Ethics Training – A Key Component of the CIH Program

In 2010, the American Board of Industrial Hygiene began requiring two hours of ethics training for all Applicants, Re-applicants and CIHs who are recertifying.  Acceptable ethics training is considered to be any subject matter that aligns with the ABIH Code of Ethics or the Joint Industrial Hygiene Association’s Member Ethical Principles.
 
Acceptable training for this requirement quite often may not even have the word “ethics” in the course title.  Just about any content that deals with professional behavior in the workplace would be acceptable for ethics training. Appropriate subject matter includes: business conflicts, workplace relationships, technical judgment that compromises the values of an organization, integrity, professional conduct, confidentiality of sensitive information, conflict of interest and intellectual property rights/plagiarism.
 
There are several ways to meet the ethics training requirement and for most, it can occur from one of these three sources:
•           Internal courses provided by one’s organization or company
•           A standalone ethics course provided by a 3rd party
•           Ethics content embedded in a 3rd party course or conference
 
“The internal courses are fairly clear for most people,” said Lynn O’Donnell, CIH, Executive Director for the American Board of Industrial Hygiene.  “Some organizations offer them and others don’t.  Some 3rd party courses are available online for free or a fee. People can find both types by looking in the CM Events Database for courses that were approved as of 2011. Although this database is no longer being maintained, it gives people an idea of some of the ethics events that have been previously approved and perhaps, a good lead on where to find the most current version. If all else fails, feel free to contact ABIH and we will help you.”
 
Ethics content can also often be found as embedded material in a course or conference. Sometimes, it’s a two hour lecture that is part of another event, e.g., a college level academic class on environmental justice or an IH exam preparation class. In some situations, it may be a lecture, roundtable or discussion that is offered during a national conference or sometimes at AIHA Local Section meetings. These ethics-specific sessions can be claimed for ethics credit in the ABIH system.
 
To learn more about the American Board of Industrial Hygiene, CIH program or ethics training requirements, please visit www.ABIH.org, email abih@ABIH.org , or call (517) 321-2638.
 
About the American Board of Industrial Hygiene
Since 1960, ABIH, a not-for-profit corporation, has been the world’s largest, premier organization for certifying professionals in the practice of industrial hygiene. ABIH is responsible for ensuring high-quality certification including education, experience, examination, certification maintenance and ethics enforcement.  Currently, more than 6700 people are certified to use the CIH designation.

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