On April 16th, 2018, Governor Walker of Wisconsin signed into law legislation that removed the arbitrary, higher National Board of Chiropractic Examiners scores and in the process completed the six-year project by the members of the Chiropractic Society of Wisconsin to end the efforts to block young chiropractors from entering Wisconsin.
The higher exam scores were enacted in 2012 in Wisconsin. The National Board of Chiropractic Examiners’ passing scores were 375 on both parts in 2012. But applicants in Wisconsin now had to get a score of 438 on the third part and 475 on the fourth part. Maryland required 438 on the third part, and North Carolina and West Virginia require 475 on the fourth part, but no other state requires both, said Horace Elliott, executive vice president of the national board, according to Dave Walburg of the State Journal in Madison (See link below) .
Under the guise of raising standards, the higher scores were initiated by the Wisconsin Chiropractic Association. The result was to discourage new chiropractors from practicing in the state. With no real marketing to bring more chiropractors into Wisconsin by the WCA, it is obvious that the intention of the WCA was to limit chiropractic utilization. And it worked. New chiropractors being licensed in the state decreased.
Quoting from their press release, Steven Conway, D.C., the Executive Director of the C.S.W. said: “I personally believe the most important moment of this six-year project for the entire chiropractic profession in Wisconsin can be summed up with one of the key and deciding moments related to the first efforts by the CSW to remove the Wisconsin exam.
“I vividly remember a meeting with our legislative champion. The WCA had put on a very successful, full court press using all of their resources to stop the CSW’s efforts. I was told that the game was essentially over as the WCA had convinced the legislative leadership to keep the flawed Wisconsin exam and that the CSW should stand down. However, I knew that as an organization we could not quit on these young doctors or quite frankly our profession, so I let him know that the chiropractors associated with the CSW never quit on what we believe in and instead of folding we did just the opposite and increased our efforts. At the time, we didn’t know how we were going to win; we just knew that losing was not an option we could accept. That underlying purpose to fight against all odds resulted in a victory for the chiropractic profession and the hundreds of young chiropractors who had to suffer through the failed Wisconsin exam.” (Link below.)
All members of the CSW should be congratulated for their dedication and hard work in achieving this win for chiropractic. In this time of increased opioid use, non-drug solutions are more important than ever before. Chiropractic has always been a popular and effective choice for the residents here in Wisconsin and the CSW has done them a great service helping to bring more chiropractors to the state.
Of special note is own Mr. David Michel for his generous work in personally working with the CSW as a member of its Board of Directors. I know he has unselfishly put in long hours over the years to help and all of us at Petty Michel and Associates commend him… with pride! Yea Dave!
Below are some links to more information about the history of this fight.
Report from State Journal in Madison, 2013