EVALUATION OF CLINICAL COMPETENCIES
 

The college integrates the development and assessment of clinical competencies throughout the didactic and clinical programs. Students are officially enrolled in the practical clinical program beginning with Student Clinic in the ninth quarter of study upon successful completion of Pre Clinic and the Clinic Entrance Examination in the eighth quarter. All interns, upon completion of the clinical program, must demonstrate proficiency in those competencies consistent with the college’s mission and the CCE Standards for Chiropractic Programs and Institutions detailed in Section II.H.5, “Required Clinical Competencies.” The driving force behind all competency assessment procedures during the student intern’s clinical experience is the college’s dedication to providing evaluation of clinical skills using a wide variety of measures, on an ongoing basis.

Clinic Entrance Examination
During the eighth quarter, interns enrolled in Pre Clinic must also enroll to complete the Clinic Entrance Examination. The Entrance Exam is administered in both practical and written formats. The Clinic Entrance Exam assesses entry-level clinical competence in the required clinical competencies. Students must pass all portions of the exam with a grade of C or better in order to pass the Pre Clinic course and in order to advance to Student Clinic in the ninth quarter. If a student is unsuccessful upon his/her first Entrance Exam attempt, he/she must retake the exam within two weeks of the original exam date. If a student is unsuccessful upon a second Entrance Exam attempt, he/she will be required to retake related courses and/or remediation as required by the dean prior to being permitted to take the exam the following quarter. He/she will not be permitted to enroll in Student Clinic until he/she has passed the Entrance Exam. Students must pass the Entrance Exam upon their third attempt or be dismissed from the doctor of chiropractic degree program.

Clinical Proficiency Examination
During the thirteenth quarter, interns enrolled in Clinic IV must take the Clinical Proficiency Examination (Exit Exam). The Exit Exam is administered mainly in the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) format with some written assessments and is designed to assess the intern’s overall clinical competency necessary for licensure and to begin the practice of chiropractic. The exam is modeled after the NBCE Part IV examination. It requires the intern to not only perform clinical procedures, but also to integrate and assess critical patient information in order to determine accurate diagnoses and patient management relative to a variety of patient presentations. Interns must pass all stations of the exam with a grade of C or better in order to graduate. If a student is unsuccessful upon his/her first attempt, he/she must retake the exam within two weeks of the original exam date. If a student is unsuccessful upon his/her second Exit Exam attempt, he/she will be required to retake related courses and/or remediation as required by the dean prior to being permitted to take the exam the following quarter. Students must pass the Exit Exam upon their third attempt or be dismissed from the doctor of chiropractic degree program.

Interim Evaluations
In addition to evaluation during the Clinic Entrance Exam and the Clinical Proficiency Examination, licensed clinical faculty members evaluate student interns on an on-going basis throughout internship. Interns are evaluated on record keeping, patient management, patient examination, diagnosis and spinal adjusting skills. All adjustments are under the direct supervision of licensed faculty doctors.