experience as an asthma educator, primary practice setting, location of primary practice setting, and highest level of education received.
As of September 2010, 3,264 participants have taken the national asthma educator certification exam. The national pass rate is approximately 67% for first time candidates. Using a regression analysis, the results indicate that a registered pharmacist with a master’s degree who works 25-32 hours per week in a physician’s office and who has been providing asthma education for 6-10 years would be the ideal candidate to pass the exam. In addition to analyzing data from the NAECB certification examination, this study also reviews certification examinations in CTE and future considerations for those examinations.