CPHN Exam Blueprint Checklist for Nursing Faculty

Every competency on the Certified in Public Health Nursing (CPHN) exam, grouped by the seven official domains, as a checklist you can work through on screen or print for a curriculum meeting.

Last updated 11 October 2026, against the NBPHE's October 2026 CPHN Candidate Handbook and the published CPHN Exam Content Outline.

The National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE) built the CPHN exam from a 2025 job task analysis of public health nursing practice. The result is a content outline of seven domains and 43 competency statements. If your program prepares community or public health nurses, those 43 statements are the most direct description available of what your graduates will be tested on.

This page restates each competency in plain, short language so a faculty team can scan the whole blueprint in one sitting, tick off what the curriculum already covers, and see the gaps. The wording below is our summary. For the authoritative text, use the official CPHN Exam Content Outline.

Your checkmarks are saved in this browser only. When printed, each competency gets a blank line for the course or module that covers it.

Free to share. You may print this checklist and distribute it to faculty, preceptors, and students without asking. If you reference it on a course page or LibGuide, please link to this page so colleagues always reach the current version.

The exam at a glance

These are the confirmed exam facts faculty are most often asked about, taken from the NBPHE's October 2026 candidate handbook and CPHN FAQs.

120 scored questionsPlus 20 unscored pretest questions mixed in, so 140 in total

3 hoursSingle best answer with three options per question, plus an optional 10 minute break

Scaled score, 200 to 800500 is the passing scaled score; the first cohort waits 6 to 8 weeks for results

No complex calculationsThe handbook says questions test comprehension and knowledge of the domains

$385 standard fee$150 retake; partner organization discounts from $250

Year roundAt computer-based testing centers or by live online proctor

Recertify every 3 years30 recertification credits plus a $95 fee

Eligibility never expiresOnce approved, a candidate can test whenever they are ready

How weight translates into questions

The NBPHE publishes a percentage for each domain. Applied to 120 scored questions, that works out roughly as follows. The question counts are our arithmetic, not NBPHE figures.

Official domain	Weight	About	Competencies
1. Systems and Foundational Knowledge	19%	23 questions	8
2. Communication and Cultural Competence	19%	23 questions	7
3. Planning and Implementation	12%	14 questions	5
4. Assessment and Analysis	20%	24 questions	9
5. Quality and Evaluation	9%	11 questions	4
6. Policy, Advocacy, and Partnerships	10%	12 questions	5
7. Leadership and Management	11%	13 questions	5

Two things stand out for curriculum planning. Domains 1, 2, and 4 together account for 58 percent of the exam, so gaps there matter most. And Domain 2, communication and cultural competence, carries as much weight as foundational knowledge, which surprises programs that treat it as a thread rather than taught content.

The checklist

Domains appear in the NBPHE's official numbering, which is not the same as weight order. Tick a competency once you can name the course, module, or clinical experience where students meet it and are assessed on it.

0 of 43 competencies covered

Domain 1. Systems and Foundational KnowledgeThe science, frameworks, and systems thinking underneath practice19%

1.1Recognizing and reducing bias in how health data are collected and interpretedCourse / module: ______________________________
1.2Using evidence-based research and promising practices to guide practice and reduce disparitiesCourse / module: ______________________________
1.3Managing resources with valid public health tools, within legal, ethical, and organizational standardsCourse / module: ______________________________
1.4Epidemiological methods: incidence, prevalence, risk and protective factors, and population outcomesCourse / module: ______________________________
1.5Assessing systemic barriers, including access to care, to support data-driven systems changeCourse / module: ______________________________
1.6Applying public health frameworks, such as social determinants of health, the socioecological model, and levels of prevention, to set prioritiesCourse / module: ______________________________
1.7Emergency response and recovery: personal readiness and using the nursing process in a disasterCourse / module: ______________________________
1.8How implicit and explicit bias affect nursing practiceCourse / module: ______________________________

Domain 2. Communication and Cultural CompetenceReaching diverse audiences clearly and respectfully19%

2.1Active listening and culturally informed empathy to build trustCourse / module: ______________________________
2.2Adapting verbal, written, and visual communication to cues, literacy level, and cultural preferenceCourse / module: ______________________________
2.3Plain language, visual aids, and messaging tailored to an audience's health literacyCourse / module: ______________________________
2.4Engaging key community members in culturally appropriate waysCourse / module: ______________________________
2.5Crisis and emergency communication with internal and external partnersCourse / module: ______________________________
2.6Creating inclusive, safe conditions so all community members can take partCourse / module: ______________________________
2.7Cultural humility built into assessment and program planningCourse / module: ______________________________

Domain 3. Planning and ImplementationTurning data into programs, education, and preparedness12%

3.1Anticipating emerging threats, such as disasters, outbreaks, and bioterrorism, and setting preparedness prioritiesCourse / module: ______________________________
3.2Using health data to plan and run programs that address social conditions and equityCourse / module: ______________________________
3.3Teaching individuals, families, and communities about prevention, safety, decision-making, and environmental exposuresCourse / module: ______________________________
3.4Co-creating health promotion activities with the people being servedCourse / module: ______________________________
3.5Tools and interventions that improve safety in public health processesCourse / module: ______________________________

