One detail-oriented person can recognize another. Thank you for submitting your observations of spelling and typographical errors on the Certification Exam for Structural Integration as well as your suggestions of how the exam could be improved.

I would like to share a story that I feel puts this into a relevant context. Many years ago when I was working as a cardio-thoracic surgical nurse at the University of Rochester Medical Center, the lead nurse practitioner wrote a “Patient Handbook” which included things such as “What to expect before surgery,” “Post operative care instructions,” etc. She had at least a dozen people, including other nurse practitioners, staff nurses and cardiac surgeons review and edit her booklet before publication. Not one person noticed that the biggest (full sized) picture of lungs was upside down. To this we thanked the patient who pointed out the error, and made the correction on the next edition.

The moral to the story is this: All professional people practiced in publishing have their work edited. Despite the best intentions, occasionally something slips by. In the case of the CESI, there may have been a misspelling or a typographical error that was not noticed, and we thank you for bringing it the attention of Tom Myers, and through him, to me. If your comments were also written in the margins of your exam booklet, directly to CBSI using the Candidate Feedback Form or through direct e-mail, the persons in charge of those responsibilities received them.

To end, thank you again for being “that person” who noticed.

Because you clearly have an eye for detail I invite you to participate as a CBSI committee member on one of two projects that come to mind.

The first is to submit exam questions for consideration in the next version of the CESI that will be administered later in 2010. The deadline for such submissions is February 1, 2010. All information for this process can be found on the CBSI website – click on the Getting Involved section http://www.siexam.org/?q=involved. The process would look something like this: Lets say someone, Tom Myers for example, submitted 10 questions and of those, 4 were accepted to be used on the exam or become part of the test bank. The questions as he wrote them may not be recognized as such as they go through a stringent process including changing a question from a “Correct Answer Item” to a “Best Answer Item” as well as language and gender control. One reason for this is that the exam has been designed to test differently than other forms of bodywork and therefore should not be compared to massage, acupuncture, physical therapy, etc. CBSI item writing has also been designed so that CBSI could continue the steps necessary for the CESI to be taken through the accreditation process as set forth by the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE).

This brings me to the second opportunity for you to participate in this challenging and rewarding process. This year, one of my personal projects is to write the application for ICE. It is a lengthy, detailed and important step. I would consider you an asset to work with on the Accreditation Committee should you like to come on board.

Thank you again for the care you have shown by writing in to share your thoughts, your time and attention.

Sincerely,

Carrie Gaynor, RN, BSN, KMI, BCSI
CBSI Secretary / Treasurer
Chair: Finance Committee
Co-chair: Exam Communications Committee

Before continuing in my response, I would like to take a moment to remind everyone of the confidentiality statement that is in place regarding exam content. As a CBSI board member, and specifically as one of the Co-Chairs of the Exam Communications Committee, I make the following statements to provide a clear set of boundaries for the scope of these conversations.

Each person who writes in to provide feedback on the Certification Exam for Structural Integrators (CESI ) has taken the exam. Before the exam begins, each candidate reads (along with the proctor’s spoken words) the Confidentiality Statement, which I have provided below. This is also part of the application process, and can be found on-line as it is part of the application form. http://www.siexam.org/sites/default/files/CBSIexamApp.pdf

CERTIFICATION BOARD FOR STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT
“By taking this certification examination for structural integrators, I agree that I will neither copy nor retain examination questions or other confidential examination materials in any form or by any means and that I will not transmit examination questions or other confidential examination materials in any form or by any means to any other person or organization.”
__________________________________________ Signature
__________________________________________ Name (Please Print)
__________________________________________ Date

CBSI works from the highest of ethical standards and that will be upheld in this and all forms of communication.

Thank you for your future acknowledgement of these standards.

I would like to mention that while this environment lends itself to a broad accessibility, the following measures are already in place for the SI community to communicate directly with CBSI, on any relevant topic.
o Upon completion of the CESI, a candidate feedback form is provided to
each person with directions for communicating directly with CBSI
specifically for the purpose of evaluating their experience.
o Secondly, as part of the examination directions, each proctor reads
verbatim “You may write in your examination booklet.” It is not unusual
for people to record their thoughts, which allows the booklet to also
serve as a communication tool between the candidate and CBSI.
o Thirdly, the CBSI website (http://www.siexam.org/) has a ‘contact us’
button with ‘ready made’ communication channels for your convenience.
http://www.siexam.org/?q=contact

Kind Regards,

Carrie Gaynor, RN, BSN, KMI, BCSI
CBSI Secretary / Treasurer
Chair: Finance Committee
Co-chair: Exam Communications Committee

Dated: 04 Jan 10

Timing is everything and since i have not visisted this blog in —- who knows, i find it ironic that i just happen here today. I will have a few posts to this entry over the next few days - but i thought that short term it would help the conversation to have everyone read this article by CBSI board member, Shonnie Carson.

The Facts about the Certification Exam for Structural Integrationsm
By Shonnie Carson RN, BSN, ANP, CAR, BCSIcm
CBSIsm Board Member

September 2009 marks the point whereby 269 Structural Integration practitioners have taken the Certification Exam for Structural Integration. Of those who have taken, 233 candidates have passed and have become the first Board Certified Structural Integrators in the world. That is an 83% pass rate. Yet, CBSI receives questions and concerns about the exam that indicate there is some confusion and misinformation. As a board member I would like to take this opportunity to provide you with information about the most commonly expressed questions and concerns.

Why is the certification exam important?

A psychometrically-valid exam is developed using statistically valid methods and is accredited by the National Organization for Competency Assurance, (NOCA). Such an exam is the primary legal tool that helps define the boundaries of a profession. Without a certification exam there is no legal way to protect our profession from untrained or badly trained practitioners claiming competence as Structural Integrators. This type of exam is recognized as valid by licensing agencies, legislatures, insurance agencies and other professionals. The certification exam is developed according to the standards required by the National Organization for Competency Assurance, (NOCA) and the American National Standards Institute, (ANSI). These organizations are the national and international accrediting agencies for these exams. Certification makes the exam legally useful in every country, province and state.

As the exam becomes more widely known throughout the bodywork professions it will notify bodywork schools, faculties and practitioners that SI is a profession requiring specific training and skills. Creating the exam was the crucial first requirement. Taking the exam is the second step. This validates the exam. The more SI practitioners that take it, the more important the exam becomes, and the more we become able to define ourselves and maintain our integrity as a separate profession.

What is the exam like?

The exam is a multiple choice test consisting of 120 questions. The passing score is 84, which is 70% of the total questions. A passing score would be correctly answering 70% or more of the exam questions. The questions on the test were deliberately designed to have more than one correct response which is how certification exams are required to be written. This aspect is commented on frequently by frustrated candidates. The candidate is asked for the “most appropriate” or “best” choice, which tests for a deeper, analytical understanding of the knowledge base. These types of questions present you with choices that require some thinking and judgment in addition to basic knowledge.

I have a lot of anxiety about taking the exam – what if I don’t pass?

At the present time the majority of people taking the Exam are passing. This is considered an excellent indicator of the validity of the exam. We are told this indicates that the exam committee did its job well – they created a fair, but not easy exam. Candidates that pass are notified of “pass” status and awarded the certification, Board Certified Structural Integrator(cm). Candidates that do not pass are notified of their status and receive their scores in each of the five test sections to help them determine in what areas they need further study. Candidates that did not pass are encouraged to repeat the exam. CBSI does provide an on-line study guide to assist all candidates to prepare themselves for the exam.

Exam scores are diligently safeguarded. Only two of the CBSI(sm) board members know these scores. They are careful to avoid listings or announcements that would in any way embarrass candidates that have not passed the exam.

“Test Anxiety” is normal. Nearly everyone who takes an important examination feels anxious. We would encourage you to remember that the passing score is only 84, and if you should not pass on the first attempt, simply look upon it as a learning curve. The exam is for all practitioners of SI who have graduated from an IASI recognized training program or have met CBSI’s mentored/exceptions training standards. The difficulty level is designed so that most recent graduates should pass.

How was the test developed and who developed it?

Work on this exam began in 2005. In May 2006, IASI hired Dr. Gerald Rosen, a professional psychometrist who works with organizations creating certification exams. He guided us through the difficult and demanding standards of NOCA, and the ANSI.

It was a legal necessity to create an independent organization to administrate the exam. The Certification Board for Structural Integrators(sm) (CBSI) was created as a subsidiary of IASI. The CBSI has its own bylaws, Board of Directors, and is financially independent from IASI. The CBSI started with a grant from IASI of $100,000 to accomplish this task.

Over 80 Structural Integration practitioners and faculty from all of the SI schools and seven countries participated in the development of this exam. Participation included development of the Practice Analysis, item writing and review, and exam finalization.

An open invitation was sent at several stages for volunteers to help with the development of this exam. If you missed out on helping with this one, don’t worry…in the fall of 2009, we will need another group of volunteers to help write more exam questions. We would like to invite you to contact us to participate in this process. Please visit the Exam Writers section on the CBSI website (www.siexam.org) for more information.

Hopefully you now have a much better understanding of what a huge undertaking this has been to develop this exam, and why it is important to the maturation of SI as a profession.

If you have additional questions about the exam please send them to info at siexam dot org.

I think they’re a great way for newbies to learn about how to present. I’ve done a half-dozen of them over the past year, and they have helped immensely. I’m presenting at the mothership of formal Ignites, igniteportland.com, Thursday of this week and can’t wait!

Many of today’s youngsters learn Powerpoint (or Keynote on the Mac) presentations as an integral component of their secondary education. Those folks have shed the awkwardness that comes with the format, but it’s something the rest of us can do as adults.

I recommend getting some experience organizing this format so you can advise others if it’s a useful thing for them to do. The nice part about rapid-presentation formats is that they’re rapid! Portland runs through 10 presentations with a 30-second pause between each — you get through that block in just under 55 minutes.

For instruction that has pauses over months, I think rapid presentations would be a great way for students to get re-acquainted and re-engaged with each other. Students who volunteer to prepare a presentation will have a huge benefit in dealing with the material they present. The constraints of this format remind me of Feldenkrais and how well humans master skills while under constraint.

Do the scientists participating in the FRC have any recommendations how clinicians should approach and think about science? I really like the approach of The Teaching Company (teach12.com) in its presentation of science. Viewing a course of two from there may be a good place for clinicians to see how scientists think. I particularly love Strogatz’s “Chaos” course — and believe that research by these applied biologists could bear fruit into structural research in the future.