Certificate of Knowledge in Travel Medicine Examination Update – Dec. 2001
The field of travel medicine encompasses a wide variety of disciplines including epidemiology, infectious disease, public health, tropical medicine, and occupational health. As a unique and growing specialty, it has become necessary to establish standards of practice in the field itself. These standards have been established to identify the scope of competencies expected of travel medicine practitioners, guide their professional training and development, and ensure an acceptable level of patient care.
This Body of Knowledge will serve as the basis for an examination being developed for all travel health professionals. The Body of Knowledge has been published on the ISTM website (www.istm.org). You will find it by selecting "Educat. Postings" on the left hand menu on the home page. It will also be available in a future edition of the Journal of Travel Medicine.
The examination will be administered prior to the opening of the 8th CISTM in New York on Wednesday, May 3, 2003. Practitioners who successfully complete this examination will be awarded a Certificate of Knowledge in Travel Medicine by the ISTM. Information about the Certificate of Knowledge examination will also be posted on the ISTM website.
Eligibility: The examination is open to all licensed travel medicine practitioners including nurses, physicians, and physician’s assistants. Both ISTM members and non-members are eligible to participate.
Cost of Examination: We are in the process of determining the cost of the examination. This information will be published in the Candidate Bulletin, which will be available early in 2002. We will also post this and other information on the website as it becomes available.
Acknowledgement: The ISTM examination subcommittee gratefully acknowledges GlaxoSmithKline for their generous support of this endeavor. GSK has provided an educational grant to help fund the development of the examination. Their support has enabled us to retain expert consultants to guide this project, evaluate questions, and perform a psychometric analysis of the examination. This process will ensure that this examination meets rigorous standards and is statistically valid.
