Certified Industrial Hygienist Earn CM Credits through Mentoring

LANSING, Mich. - Dec. 16, 2013 - PRLog -- The American Board of Industrial Hygiene has developed a number of ways for Certified Industrial Hygienists (CIHs) to accrue Certification Maintenance (CM) credits.  These CM credits are an integral part of maintaining certification.

The CM cycle takes place over 60 months and CIHs can earn credits that can come from participating in a variety of activities.  One valuable way to earn CM credits, while supporting the industrial hygiene profession, is by mentoring others.  Mentoring falls under Category 7, ABIH’s “other” section on the CM Worksheet.

ABIH allows 1 CM point per year for each Mentee with a cap of 5 points per CM cycle.  Mentoring must be pre-approved from ABIH.  In order to obtain approval, the mentoring programs must meet the following criteria:

1. The Diplomates relationship (to the Mentee) cannot be part of their regular job responsibilities.
2. Diplomates must meet at least 6 hours per year and keep track of the mentoring time.
3. The mentoring scope must include, but is not limited to the IH rubics.
4. There is an overall mentoring Program Coordinator who:

·  Administers and documents the mentoring program (e.g. objectives, training, etc.)

·   Formally evaluates mentoring activity

·   Provides evidence (e.g. certificate or letter) of mentoring program completion

“Mentoring is a great way to earn CM credits, but we do ask that it be a formal effort rather than an informal one,” said Tracy Parsons, CIH, Administrative Program Manager at ABIH.  “This might suggest that only big organizations can do this, but that’s not correct; virtually all CIHs can still participate.  We suggest that Diplomates also look to their professional associations like AIHA. Many offer mentoring opportunities and programs that have already been pre-approved by ABIH.”

To learn more about the mentoring programs and other ways to earn CM credits or about the American Board of Industrial Hygiene and the CIH program, please email abih@ABIH.org, visit www.ABIH.org, or call (517) 321-2638.

About the American Board of Industrial Hygiene

Since 1960, ABIH, a not-for-profit corporation, has been the world's largest, premier organization for certifying professionals in the practice of industrial hygiene. ABIH is responsible for ensuring high-quality certification including education, experience, examination, certification maintenance and ethics enforcement.  Currently, more than 6700 people are certified to use the CIH designation.