Carter Ficklen III, CIH, CSP
AIHce 2012, Indianapolis
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Rich…………at least not initially
Powerful
Better looking
Happy
Successful
An “expert” in every area of IH practice
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Make you smarter…………
◦ at least for a few months
◦ Polish your ability to learn independently
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Make your business card look better
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Make you more marketable
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The right track to advancing your career
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Help you realize what you know
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But most importantly, make you realize how much you
don’t know
June 2
June 22
July 1-18
CIH??
The Test
•“Participated” in
Rock n Roll
Marathon
•Knew the first 13
•Then the wheels fell
off
•Stuck to gameplan
•Never gave up….
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Application process
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Deciding you want to pursue the CIH
◦ Desire is a key ingredient
◦ You’ve got to want it……
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Gathering Study Materials
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Making time for studying
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Forming a gameplan
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Time
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Study Strategy Weaknesses
◦ Anything worthwhile requires it……
◦ Several months….minimum
◦ Relying too much on review software
◦ Not reading reference materials
 Bold faced words and pictures don’t cut it
◦ Calculations –
 Eyeballing them won’t work
 practice, practice
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Panic
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Fatigue during exam
◦ Don’t do it…….
◦ The exam isn’t a sprint, a 5k, or a 10k
◦ It is a marathon…..train your brain and body
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Don’t get too upset
◦ It is just a test
◦ Many indicate that not passing the first time helped
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Take some time off
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Get the score sheet out
◦ How close were you?
◦ Where were the strengths and weaknesses
 Did you feel like you were prepared
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Get to work……persistence pays off
Michael W. Watson, CIH, CSP, CHMM
Federal Railway Administration
Washington, DC
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I sat for the exam for the first time in October
of 2002.
Studied for 2-3 months
◦ No weekends
◦ Few evenings
◦ Studied mostly on commuter train and while
traveling
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Studying:
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CIHPrep Software
ACGIH TLV Booklet
NIOSH Pocket Manual
CIH Review Course
!!NO TEXT BOOKS!!
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Mistakes
No reference reading
Very little industrial hygiene calculation work
Concentrated on strengths-more comfortable
Ignored weaknesses (radiation, health physics,
statistics)
◦ Too much emphasis on CIHPrep software
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Mistakes
Did
not
review
basic
sciences
(especially
chemistry, biology,
and
math/statistics)
Result-STRIKE
OUT!
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59% (65.6% needed
to pass)
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Sat for the second time in October 2005
Studied for 4 months, 3-4 hours per day on
average
◦ Studied evenings, weekends, while traveling, and at
work.
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Studying:
◦ CIHPrep Software
◦ ACGIH TLV Booklet
◦ NIOSH Pocket Manual
◦ CIH Review Course
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Reference Materials
◦ AIHA White Book (most essential)
◦ Air Sampling Instruments 9th Edition-ACGIH
◦ Research Methods in Occupational Epidemiology by
Checkoway, Pearce, and Kriebel
◦ Industrial Ventilation: A Manual of Recommended
Practice 24th Edition-ACGIH
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Reference Material
◦ Recognition of Health Hazards in Industry 2nd
Edition-William A. Burgess
◦ Quantitative Industrial HygieneWorkbook by Jack Caravanos
A
Formula
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Methods (Reference Material)
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Methods (Calculations)
◦ Took detailed notes while reading each reference
book into separate notebooks
◦ Transferred notes into type-written study guide
◦ Worked every calculation in formula workbook and
CIHPrep software throughout
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For the final month prior to sitting for exam:
◦ Concentrated on weaknesses only
◦ Left no stone unturned
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For the final week prior to sitting for exam:
◦ Review study guide
◦ Rework problem areas
◦ Make sure you are familiar with the equation sheet
and the meaning of all formulas
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Hit a home run!
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Scores improved in all areas
◦ Basic Science-44 percentage points
◦ Radiation-42 percentage points
◦ Community Exposure-40 percentage points
◦ Toxicology-37 percentage points
◦ Management-35 percentage points
◦ Epidemiology-28 percentage points
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Scores improved in all areas:
◦ Biohazards-26 percentage points
◦ Engineering Controls-20 percentage points
◦ Ergonomics-20 percentage points
◦ Air Sampling-14 percentage points
◦ Work Environments-10 percentage points
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Commitment
Discipline
Perseverance
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Sounds cliché-but its true
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I graduated from an industrial
program not accredited by ABET
hygiene
I don’t consider myself ultra-intelligent or
even remotely disciplined
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Persevere
◦ You will get
discouraged-but
keep at it-sooner
or later it will click
◦ If you are not
successful on your
first try-take the
exam the next time
it is offered
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Benefits vastly outweigh the effort
◦ My salary increased by 15%
◦ Immediate respect from coworkers and colleagues
◦ Additional credibility as an OEHS professional
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You tend to lose perspective on how difficult
the prep was-but you reap the benefits of
passing the exam every day!
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Party
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Relax
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Take some time off…..
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But before long, it’s time to start thinking
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How will others view you
◦ Don’t be that guy…or that girl
◦ Be humble……
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$$$$$$$$$$$$ ???? !!!!!
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When (and if) you hit the boss up
◦ Speak in terms of value
◦ I ain’t just about you…..
◦ How will these newly acquired letters
help…..everyone
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Tread carefully
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Do your homework
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Where’s your comfort zone
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Industry
Travel
Culture
Workload
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Why?
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Why NOT.
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It’s gonna be tough to go through a career
doing IH work with blinders on…..
◦ Safety is a part of protecting worker health
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It’s not harder
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It’s not easier
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It’s different
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It is MUCH broader
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Safety
Systems Safety
Engineering
IH
Environmental
Security
And a host of other topics…..
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Take it a soon as you can post CIH
◦ Your brain and problem solving skills are at an all
time high
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Study strategies are a little different
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Review software is helpful
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The retired exam questions BCSP sells are
golden
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We have to give back for the CIH
to hold value
◦ Get involved in the
profession…..promote it
 Local Sections and Committees
◦ Get involved OUTSIDE the profession
◦ Do good work……….
◦ Uphold all ethical canons
◦ Help/Mentor those looking to sit for
the exam
 Co-Workers
 Friends
 Even those you don’t know well
 A few words of encouragement can go
a long way
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There are volunteer opportunities that
advance our profession that aren't IN our
profession
Every industry has its own associations
◦ They might really benefit from an energetic CIH to
assist with EHS issues…..
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College Education $40,000+
CIH Exam fees ~$500
Datachem Software $295
Replace calculator smashed while studying
$12.95
40oz after exam $2.25
Seeing those three letters when you click the
button- priceless