Ensuring the validity of regulatory testing for chiropractic professionals: NBCE's Practice Analysis 2010

Objectives: An important aspect of protecting the public's health is ensuring that health professionals are competent to practice. The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing require that a credentialing exam must be valid and reliable. The Standards further specify that some form of job/practice analysis of the profession provides the primary basis for determining the validity of a licensure exam. Methods: To ensure the validity and reliability of its examination, the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) conducts a Practice Analysis every five years; most recently in 2009. This survey of practicing chiropractors required the random selection of approximately 10,000 individuals across the nation. To obtain a sufficiently high response for valid results, this process required extensive follow-up. Selectees were first notified by a preliminary postcard and second, by telephone calls. Results: Of the 9839 practitioners initially selected, responses were obtained from 2271 (23%). To ensure that the survey results were not biased, 150 non-respondents were re-contacted on a state-by-state basis. The data obtained from these individuals were then compared to the responses of those who originally responded. The results showed no significant differences in any of the demographic or practice data. Conclusion: The NBCE Practice Analysis 2010 is a valid survey of the professional components of current chiropractic practice in the United States. It will be used to fine tune the content domains of the NBCE exams. This process helps to ensure that the public is treated by chiropractic health professionals that are competent to practice safely and effectively.