CONTINUING  EDUCATION

All individuals who have passed the CHA, CHT, CHS or D(ABHI) exam must provide proof of Continuing Education (CE) in order to maintain an "active" status with regards to their certification. Persons certified after January 1, 1988 will be issued certificates for a three- (3) year period and must be re-certified at three-year intervals in order to maintain certification status with the Registry. Re-certificaton shall be either by re-examination or by accumulation of credits for Registry approved continuing education and professional activities. A minimum of 6.0 Continuing Education Credits (CEC) (60 contact hours) for CHA and CHT, and 8 CEC's (80 contact hours) for CHS is required each three (3) year period for re-certification. ABHI Diplomates are required to have a minimum of 15.0 CEC's (150 contact hours) each three (3) year period for re-certification (Table 1).

Table 1. Continuing Education Credits (CEC) Requirements by ABHI

Continuing Certification/re-certification is a process, which provides ABHI the mechanism to attest to the continued competence of certified practitioners. The intent of continuing certification is to provide assurance to the public that through periodic evaluations and continuing education a certified practitioner has maintained continuing competency in the specialty.

In 1999, the Accreditation Review Board (ARB) , a committee of ASHI, established and published standards for annual continuing education requirements.  These requirements were based on the standards set by the ABHI.  The ARB of ASHI annual requirements are as follows (Table 2):

 Table 2. CEC  Requested by Accreditation Review Board (ARB) of ASHI

The same standards for both ABHI certification and ASHI  accreditation have enabled the ARB of ASHI and the ABHI to coordinate efforts to make the completion and submission of information less complicated and non-duplicative. ABHI certified individuals are no longer required to submit continuing education forms for ASHI  accreditation renewal.  The ARB of ASHI has partnered with the ABHI to receive confirmation of continuing education credits on all certified individuals in their database.

Accepted CE activities

The following are acceptable as CE activities:

1. Programs approved by the American Board of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ABHI). This includes ASHI national and regional programs or any other programs sponsored by other organizations that have applied to ABHI for approval. These programs must be at least one (1) hour in duration and be a formally organized scientific or career-related education, plenary or poster session, workshop, roundtable, symposia or coloquia whose content covers at least one of the major fields of competence of the ABHI "Statements of Competency for Histocompatibility Personnel." Credit will be calculated at the rate of 0.15 CEC per contact hour. Documentation of attendance must be submitted to ABHI for credit. 

2. Programs which meet the above criteria but are not ABHI approved may be submitted for CE credit. However, credit will be calculated at the rate of 0.1 CEC per contact hour. Documentation of attendance must be submitted to ABHI for credit. 

3. Earned academic credit in career-related college or university course work calculated at the rate of 1 semester hour = 1.5 CEC's and 1 quarter hour = 1.2 CEC's. Course descriptions and official transcripts of successful completion of academic course work are required for credit. A maximum of 4.5 CEC's may be claimed per three (3) year period. 

4. Presentation of a paper, poster or workshop at any meeting or workshop pertaining to the field of histocompatibility and immunogenetics. Maximum credit for each presentation is 0.3 CEC. Additionally, a maximum of 1 CEC may be claimed for the time spent on the preparation of the presentation. A copy of the program or other appropriate documentation is required for credit. 

5. Performance of laboratory work or analysis for, but not actual attendance or presentation of, data at any national or international histocompatibility workshop. Signature of the laboratory director, supervisor or sponsor will be required as verification of participation to receive credit. Credit will be calculated at the rate of 0.1 CEC per contact hour. A maximum of 1 CEC may be claimed per three (3) year period. 

6. Be listed as an author, within your 3 year cycle, of a paper or chapter in a recognized journal or book pertaining to histocompatibility and/or immunogenetics. A maximum of 1 CEC may be claimed for each chapter or publication and appropriate documentation (e.g., copy of abstract, etc.) is required for credit. 

7. Teaching of histocompatibility and immunogenetics or career-related subjects to allied health professionals, quality control managers, histocompatibility and immunogenetics students, medical students and residents, nurses, and other health professionals. Credit is awarded at the rate of 0.1 CEC per contact hour with a maximum of 1.5 CEC per three (3) year period. Signature of the laboratory director, supervisor or sponsor will be required as verification of participation to receive credit. 

