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review process by practitioners in the field. The final Role Delineation Refinement and Verification Instrument became the product of this review and represents the actual functional responsibilities of sanitarians working in federal, state and local governments; military, institutional and private industry settings. Project personnel, having identified and verified the task-oriented responsibilities, developed the knowledges, skills and attributes within the 14 traditional program areas of environmental health, which were reported as part of the curriculum guide in April 1979 (HRA-231-77-0030). Five basic knowledge categories were described as the foun dation of Environmental Health. l. Knowledge of Disease and Injury Causation and Control 2. Knowledge of Administrative Law and Process 3. Knowledge of the Utilization of Resources in the Collection, Arrangement and Intrepretation of Data 4. Knowledge of Environmental Health Administration 5. Knowledge of Behavioral Sciences The Curriculum Guide project identified behavior domains and knowledge, skill and attribute competencies essential to the entry-level for all three positions discussed in the Role Delineation and Verification. The project described learning opportunities and strategies that would enable a learner to attain necessary competency and attribute objectives. From the final report of this project, NEHA published a ''Blueprint of the Knowledges, Skills and Attributes for Environmental Health Practitioners.'' This became the document The Sanitarian in Environmental Health published in 1980. This document continues to be useful throughout the country when those still called Sanitarians are dealing with personnel departments. Between October 1, 1985 and May 27, 1986, NEHA sold 96 copies of the document - nearly six years after its publication! At the conclusion of the Curriculum Guide project, those working on the project recommended that a self-assessment tool be developed to be used by (and for) any environmental health practitioner to assess his/her knowledge and skills in the environ mental health sciences at all levels and in all areas of practice...to provide the practi tioner with a thorough understanding of his/her deficiencies within the profession. And, they recommended that upon identification of the deficiencies, a contiguous educational and/or training program be made available to upgrade the competency of the practi tioner in the specific areas of deficiency. . A checklist sent to 6,000 practitioners to survey the attitudes of the profession indicated a need to develop interpersonal skills, technical areas and public relations. The project staff also recommended development of a national proficiency examination for creden tialing to assure a competent workforce. The project staff further recommended that the National Accreditation Council for Environmental Health Curricula adopt the Blueprint of Knowledges, Skills and Attributes as the basis for evaluating curricula in colleges and universities. Further federal funding (HR 232-78-0139) September 29, 1978 - December 31, 1979, provided the means to develop the Self-Assessment Tools for Environmental Health Practitioners (Entry and Advanced Levels), which were subsequently used in modified form during the project to profile the field practitioner (HR 232-80-0022). NEHA affiliates participated in taking the self-assessment tests. Results processed by computer
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