A national study of The Diabetes Educator: report on a practice analysis conducted by the National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators.

PURPOSE

The practice analysis described in this report was conducted by the National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators (NCBDE) to (1) provide a basis for documenting the continuing validity of the Certification Examination for Diabetes Educators, (2) define new areas that should be assessed in future certification examinations, and (3) ensure that the content of certification examinations is related to practice.

METHODS

The study involved developing a diabetes educator job task list and survey, distributing 4103 surveys, and analyzing survey responses from a multidisciplinary and geographically representative sample of certified diabetes educators.

RESULTS

Eight hundred thirty-six surveys were suitable for analysis, with relevant demographic subgroups adequately represented. Based on survey data, an examination matrix and detailed content outline was constructed that will be used by NCBDE to assemble future test forms.

CONCLUSIONS

Certification examination specifications were developed directly related to the important activities that diabetes educators perform. Future forms of the certification examination will continue to be matched to job-related, criterion-referenced test specifications and will have strong evidence of content validity. Future forms of the exam will contain 200 items at specified cognitive levels with a representative sampling of tasks within 3 core areas from the detailed content outline.