When Cindy Flannery, CHP, decided to pursue certification, it wasn’t for more take-home pay or career requirements.
In the federal government, where she worked, there’s no promise of a bigger check or promotion when you get certified, she says.
What made the difference was knowing that the credential was backed by organizations like the Council of Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards (CESB), an accrediting body that holds technical certification programs to the highest industry and national requirements.
“For me, getting certified was a personal goal,” Flannery says. “I wanted the confidence of knowing I had met that standard and the credibility of being recognized as a competent health physicist.”
That confidence has stayed with her throughout her career.
She served as a senior health physicist on the medical radiation safety team at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in Rockville, Maryland. Certification assured Flannery that her skills matched the highest professional bar.
It also gave her a platform to give back to the profession.
“Once you’re certified, you can serve on panels and boards,” she says. “That gives you the chance to make changes that benefit candidates and other members. For me, that was really rewarding. It still is.”
Her story shows why the CHP credential carries weight. That weight comes not just from ABHP’s exams, but from its accreditation by the CESB, which helps make the certification a credential with widespread recognition.
What Is CESB?
Established in 1990 after a national conference on engineering and technical credentials, the CESB was created to ensure that certification programs in science and engineering meet consistent, rigorous and independent standards.
The organization sets core criteria, ethical requirements and guidelines for how specialty certifications should operate.
Membership in CESB is voluntary, but accreditation signals that a program meets nationally recognized benchmarks.
Today, CESB accredits dozens of boards across fields such as safety and environmental engineering. Flannery has served as ABHP’s liaison to CESB since 2020.
“Accreditation by CESB strengthens the credibility and recognition of ABHP’s certification programs,” Flannery says. “It assures that ABHP’s certification program meets rigorous, nationally recognized standards—and, importantly, accreditation can help ensure that certifications hold up more strongly if ever subject to legal or professional challenge.”
How CESB Strengthens Your CHP Credential
Accreditation is not symbolic. Maintaining CESB accreditation is ongoing work and a significant responsibility. ABHP must regularly show that it meets specific requirements in areas such as:
- Fair and valid exams: Every exam must undergo structured statistical analysis. Poorly performing questions are identified and removed. Passing standards must be defensible. “We can’t just put questions together and assign a passing grade,” Flannery says. “We must carefully evaluate how each question performs. That keeps the exam defensible and fair.”
- Continuing education: CHPs must earn 80 hours of continuing education every four years. This requirement ensures that new or renewed certification reflects evolving science and practice, not just past knowledge. CESB holds this standard in high regard.
- Transparent governance: Boards must demonstrate independence, fairness and accountability. Processes must be shielded from conflicts of interest. ABHP checks all four.
- Regular reaccreditation: Accreditation isn’t permanent, Flannery says. Every few years, boards must reapply with detailed documentation of compliance. Earlier this year, for instance, ABHP submitted its reaccreditation package, which Flannery describes as “a long list of requirements, covering everything from the exam to recertification.”
Why the ABHP-CESB Partnership is Important to You
Many CHPs may not know much about CESB, Flannery says. For years, she didn’t either. “Unless you’ve served on the Board or Executive Committee, you may never have heard of CESB,” she says.
Yet, its impact is profound.
Here’s what ABHP’s CESB accreditation means for you as a CHP:
- Confidence: Your credential from ABHP is validated by an independent accreditor.
- Recognition: Employers, regulators and peers outside health physics see the CHP as part of a respected family of scientific certifications.
- Protection: Accreditation provides legal and professional defensibility if certification standards are ever challenged.
- Futureproofing: Regular reaccreditation ensures that the credential stays relevant, fair and credible now and years into the future.
- Pride: Holding the credential ties you to a community of professionals who meet and uphold the highest standards.
At the NRC, Flannery often met with colleagues weighing whether to pursue certification. She says their doubts are familiar: Why bother? There’s no guarantee of a bonus. No federal job requires it. Preferred, maybe, but it’s not necessarily a must-have. And most don’t pass the test on the first try—or second.
Her answer is always the same.
“Credibility. Pride. Contribution. It’s about proving something to yourself, earning the respect of your peers and gaining the chance to make a difference,” Flannery says.
Like she has.
When Flannery took the exam in 2001, the pass rate was low compared to prior years. “It was much lower than it had been,” she recalls. “It made me wonder: What can we do to improve the process?”
That experience motivated her to get involved as a volunteer. She started by serving on the exam’s Part I panel, then joined the ABHP Board and eventually the AAHP Executive Committee.
Along the way, she contributed to some noteworthy improvements, including:
- Faster turnarounds for exam results. Candidates no longer wait six months to hear back.
- More flexible scheduling. Exams are now offered on multiple days and locations, not just once a year.
- Stronger exam design, guided by statistical review and candidate feedback.
These changes show how rigor and fairness evolve together, she says. And CESB’s standards ensure those improvements are not just good ideas but documented requirements.
“That’s the kind of difference you can make,” she says.
Looking Ahead
The CESB logo is now displayed on the AAHP-ABHP website. It’s not there for decoration.
“It’s a public sign of strength,” Flannery says.
The logo tells members, employers and the public that the CHP credential is equal to other respected scientific and engineering certifications.
And that recognition is more important than ever.
Through rigorous CESB accreditation, ABHP ensures that all CHPs are recognized as trusted safety experts. This certification underpins protection and confidence across vital fields such as medicine, nuclear energy, environmental protection and scientific research.
“CESB accreditation takes that credibility one step further,” she adds. “It shows our industry that ABHP’s process is demanding, fair and always held to the same standards as other top professions, now and in the years to come.”
If you’d like additional details about CESB accreditation or how it relates to the CHP credential, you can visit our Contact Us page to learn more.