Thank you for joining me again this evening for our nightly podcast. I perform these podcasts I the hopes that you can take this information and apply it to make a better informed decision about your health. I am doctor Harrison Campbell from Restoration Health a premier sugar land chiropractors office. Previously we have discussed chiropractic schooling including the different schools in Texas and the curriculum covered. Tonight we will review the board examination the student is required to take throughout their education.
There are four board examinations throughout the chiropractic education which students undertake prior to being licensed as Doctors of Chiropractic. The first is primarily background and foundational information, the second still covers foundational information but shifts towards critical thinking and application of the information than simply memorization, while the third and final board examination is very much a practical examination of the chiropractors skills. Once these have been passed and schooling finished the student is eligible to attain their doctor of chiropractic degree and in my case become one of the best sugar land chiropractors I can be.
Now some will notice I said four board examination but only broke them down into three sections. The reason for this is the first board examination is counted as one board, the second examination is actually the second and third board examination combined to also include the physical therapy or PT section, with the third board examination being the practical portion or the fourth overall board.
Let us look more in depth at the boards and show why sugar land chiropractors are as knowledgeable as they can be. The first board examination is mostly memorization and as stated previously covers the basic science classes covered. This is the true foundational material and is testing what you know as far as the science is concerned. It includes sections such as biochemistry, anatomy, microbiology, and pathology. They are multiple choice questions for each section of the tests taken. There is very little critical thinking applied here. As stated, this are focuses mostly on memorization.
I know some of you are saying that memorization is not a measure for intelligence. The reason for the memorization on these tests is the student is being trained to be a doctor. Who would want to go to a sugar land chiropractors office and have the doctor constantly looking up the answer because they did not remember what was needed? Would you feel comfortable with a person like that being in charge of your health care? Personally I would walk out of the office right then and there. While I do not expect my doctor to know everything about everything, I do expect them to be very knowledgeable on the fields in which I am seeing them. For example I would not expect my primary care physician or PCP to know the in depth details of a particular surgery but I would want them to be familiar with the procedure and capable of directing me to an expert on that surgery. This is where the part one of the chiropractic boards comes into play. The student needs to be able to memorize and recall facts because it will be needed in practice.
Now let us move on to the second board examination which covered boards parts two three and physical therapy. This is the board examination which blends memorization with critical thinking and diagnosis. Topics include general diagnosis, neuromusculoskeletal diagnosis, and diagnostic imaging. With these topics sugar land chiropractors are tested on not only being able to memorize and recall facts, but to take it a step beyond. They are required to critically think with the information they have memorized to clinically find the correct answer to what is happening. The physical therapy portion incorporates treatment plans or rehabilitation but is not the major portion of this examination. Similar to the first examination with boards part one the tests are multiple choice. These are still tests and not practicals after all.
This is the transition period of the learning experience in chiropractic school and the tests reflect this transition. The student is moving beyond regurgitating facts they know and are having to apply it to care situations. This transition is important because who wants to visit sugar land chiropractors who knows facts, knowns the epidemiology or the background of a particular illness or injury but can not diagnose that injury with a patient. Knowing all the facts of an injury or illness but not being able to apply that knowledge to the situation at hand is not the makings of a doctor. Doctors are required to apply clinical thinking which is the medical version of critical thinking to a situation. This patient has symptoms x y and z therefore they are suffering from condition b.
The final examination is the boards part three which include radiography interpretation where you read and x-ray images but also includes a practical examination. This is the culmination of the chiropractic education where you have to recall the facts you have memorized, utilize the practical skills you have developed and critically think to the answer. It is what being a doctors in a test setting is all about. I say that because it is still a test, it is not the real world but it is simulated to be as close to the real world as can be.
For sugar land chiropractors this board three was the final step before they were able to apply for their license to be an official doctor of chiropractic. After thousands of hours of classes and instruction. After a year in a clinical setting this is the final hurdle before the student is finished. I can personally attest to it being a great feeling once this final board examination is over. You feel accomplished afterwards.
Thank you for joining us for another great podcast. I do hope you found this information on the various board examinations required informational and interesting. Should you have questions for sugar land chiropractors please call Restoration Health today so we can get you an appointment scheduled. I hope to see you tomorrow for another great podcast. Thank you once again and have a good night.