8. The performance of an on-site laboratory inspection for the ASHI laboratory inspection program. A maximum of 0.8 CEC may be claimed per inspection with a maximum of eight (8) inspections per three (3) year period. Documentation from ASHI is required for credit. 

9. The time spent serving as a committee member of ASHI, ABHI or other prorofessional organizations or associations (e.g., SEOPF, UNOS) relating to histocompatibility and immunogenetics. A maximum of 1 CEC per year may be claimed for each committee membership in addition to 2 CEC's per year for committee chairs. Documentation is required for credit. 

10. Attendance at an ABHI approved audio/visual recorded presentation of any ASHI scientific meeting or other symposia of career-related material. Signature of the laboratory director, supervisor or sponsor will be required as verification of participation to receive credit. Credit will be awarded at the rate of 0.15 CEC per contact hour with a maximum of 1 CEC per three (3) year period. 

11. Self-instruction of career related topics can be claimed at the rate of 0.1 CEC per contact hour for the following: 
    (1) Any audio/visual materials. 
    (2) Open or closed circuit television and radio broadcasts and instruction using telephone networks (i.e., teleconferences). 
    (3) Reading of publications on histocompatibility and immunogenetics and other related medical literature. 
    
    Signature of the laboratory director, supervisor or sponsor is required for credit. A maximum of 1 CEC may be claimed per three (3) year period. 
    
    

12. Programs which include the areas of safety, management, computer technology and quality assurance may be submitted for CE credit. Credit will be calculated at the rate of 0.1 CEC per contact hour. Documentation of attendance must be submitted to ABHI for credit. A maximum of 1 CEC may be claimed per three (3) year period. 

Summary of Total CEC's Required for Recertification

All ABHI certified individuals are eligible for recertification.  To maintain ACTIVE status in the American Board of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ABHI), participants must submit their annual continuing certification application on or before February 1 of the year following their certification. Annual fees of $40 are due at this time.

In-house Continuing Education Program

An excellent way for histocompatibility labs to provide continuing education credits for their technologists is to plan and execute an in-house continuing education program. The process and application are fully described below. Labs can hold monthly journal clubs or invite speakers to talk about one of the many areas that fall within the "Statements of Competence for Histocompatibility Personnel". Preferably, the program is planned at the beginning of the year and the application is completed for the entire year or an application may be filled out for each session to be held. The session must be at least 1 hour in length and attendance must be taken. The program must be sponsored by the lab that is submitting the application. 

Requirements for ABHI Approved Continuing Education Programs 

1. The provider must submit, to the ABHI, a description of the program describing the content, the presenters and the target group of attendees. This description must be submitted 30 days prior to the meeting. 

2. The program must fulfill the following requirements of a Program of Continuing Education (PCE): 

• The program should be a planned learning experience designed to promote the continual development of knowledge, skills and attitudes. 

• The program should have qualified instruction and direction to assure that the educational objectives will be fulfilled. 

• The program content, format and methodology must be conducive to achieving the program objectives. 

• Program objectives should be stated in terms of what the participant would be able to do at the end of the program that he/she could not be expected to do before. 

• The time schedule should be set up in orderly and systematic fashion. 

• The faculty members should have the background and experience necessary to teach the course. 

• The program should provide the participant with a certificate or other evidence of the number of CEC's granted for participation in the program or workshop. 

• Program content must cover at least one of the major fields of the current ABHI "Statements of Competence for Histocompatibility Personnel" and will be a formal scientific/career-related continuing education program.

3. Program approval and the number of CEC's or contact hours earned will be determined by the ABHI and reported to the provider. 

If you have any questions about the process, please contact Christy Embrey (e-mail: christy.embrey@stjude.org) for technologists, CHA, CHT and CHS, Maya Cepero Lopez, at (e-mail: mayra@lifelinkfound.org) for diplomates or ABHI office. 

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  Application Form for Provider Status (582KB, PDF)

  Application Form For Continuing Certification (89KB, PDF)