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February 2009 Newsletter

Sherman College of Chiropractic

Sherman Student Represents SABCA at NBCE Conference

Along with student representatives of SABCA, SICA, SACA, WCCS, I was given the wonderful opportunity to visit the National board headquarters in Greeley, CO, on January 22. It was an honor to meet the members of the national board and their staff. During this time, I was able to get an overview of each member of the board’s job responsibilities and learn how they all come together to make sure we become competent chiropractors throughout the United States.

Dr. Temple, president of the NBCE, began with a reflection of the way things used to be. He told us of a time when each state administered their own board exams. He explained that 47 years ago, no two state board exams were alike. The chiropractic profession needed a sense of uniformity. It needed an exam that could be administered to show that a chiropractor is equally qualified in any state in which they choose to practice. That exam is what we now know as the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners. This exam is comprised of four parts: three written and one practical.   

I found that a lot of work goes into developing this exam. The exam was designed to reflect the general course curriculum being taught in each chiropractic college across the nation, as well as the most common practices of practicing chiropractors that are already in the profession.

Before I left for Greeley, I asked several students and faculty if there were any questions or concerns they had for the board members. Some of those questions were:

Why does it cost so much? 
Their answer was that the NBCE is more than 90% funded by the students and D.C.s who take the exam. There are no loans or outside funding for the National Board Exam and because enrollment has decreased nationwide, the prices had to be increased in order to cover the costs of administering the exam.

Will the National boards ever be taken on computer versus scantron?  
They are moving in the direction of computerized testing, but due to security issues and the amount it would cost to do so, they haven’t been able to do it yet. 

What happened last October with the board scores? 
Last year’s issue was a glitch in the software that led to the posting of incorrect board scores. The database always had the correct scores. As soon as the error was found, it was taken care of immediately. 

As I said before, being able to visit NBCE was a great opportunity. It was even more of an honor to represent the SABCA and Sherman College. I now have a greater understanding of the National Board and their contribution to the chiropractic profession.

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