Domain 4. Assessment and AnalysisThe largest domain: surveillance, indicators, and needs assessment20%

4.1Public health surveillance to monitor emerging threatsCourse / module: ______________________________
4.2Measuring health using relevant variables within and across systemsCourse / module: ______________________________
4.3Needs assessment of individuals, populations, and communitiesCourse / module: ______________________________
4.4Identifying hazards using current and historical trendsCourse / module: ______________________________
4.5Interpreting population health indicators from qualitative and quantitative dataCourse / module: ______________________________
4.6Assessing health literacy with evidence-based toolsCourse / module: ______________________________
4.7Individual assessments with evidence-based tools that also reveal community-level issuesCourse / module: ______________________________
4.8Assessing individual, family, and community needs to prevent gaps in careCourse / module: ______________________________
4.9Environmental factors and their effects on healthCourse / module: ______________________________

Domain 5. Quality and EvaluationConsistent services and continuous improvement9%

5.1Policies, procedures, and workflows for consistent service deliveryCourse / module: ______________________________
5.2Building a culture of continuous quality improvementCourse / module: ______________________________
5.3Adapting interventions to reach structural and systemic factorsCourse / module: ______________________________
5.4Performance metrics and program outcome evaluationCourse / module: ______________________________

Domain 6. Policy, Advocacy, and PartnershipsWorking across sectors to change systems10%

6.1Interdisciplinary, cross-sector collaborationCourse / module: ______________________________
6.2Advocating for policies and programs that improve access, especially for under-resourced populationsCourse / module: ______________________________
6.3Using community-informed data in policy developmentCourse / module: ______________________________
6.4Partnerships with schools, businesses, faith-based groups, and community organizationsCourse / module: ______________________________
6.5Including community members in planning, implementation, and evaluationCourse / module: ______________________________

Domain 7. Leadership and ManagementStrategy, teams, budgets, and workforce development11%

7.1Strategic planning aligned with organizational and community prioritiesCourse / module: ______________________________
7.2Inclusive teams and conflict management through consensus-buildingCourse / module: ______________________________
7.3Aligning resources and budgets with goals, priorities, and funding requirementsCourse / module: ______________________________
7.4Cost-effective practice and resource sharing to extend program reachCourse / module: ______________________________
7.5Mentoring, training, and professional development for staffCourse / module: ______________________________

Where to look first for gaps

This section is our editorial view, not NBPHE guidance. Some competencies sit naturally in a community health course and a clinical rotation. Others tend to live outside that course, in leadership, research, or elective content that not every student takes. These are the ones worth checking first:

Emergency preparedness appears in three domains (1.7, 2.5, and 3.1). If it is covered only in a single lecture or tabletop exercise, it is probably underweighted.
Health literacy assessment (4.6) asks for evidence-based tools, not just awareness that literacy varies.
Quality improvement and program evaluation (all of Domain 5) is often taught in a leadership course that is framed around acute care.
Budgets and resource allocation (1.3, 7.3, 7.4) rarely appear in prelicensure content at all.
Bias in data (1.1) is distinct from bias in care (1.8). Many programs teach the second and not the first.

Advising students on when they can sit the exam

Every applicant needs an active, current RN license. Beyond that, the handbook sets out three pathways, and the right advice depends on which program a student is in:

Pathway	Public health nursing experience required
Nursing diploma or Associate Degree in Nursing	At least 2 years
BSN or higher	At least 1 year
Graduate degree or doctorate in public health, public health nursing, community health (nursing), or population health (nursing)	None

In practice, that means prelicensure students cannot sit the exam at graduation, but they can plan for it, and faculty in qualifying graduate programs can tell students they are eligible as soon as their degree requirements are complete. Applications go through the NBPHE's CertCentral portal with a transcript and resume, and the NBPHE asks applicants to allow at least two weeks for review. Full details are in the CPHN Candidate Handbook. For a fuller explanation written for nurses, see our CPHN eligibility guide.

Sharing this with students

The same checklist works as a self-assessment for a nurse preparing to test: tick what you are confident in and study what is left. Students who want to see how the domains feel as exam questions can take our free 20-question CPHN practice test. It needs no signup and gives a score for each domain at the end.

Source: cphnprep.com/cphn-faculty-checklist.html (updated 11 October 2026). Competency wording is a CPHNPrep summary of the NBPHE CPHN Exam Content Outline. CPHNPrep is independent and not affiliated with the NBPHE.

Practice questions mapped to every domain

CPHNPrep organizes practice by these seven domains, with domain-by-domain results so students can see exactly where they are weak. Start free, then unlock all 500+ questions with a one-time pass.

Start free practice

CPHNPrep is an independent study resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE). Competency statements on this page are our own plain-language summaries of the official CPHN Exam Content Outline; the NBPHE's documents are authoritative. Exam facts reflect the NBPHE's October 2026 candidate handbook and can change. Always confirm current details directly with the NBPHE.