J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 1996 Sep; 19(7): 463-8.

Description of integrated competency examination: tools to assess the chiropractic curriculum effectiveness and students' competency levels.

Traina AD, Goubran E, Gour NJ, Scaringe JG, Talmage DM, Wells K.

Clinical Science Division, Los Angeles College of Chiropractic, Whittier 90609-1166, USA.

Los Angeles College of Chiropractic (LACC) has developed a variety of methods to monitor the effectiveness of its competency based/problem-centered curriculum. The College introduced two Integrative Competency Examination courses (ICE I and ICE II) to assess the chiropractic program's effectiveness and students' competency levels. The ICE courses are pass/fail examinations that use a multistation, objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) format that involves standardized patients along with cognitive assessment of basic science information as methods of evaluation. ICE I requires students to perform psychomotor skills and interpret clinical data; ICE II requires students to perform at a higher level. They are directed to select, perform and interpret clinical data appropriately and correlate this data with relevant basic science information. Through these two levels of evaluation, the educational program, the individual courses and the competency level of each student are assessed. This paper describes the format, content and evaluation tools used in the ICE courses as well as the potential benefits of the courses.