The American Board for Occupational Health Nurses, Inc. (ABOHN) was established in 1972 as an independent nursing specialty certification board to implement and conduct a certification program for qualified occupational health nurses. The purposes of specialty certification are to provide peer review and to inform and protect the consumer. The credentials were established to protect the public. The credentials are COHN, COHN-S, and Case Management. These credentials inform the consumer that the certificate holder has met certain predetermined standards in the specialty of occupational health nursing.