The hand therapy certification examination: results of the first five years

In 1991, the first Hand Therapy Certification Examination was administered to candidates throughout the United States. Since then, the examination has been given annually. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the processes that have been used to develop the examination as well as to report demographic data about the examination and certification candidates. Overall, the results of test administration have been very good. Twenty-two hundred therapists have become certified hand therapists. Eighty-five percent are occupational therapists, and 88% are female. Most candidates have practiced for ten years or less and have maintained caseloads of upper-extremity patients for three to six years. The examination has performed well. Reliability coefficients have been 0.91 or greater for each administration. The mean scores on the examination have decreased each year, from 148.4 in 1991 to 129.4 in 1995.