July 2003

NBCE celebrates 40th anniversary

A plaque honoring the 56 members who have served on the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) Board of Directors during the past 40 years has been placed in the main lobby of the NBCE headquarters in Greeley, Colo.

The NBCE was created with the belief that the chiropractic profession needed to have its own exams, testing both basic and clinical sciences. An exploratory committee established by the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards (FCLB) determined that an organization such as the NBCE would fulfill that need.

Formed in 1963, the NBCE was charged with a singular mission of setting uniformly high standards of chiropractic care and public accountability at a national level. Since its origination, the NBCE has continued to develop, administer, analyze, score and report results from the standardized national examinations according to established guidelines.

The purposes of the NBCE exams are to promote high standards of competence, to assist state licensing agencies in assessing competence and facilitating the licensure of incoming practitioners and to enhance professional credibility.

In addition to the initial written exams, offered in Part I, Part II and the optional physiotherapy exam, administered to 1,200 individuals in March 1965, NBCE has continued to add other exams, including:

• Part III, a written competency exam;

• Part IV, a practical exam intended for the evaluation of a licensure candidate's ability to demonstrate knowledge and skill necessary to practice safely.

• Acupuncture exam;

• Special Purposes Exam, which enables state boards to re-evaluate individual practitioners. This newest exam, implemented in 2002, allows state licensing boards to re-evaluate a candidate for licensure by reciprocity or endorsement and determine licensure reinstatement after lapse or suspension.

Another exam is currently under development that will enable state boards to assess knowledge of licensed practitioners in the areas of ethics and boundaries.

By passing the NBCE examinations, U.S. chiropractors gain an unprecedented freedom of mobility provided at a modest cost which is assessed through a third party evaluation determining a doctor's readiness to practice. The written exams, Parts I, II, III, are accepted and/or required in all 50 states. Part IV is accepted and/or required in 46 states.

Physiotherapy and acupuncture are both elective exams, which can be utilized by states that wish to have a measure of a candidate's knowledge in these areas.

Source: NBCE, www.nbce.org.

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