The National Certification Board hit a bump in the road this weekend when Whitney Lowe resigned from the Advanced Certification Task Force, citing differences of opinion over how the project should proceed.
In a letter to NCB staff and fellow Task Force members, Lowe acknowledged the effort that has been put forth during the process, and expressed his concern about the timeline of the process, which he feels is being rushed to the detriment of the project.
His resignation stated in part, “I have long felt our profession is in need of an advanced credential. I recognize it is not an easy task and there are a number of people who have put forth significant efforts on behalf of this process. It is a complex issue and requires a great deal of thought, input, and insight into what is best for the profession. I have been greatly dismayed by the process that has been used so far to create this credential. Crucial discussions have been brushed aside in a rush to meet an unrealistic timeline for deployment of this exam. Yesterday we were informed that the eligibility criteria had been established and a job task analysis would be begun in approximately two weeks.”
Lowe went on to say that he felt many concerns that he had brought up about possible flaws in the exam construction had been ignored or glossed over, and that he could no longer support the process being used to create the exam.
Just a few days ago, I wrote in this blog that there was something going on at the NCB–that they were actually listening to the stakeholders–a dramatic improvement from the past few years–but apparently, I may have spoken too soon, as Lowe feels as if they weren’t listening to him. Since Lowe is universally respected in our profession and is in fact a former chair of the NCBTMB, one can assume that he has valid concerns, and his abrupt resignation from the Task Force is not reassuring.
I contacted Paul Lindamood, CEO of the NCBTMB, for a comment, after I received a copy of Lowe’s resignation. Speaking on behalf of the Advanced Certification steering committee, Lindamood’s comment was “We were very sorry to see Whitney drop out of the project. He is an acknowledged expert in his field, and we will miss his participation. We want to thank him for his input and advice while he was part of the task force.”
Lindamood went on to share further details about the project:
The coordination of all major tasks required to develop a new credential follows an established timeline designed by experts in exam creation. Both the steering committee and the test vendor, Pearson VUE, have approved the timeline. Note that it is flexible and can be revised as needed.Tasks are assigned to different subgroups. The work of these subgroups may go on concurrently. The Exam Development timeline will be available for review on NCBTMB’s website next week at www.ncbtmb.org.
The Needs Assessment, a description of what an Advanced Credential should be, is based on input from people in the field. This information was obtained through a Needs Assessment survey, which was circulated nationally to all certificants directly, as well as practitioners through the assistance of ABMP and AMTA, among others. The responses, totaling nearly 7,000, serve as the body of information used by the task force to determine some very important things that form the basis of the test.
According to Lindamood, subgroups have made preliminary determinations and the task force members are commenting amongst themselves in two key areas:
(1) the definition of Advanced Certification as provided by the Needs Assessment, and
(2) the eligibility requirements to sit for the exam.
His statement said, “Overall, the progress of the group has been as planned. We are excited at the direction emerging from these very engaged and committed task force members. Bear in mind that this is a project that people feel very passionate about, and we expect there will be an occasional bump in the road. We know that close communication and tolerance will keep the team unified and the project moving forward.”
I don’t expect that Whitney Lowe’s departure is going to stop the NCBTMB from forging ahead with this project, and only time will tell whether or not Lowe’s obviously heartfelt concerns prove to be true. It’s no little irony that the NCB criticized the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards and accused them of rushing the MBLEx to the market. Now it appears they may be doing the same thing. A flawed exam will not stand up to scrutiny for long, and Pearson Vue, the test administrators, wouldn’t risk their own reputation in the testing industry just to pacify the Federation or the NCB. Along with everyone else, I’ll be waiting to see what happens, and reporting on that here.
Lindamood stressed that the NCB would post continuous updates on the process on the website beginning next week. He urges those who have any questions about the project to email advanced@ncbtmb.org.
Peace & Prosperity,
Laura Allen
October 26th, 2009 at 5:43 am
It will be interesting to see what develops as the months roll by. I am curious which crucial discussions were brushed aside in a rush to meet the unrealistic timeline.
October 26th, 2009 at 11:04 am
Well, if there was one time when there needs to be a “Let’s take our time and get it right” attitude by the NCB, it’s now, isn’t it? Since the new exam will be voluntary then the type of therapist that might be interested will more than likely make sure it’s worth their time and money. Hearing that there’s the possibility that there is not enough time and thought being put into it isn’t exactly a great thing from a marketing standpoint, is it?
As for the numbers: 265,000 therapists in the US (that’s low end number given by AMTA) , with 90,000 therapists of those therapists being nationally certified and only 7,000 responses? Even if you just looked at the figures and “presumed” that only that nationally certified responded, that would be an 8% response rate, from a national standpoint it’s around 2.5%. What does this say? It could be that no one cares, it could be that not enough therapists were reached to give feedback and it could also mean that they are creating an exam that might not really reflect what is wanted/needed? Interesting……
Thanks for the update, Laura!
October 26th, 2009 at 11:26 am
After much in depth soul-searching and ruminating, I decided to drop my support of the NCBTMB because I thought they were not heading in a direction that was good for our profession. The very existence of the Federation test was enough proof that somehow they could not play well with others who disagree with their way of doing things. When they announced that they would be offering insurance in direct competition with other professional organizations, I knew something else was wrong with their thinking. Then when I heard we would be finally getting an advanced certification option, I thought, maybe they were on track and I was cautiously optimistic. But Mr. Lowe’s departure from the project just shows that once again, they may be too rigid in their thinking or way of doing things. I will keep my eye out for their success and I hope they can get it together at some point, but until then, I’m out. We need to recognize that the more we work together, the stronger we will be in the end. The more fractionated we become the more our profession will be discredited and disregarded. A shame since Mr. Lowe’s work and the work of countless others who have been around for a long time has been proven effective over and over again by many people.
October 26th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Personally, I think the NCBTMB and its’ directors, board members etc are ALL ludicross. Their total approach to testing, credentialling, certifying leaves much to be appreciated. The population is aging as are the therapists, not all the therapists today are sweet young things, many of us are older, more settled may have physical/mental impairments that dictate ability to successfully pass even undertake the understanding of their exams. I know I will not be stretching for further credentials or certifications. My happy content returning clients are the only proof of ability I require.
October 26th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
I am very disappointed to hear that Whitney Lowe has resigned from the Advanced Cert task force. He is a brilliant educator and has experience developing tests for credentials. This is a great loss to the committee.
November 24th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
It is very concerning that Whitney Lowe has resigned. He brought professionalism and credibility to the whole project.