REPORT FROM THE NBCE EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT — JUNE 2007

1. NBCE Annual Meeting, St. Louis, Mo.

On May 4, the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) held its Annual Board Meeting in conjunction with the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards’ (FCLB) 81st Annual Educational Conference in St. Louis, Mo.

During the annual meeting, District Directors were elected for Districts I, II and V, two Directors-at-Large were elected and two FCLB-Appointed Directors were seated. After these elections, the Board elected officers to form the Executive Committee. The following comprise the new Board:

Earl Wiley, D.C., Director-at-Large and Chairman of the Board
Vernon Temple, D.C., Director-at-Large and President
N. Edwin Weathersby, D.C., Director-at-Large and Vice President
Theodore Scott, D.C., District IV Director and Treasurer
Mary-Ellen Rada, D.C., District III Director and Secretary
Rick Cole, D.C., Director-at-Large
Donna Craft, D.C., District II Director
Robin Lecy, D.C., District I Director
Norman Ouzts, Jr., D.C., District V Director
Daniel Saint-Germain, D.C., FCLB Vice President
Oliver Smith, Jr., D.C., FCLB President

In addition to the elections, 15 proposals for bylaws changes were presented to the delegate body for approval. Three of the 15 proposals presented to the delegate body failed. Comments on the defeated proposals will be reconsidered by the Bylaws Committee in the coming year. For more information on the bylaws changes, please visit our Web site at www.nbce.org. Also, a few annual meeting pictures can be found on Page 5.

2. 2007 WFC Congress and ECU Convention, Portugal

On May 13-19, a delegation representing the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) and furthering the development of the International Board of Chiropractic Examiners (IBCE) attended the joint 9th Biennial World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC) Congress and the 75th Annual European Chiropractic Union (ECU) Convention in Vilamoura, Portugal. 

The delegation members from the NBCE/IBCE included Dr. Vernon Temple, President; Dr. N. Edwin Weathersby, Vice President; Dr. Jerry Blanchard, former NBCE Director; Mr. Horace Elliott, Executive Vice President; and Dr. Martin Kollasch, International Operations Manager.

Each member country was given an opportunity to address the World Federation of Chiropractic Council meeting. Representatives from Costa Rica, Sweden and Japan reported on the status of chiropractic legislation and education in their countries. Dr. Temple and Dr. Kollasch presented information on IBCE formation and goals to the assembly on May 15.

“With chiropractic exploding worldwide, we recognize that governments around the world will influence and shape the future of chiropractic,” said Dr. Temple. “The IBCE therefore welcomes this opportunity to discuss standards for chiropractic that can be universally accepted and not be in conflict with specific jurisdictions.”

On May 19, Dr. Temple and Mr. Elliott presented the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER) original research awards, which were funded by the NBCE, which will be highlighted in the next newsletter.

3. Life Chiropractic College West Holds National Board Day

On May 18, 2007, NBCE Chairman of the Board Dr. Earl Wiley and Director of Administration Pamela Kurtz hosted National Board Day at Life Chiropractic College West in California.

Dr. Wiley introduced the program with a description of chiropractic licensure before the development of national exams. Kurtz reviewed the history of licensing in chiropractic and the current eligibility guidelines for NBCE exams. She also reviewed the process of developing exam questions and reporting of results, the status of computerization, and national (and state-by-state) requirements. 

Later in the presentation, students’ questions were addressed. The greatest number of questions concerned the new NBCE security procedures and the optional Chiropractic College Assessment Test (CCAT).

4. Part I and Acupuncture Test Committees Meet

The annual Part I and Acupuncture test committees were held on April 20-21, 2007, at the headquarters of the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) in Greeley.

NBCE President Dr. Vernon Temple welcomed the test committee members. “I want to thank you all for your commitment to this organization and for creating an exam that reflects well on our profession.  Your generous contributions go far toward achieving our goal of excellence in chiropractic testing.”

Before the committees convened, Dr. Ray Townsend expressed his appreciation to the test committee members, “I encourage you to really focus on each individual question to make sure that these are the best possible items that will create the fairest standardized exam.”

During the two-day meeting, the test committees selected items that they felt would best assess an examinee’s knowledge and composed questions to add to the NBCE’s item pool for future exams.

NBCE test committees create examinations according to the guidelines provided by the test plans. To ensure the fairness of the examination, these committees are composed of college instructors, subject matter experts and state licensing board members selected based on their expert knowledge of the subject matter.

The NBCE examinations are offered twice yearly at chiropractic colleges across the United States and in several foreign countries. The Part I Examination is part of a battery of tests that candidates must pass prior to becoming licensed doctors of chiropractic. Acupuncture is an elective exam for individuals who have received acupuncture instruction while in chiropractic college or those who have already graduated from chiropractic college and want to demonstrate their knowledge of the subject matter.

