[Histonet] ASCP - QIHC credential and the BOC

[Sharon Kneebone]

The National Society for Histotechnology recently had a conversation with Pat Tanabe on concerns shared on the Histonet.  Pat is the ASCP Board of Certification Executive Director and she helped pull this information together to share on the Histonet.

There has been discussion on this forum about the ASCP Board of Certification (BOC) QIHC (Qualification in Immunohistochemistry Exam), the exam writing process, and NSH's relationship with the ASCP BOC. The current NSH liaison to the ASCP BOC Board of Governors (BOG) is Lori Schmitt. 

The previous NSH liaison, Lena Spencer, completed her three terms on the BOG in September 2020. 

The BOC website has a wealth information concerning the examinations. We publish a monthly newsletter for program directors to keep them current on BOC activities that affect them and their students. In every edition of this newsletter is a link to a document "Understanding ASCP BOC Certifications" (https://s3.amazonaws.com/ascpcdn/static/BOC/elinks/2019/Understanding-ASCP_BOC_Cert-1-19.pdf), which includes explanations and descriptions of the examination committees, practice analyses, and certification development, standard setting, computer adaptive testing, and examination scores. 

The following is excerpted from "Understanding ASCP BOC Certifications" and explains the process of QIHC examination preparation and the committee composition.

"ASCP BOC Certification Examination Committees

ASCP BOC certification examination committees and their members provide subject matter expertise for our certification examinations. The members are selected to represent diversity in job type (i.e., educator, bench technologist/technician, and management), geographic location, facility type, and experience.  The diversity provides a broad spectrum of current practice in the profession across the country.  Anyone wishing to volunteer for an exam committee can go to Volunteer. When vacancies occur, the committee reviews C.V.'s for volunteers fitting the requirements needed (i.e., an educator from the east coast, technologist from a reference lab on the west coast, supervisor at an academic facility).

An ASCP BOC certification examination committee's primary responsibility is to validate the content of the certification examination.  They do so by periodically administering practice analysis surveys, writing and reviewing items, performing exam database maintenance, periodic standard-setting, and review of psychometric and statistical analysis of the exam items/database. The committees meet annually to review and perform maintenance on the certification exam database(s)."

Statistical information on all of our certifications and qualifications can be found on our website. The QIHC had a pass rate of 50% in 2019. The best way to prepare for the QIHC exam is to utilize the topic outline and reading list. For more information on BOC exams and processes, please go to our website or our Facebook pages. Our website is a good source of up-to-date information on BOC exams and processes.


Sharon H. Kneebone, CAE, IOM
Executive Director
National Society for Histotechnology
3545 Ellicott Mills Drive
Ellicott City, MD 21043
P: 443-535-4060
F: 443-535-4055
E: sharon at nsh.org
nsh.org  |histoconvention.org


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Sent: Sunday, January 31, 2021 1:00 PM
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Subject: Histonet Digest, Vol 206, Issue 18

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