Translating a Health Professional Certification Test to Another Language

Abstract

There has been increased pressure in recent years for examinations used for occupational and profe ssional credentialing to be offered in several languages. When credentialing programs are international in scope, rather than national, examination translation may be a necessity, and a validation of the translation will be required. Yet, few candidates may sit for the translated version, jeopardizing the power and generalizability of statistical analysis. How should a board proceed in meeting its linguistic responsibility wheui faced with a small n? This article describes such a situation, and the linguistic and psychometric procedures that were developed and applied on a pilot translation by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE).