A Survey Of Chiropractic Sports Certificants Regarding Publication Requirements
Author: W. J. Moreau, DC, DACBSP, CSCS Moreau Chiropractic Clinic, Estherville, Iowa
OBJECTIVE: To identify opinions of doctors of chiropractic certified as sports specialists regarding research and writing projects as a required component of a sports specialty certification.
METHODS: An e-mail invitation to participate in an anonymous survey was e-mailed to 1103 doctors of chiropractic who were certified and in good standing with their certification board the American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians (ACBSP). The individuals were provided a link to a ten question web based survey.
RESULTS: A total of two hundred sixty-six (N=266) doctors responded to the survey for a response rate of 24%. More than 23.7% of respondents indicated they were certified as a Diplomate of the American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians (DACBSP) and more than 66.9% of respondents indicated they were certified as a Certified Chiropractic Sports Physicians (CCSP). When asked “Are you in favor of the ACBSP eliminating the written requirement of the DACBSP?” The most common response was No 48.5 % (N=129), with 41 % (N=109) favoring the elimination of the requirement and 10.5 % (N=28) offering no opinion. Doctors certified as a DACBSP responded most commonly No 66.7% (N=42), with others responding Yes 27% (N=17) and Do Not Know 6.3% (N=4). Doctors who were a CCSP attempting to obtain the DACBSP certification (N=23) responded most commonly No 56.5% (N=13), with others responding Yes 39.1% (N=9). Doctors certified as a CCSP (N=155) who were not currently pursuing the DACBSP certification most commonly responded No 51% (N=79), with others responding Yes 37.4% (N=58), Do Not Know 11.6% N=18. When asked “Would you support 1,000 hours of “field experience” in place of the completing the written requirement?” a total of 265 respondents participated in this question. The common responses were No 44.9% (N=119) and Yes 43.4% (N=115), with 11.7% (N=31) responding Do Not Know. Doctors certified as a DACBSP (N=63) responded most commonly No 58.7% (N=37), with Yes as a response for 33.3% (N=21). Doctors who were a CCSP attempting to obtain the DACBSP certification (N=23) responded most commonly responded No 52.2% (N=12) with Yes 43.5% (N=10) as the second most common response. Doctors certified as a CCSP (N=154) who were not currently pursuing the DACBSP certification responded Yes 47.4% (N=73), No 40.3% (N=62) and Do Not Know 12.3% (N=19).
CONCLUSION: The responses represent the opinions of a small sample of sports certified chiropractors. This survey was designed to obtain the opinions of doctors of chiropractic who are certified as sports specialists regarding the importance of a written research project as a component of advanced certification in sports chiropractic. The responses indicate that the individuals surveyed favor keeping the DACBSP written research requirement in place regardless of their certification status. The responses also indicate that individuals who are a DACBSP or who are actively pursuing DACBSP certification do not favor using field experience in place of the written research requirement. CCSP certificants not pursuing the DACBSP did favor using field experience in place of the written research requirement. The data suggests certificants actively engaged in the DACBSP certification support a written research requirement as a part of the DACBSP certification.