The organization
Item writers & subject-matter reviewers
CIFPO is recruiting practitioners with federal payer authorization experience to write and review examination items. Cohort 1 closes November 15, 2026.
The work
An examination is only as defensible as the people who wrote it. Item writers draft multiple-choice items against a specific task statement in the content outline, cite the published source that makes the correct answer correct, and write the rationale. Reviewers read items they did not write and reject the ones that are ambiguous, outdated, or answerable by test-taking skill rather than knowledge. Both roles work remotely, in short sessions, on CIFPO's item bank.
Who qualifies
- At least three years of hands-on work in referral, authorization, enrollment, claims or appeals under VA Community Care, TRICARE or CHAMPVA, with at least one year in the last two.
- Current practice, or a supervisory role over people in current practice.
- Willingness to cite a published source for every item and to have every item reviewed.
- No current role selling CFPO preparation. DutyPath Academy staff and contractors are not eligible for this cohort.
Terms of service
- Compensation. Item writers are paid per accepted item and reviewers per review session, at the rates stated in the item-writer agreement. Payment is on acceptance, not on submission.
- Ineligibility to sit. A writer or reviewer may not sit the CFPO examination during service and for twelve months after, so that no one can be examined on items they have seen.
- Confidentiality. Items, the item bank and its statistics are confidential. The agreement includes a non-disclosure term that survives the end of service.
- Attribution. Writers and reviewers are named, with their consent, on the About page as members of the standards panel, and receive a service letter that counts toward their own continuing education if they hold other credentials.
- Ownership. Accepted items are the property of CIFPO.
Process
- Apply below. CIFPO replies within ten business days.
- A one-hour orientation on item-writing standards and the outline's task statements.
- A first assignment of five items against named task statements, reviewed with feedback.
- Ongoing assignments by domain, at the writer's pace, through the cohort's term.