AHE CHEST Candidate Resources
Qualifications and Eligibility for taking the CHEST National Certification Exam
Certification examinations are offered to technicians who have successfully completed the CHEST training Program, as documented by their CHEST trainer (T-CHEST). Requirements to qualify for CHEST training include:
- Technicians must have a minimum of 6 months health care environmental services cleaning experience in direct patient care in an acute care or continuing care facility OR a minimum of one year experience in health care environmental services without direct patient care (acute care or continuing care facility)
AND
- Must be able to read and write in English*
*The CHEST curriculum is written at or above the junior high reading level but is suitable for employees with additional education.
Application Process
Those individuals who meet eligibility requirements wishing to enroll in a CHEST training program should first contact their supervisor to ask if there is a T-CHEST associated with their facility or health system.
If there is a T-CHEST associated with the facility or health system:
- Get a statement in writing from your supervisor that states you meet the CHEST eligibility requirements and are recommended and approved for CHEST training.
- Contact the T-CHEST and request to be part of their next training program in your facility.
- Present the eligibility statement to the T-CHEST.
The trainer will enroll you in training and purchase training materials; T-CHESTs are the only individuals who can purchase books for CHEST training.
There are no application fees required of the candidate, however, the sponsoring facility or health system will be accountable for the training fee, which includes CHEST certification and the exam.
Candidates will be required to establish an online profile account with the American Hospital Association (AHE' parent company) before training begins. T-CHESTs will walk trainees through this process on or before the first scheduled day of training.
If there is not a T-CHEST associated with the facility or health system:
- Get a statement in writing from your supervisor that states you meet the CHEST eligibility requirements and are recommended and approved for CHEST training.
- Contact AHE at ahe@aha.org or 312-422-3860 to declare you interest in CHEST certification.
- Follow the instructions of the AHE representative.
AHE will make every effort to connect you with a nearby training, but does not guarantee availability or approval.
Content Delivery
CHEST certification training is comprised of 24 hours of classroom instruction. The content covered during the workshops is based on the seven domains shown below. The amount of time allocated to each domain was determined through a nationwide job analysis of environmental services tasks:
- Infection Prevention 20%
- Cleaning and Disinfection 20%
- Communication 20%
- Safety 15%
- Waste Handling 10%
- Linen Handling 10%
- Floor Care 5%
Each domain is covered in a series of 10 modules which are built around a typical day in the life of an environmental services technician: Infection Prevention and Control, Assignments with Supervisor and Other Staff, Cart Setup and Handling Chemicals, Occupied Room #1, Unoccupied Discharge or Transfer Room, Isolation Room, Occupied Patient Room #2, Common Area, Specialty Areas, Uncommon Situations, Wrap up and Review, and Additional Practice. Each module has its own set of distinct learning objectives.
The content may be delivered over three consecutive days, or it may be spread out over several weeks; the format of content delivery in each facility is determined by the T-CHEST from that facility.
CHEST National Certification Exam
The CHEST exam consists of about 50 multiple choice questions, covering the seven environmental services domains mentioned above. Each domain has a set of associated tasks, which the course content and exam questions were built around. The number of questions per domain is equivalent to the percentage of content per each domain.
Generally, the CHEST Examination questions are categorized by the following cognitive levels:
- Knowledge: The ability to recall or recognize previously learned information
- Comprehension: The ability to demonstrate understanding of the facts
- Application: The ability to apply knowledge to real-world situations
The CHEST exam is structured so that approximately 38% of the questions pertain to Knowledge, 38% pertain to Comprehension, and 24% are Application-based.
Passing the CHEST Examination
An eligible candidate who passes the CHEST Examination is awarded the CHEST credential. Generally about five or six weeks after the candidate passes the CHEST Examination, AHE mails in a sealed packet, each individual candidates’ certificate (which verifies their credential), a pin, a score report, and information about CHEST certification renewal requirements. The name on the certificate will be the same as per the registration information provided to AHE. It is the candidate’s responsibility to keep their information updated with their AHE user log in. AHE reserves the right to publicly recognize any candidate who has successfully completed the CHEST Examination. Scores are never reported.
Candidates will be able to view a brief overall Pass or Fail status report on the computer upon completion of the test. The examination is electronically scored.
A candidate’s examination scores are considered confidential information and will not be disclosed to anyone other than the candidate. AHE will not release test scores to anyone without specific written instructions from the candidate indicating to whom and why the information is to be disclosed.
Failing the CHEST Examination
If a candidate does not pass a CHEST Examination, the score report is mailed out to him or her. If a candidate wishes to retake the exam, he or she can reschedule the exam with their facility’s T-CHEST. There is no limit to the number of times a technician may retake the CHEST Exam. If a technician fails the exam three times, he or she is encouraged to repeat the CHEST training program.