Using an experience documentation opportunity to certify advanced-level health education specialists

The worldwide burden of diseases, environmental threats, and injuries help establish the global context and need for credentialing in health education and promotion. To ensure effective practice by certified or credentialed individuals, it is critical that the global health education and promotion workforce identify, agree on, and establish core competencies grounded in knowledge, skills, and abilities to strengthen the global capacity to improve the practice of health education at the entry and advanced levels. Dialog regarding the development of Domains of Core Competency for global capacity in health promotion has occurred. One unique process for granting certification was how a U.S. certifying organization used an Experience Documentation Opportunity to validate advanced-level professional competency. In this article, a one-time, 6-month opportunity in certifying advanced-level health education specialists is documented, and the implications of these results on the Domains of Core Competency are discussed. The authors provide valuable insight for health education professionals worldwide on establishing a process for quality assurance and accountability and alignment with the current global competency discussion. The Experience Documentation Opportunity process also may be useful in international efforts to establish certification based on core competencies.