Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) – Preparing for a CHES exam – Questions from a practice exam

For those that are preparing for the next CHES exam, here are a few questions from a practice exam.  (From: The Health Education Specialist: A Companion Guide for Professional Excellence – 6th edition)  Try to answer the questions without looking at notes, study guides, etc…  I will post the answers within the next week.  If I get positive feedback from posting questions, I’ll post some more within the next month.  So, let me know if this helps! Good luck, prospective exam takers!

Question 1:

The three key domains of evidence-based health policy include:

a.  process, content, outcomes.

b.  process, impact, outcome.

c.  formative, summative, impact.

d.  impact, surveillance, outputs.

Question 2:

Smoking bans are an example of which of the following strategies:

a.  Health-related community service

b.  Health-related educational

c.  Health policy and reinforcement

d.  Health communication

Question 3:

The highest level of classification in Bloom’s taxonomy is:

a.  Analysis

b.  Synthesis

c.  Application

d.  Evaluation

Certified Health Education Specialist (C.H.E.S.) Exam

Certified Health Education Specialist (C.H.E.S.) Exam

Source:  National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. –  www.nchec.org 

What are the benefits of being a Certified Health Education Specialist?

1. “Establishes a national standard.”
2. “Attests to the individual’s knowledge and skills.”
3. “Asists employers in identifying qualified health education practitioners.”
4. “Conveys a sense of pride and accomplishment in your profession.”
5. “Promotes continued professional development.”

Source:  National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. –  www.nchec.org 

When is the exam given?  This voluntary exam is only given twice a year – April and October.  There are only 120 sites across the United States.  http://www.nchec.org/exam/locations/ches/   

How much is the exam?  There are student fees and non-student fees.  Since I already graduated with my BSHS, and registered during the first week, I paid $240.  Please see this link for fees:  http://www.nchec.org/exam/fees/ches/

How did you prepare for the exam?  While preparing for this exam, I ordered a copy of The Health Education Specialist: A Companion Guide for Professional Excellence, 6th edition, National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc.  I started to study at the beginning of January, and I’m glad I did!  I made a spreadsheet so I could pace myself with the chapters (7 weeks) and review (3 weeks).  There is alot of detailed information plus a practice exam in the back.  (Definitely worth taking!)  Anyways, even though it’s $55, I HIGHLY recommend ordering a copy!  Please click on this link for ordering info:  http://www.nchec.org/news/quicklinks/pub/  And, thankfully, I had all of my binders, notes, and cd-rom’s from TUI University! 🙂  I made index cards for myself, too!  I bought 4 ruled index card booklets (50 cards in each booklet), which I filled with acronyms, Code of Ethics, key terms, steps, phases, and Areas of Responsibities. 

How long is the exam, what does it entail, and when will you know your results?  The exam is scheduled from 8:30am-11:30am.  There are 165 multiple choice questions based on “Seven Areas of Responsibility for Health Educators”.  (15 of the 165 questions are pilot questions.)  It takes approximately 8 weeks for your results.  (I know…agonizing!)

How long is the certification valid?  It must be renewed on an annual basis for $55.  In order to maintain your certification, you must recertify every fifth year.  You must accrue a total of 75 credit hours within that five year period.  http://www.nchec.org/renew_recert/recertification/

For more information on the CHES exam, please either leave a comment or go directly to www.nchec.org