Part I attendees were:

General Anatomy:
Steve W. Kirk, D.D.S., ParkerCollege of Chiropractic
Sheldon P. Clayton, Ph.D., ShermanCollege of Straight Chiropractic
Kim L. Swineheart, D.C., Northwestern HealthSciencesUniversity
Chad Maola, D.C., NBCE Moderator

Spinal Anatomy:
James D. Hawkins, M.A., LifeChiropracticCollege West
John H. Romfh, Ph.D., LifeUniversityCollege of Chiropractic
James R. Carollo, M.S., WesternStatesChiropracticCollege
Heather Kauffman, D.C., NBCE Moderator

Physiology:
Louis J. Freedman, D.C., PalmerCollege of Chiropractic
Katie A. Burns Ryan, D.C., Northwestern HealthSciencesUniversity
James B. Parker, Ph.D., ParkerCollege of Chiropractic
Kathleen Jones, Ph.D., NBCE Moderator

Chemistry:
Marc P. McRae, D.C., NationalUniversity of Health Sciences
David C. Lin, Ph.D., Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Health Sciences
Verena Van Fleet, Ph.D., Northwestern HealthSciencesUniversity
Jim Schreck, Ph.D., NBCE Moderator

Pathology:
Medhat Alattar, D.C., MB, BCh, PalmerCollege of Chiropractic—FL
Mark Mattie, Ph.D., University of Bridgeport, College of Chiropractic
Gary E. Sanders, Ph.D., LoganCollege of Chiropractic
Greg Crawford, D.C., NBCE Moderator

Microbiology and Public Health:
Gyan P. Khare, Ph.D., ClevelandChiropracticCollegeLos Angeles
Kim B. Khauv, D.C., LifeChiropracticCollege West
Mohan K. Menon, Ph.D., PalmerCollege of Chiropractic West
Michelle Clark, D.C., NBCE Moderator

Acupuncture attendees were:

Joseph R. Carter, D.C., South Carolina
John R. Dixon, D.C., California
Mary M. Jennings, D.C., NationalUniversity of Health Sciences
Patrick B. Kennedy, D.C., LoganCollege of Chiropractic
Denise C. Natale, D.C., Vermont
Gary Rosquist, D.C., Utah
Tricia F. Schwartz, D.C., South Dakota
Charles M. Ventresca, D.C., New YorkChiropracticCollege
Martin Kollasch, D.C., NBCE Moderator
Bruce Shotts, D.C., NBCE Moderator

5. Part IV Technique Workshop

On April 14, the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners hosted 21 college representatives from national and international chiropractic colleges for the Part IV Chiropractic Technique Workshop. The participants (listed below) reviewed techniques that currently appear on Part IV exams.

In addition, the technique workshop focused on the development of a more holistic approach to measuring competency in chiropractic patient assessment and adjusting. Director of Practical Testing Research and Development Dr. Paul Townsend stated that the average score for technique ranges from 82-86 percent. “We currently have a nice set of skills to test, but we would like to see if we can improve measurement in this important area of chiropractic practice,” he said.

Workshop attendees were:

Dr. Tom Bergmann, Northwestern HealthSciencesUniversity
Dr. Karen Bobak, New YorkChiropracticCollege
Dr. Daryl Capen, ClevelandChiropracticCollege—L.A.
Dr. Robert Cooperstein, PalmerChiropracticCollege West
Dr. Scott Donaldson, LifeChiropracticCollege West
Dr. Joseph Donofrio, ShermanCollege of Straight Chiropractic
Dr. Terry Elder, NationalUniversity of Health Sciences
Dr. Linda Elkins, LifeChiropracticCollege
Dr. James Fuller, ParkerCollege of Chiropractic
Dr. Brian Gleberzon, CanadianMemorialChiropracticCollege
Dr. Chris Good, University of BridgeportCollege of Chiropractic
Dr. David Hayes, University of Quebec at Trois-Rivieres
Dr. Deric Jacobs, PalmerCollege of Chiropractic—FL
Dr. Ali Jafari, D’Youville College of Chiropractic
Dr. Hunter Mollin, New YorkChiropracticCollege
Dr. Lester Partna, WesternStatesChiropracticCollege
Dr. Kevin Paustian, PalmerCollege of Chiropractic
Dr. Michael Ramcharan, ClevelandChiropracticCollege —K.C.
Dr. Daryl Ridgeway, LoganChiropracticCollege
Dr. David Sikorski, Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Health Sciences
Dr. Kenneth Sorrels, TexasChiropracticCollege

6. NBCE Calendar

National Board of Chiropractic Examiners
901 54th Avenue
Greeley , Colorado 80634
970-356-9100

nbce@nbce.org

Close window