Certification
Background/Mission of the Cox Certification Courses
63.7% of chiropractic physicians reported that they practice Cox Technic according to the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners in 2010. This statistic makes it one of the most popular techniques in chiropractic, one of only four in chiropractic that a majority of chiropractic physicians practice. However, only a few are certified, about 3.4% of 49,100 (by Bureau of Labor Statistics 2008) to 2.3% of 70,000 (by National Board of Chiropractic Examiners 2010 report).
To help physicians be more competent in their practices and patients be more confident in their choices of physicians to visit, the Cox Certification Program was established in 1991 at the National University of Health Sciences in Lombard (Chicago), Illinois, with Dr. James Cox. Chiropractic physicians (and students) may choose to take the certification examination. If passed, they are "certified".
Certification in Cox Technic Flexion Distraction and Decompression protocols establishes that certified physicians practice similarly. Patients may expect similar treatment from certified doctors should they be away from home and need care. Certified physicians are committed to providing the best care using the most current research data and information. They keep in touch with the latest findings by keeping their education and experience current via
post-graduate courses or via private study of the latest research and demonstrate their understanding of such via a patient case report publishing.
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Benefits of Certification
- Confidence in caring for the severe and routine low back patients. Don’t fear the antalgic sciatic patient.
- Inclusion in the referral directory
- Opportunity to have a personalized page for you and your practice on this website (example / info on page)
- Prestige of public and professional positioning as the low back doctor or spine physician of choice
- Refer with confidence to fellow physicians who treat similarly to you.
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Process
The Cox Certification Course is a two weekend process (
Part I and
Part II) culminating with the passing of a case report-based written and practical examination.
(Students from certain schools where a Cox Technic course is taught by an active certified physician may be exempt -- if they take the Part II course within 2 years from graduation -- from taking Part I although taking Part I after you take Part II to be certified is highly encouraged.)
Part II must be taken within 2 years of taking Part I (or from graduation if a student per the above description).
The exam — practical exam during which you review cases, determine the diagnoses and then demonstrate your acuity in treating the cases' patients as a Protocol 1 and a Protocol 2 patients as appropriate — is offered at PART 2 only.
Doctors remain on the list as ACTIVE CERTIFIED for two years. If the doctor does not
recertify by the end of the second year (January 1 of each year the list is updated.), the doctor's name is listed as inactively certified.
Recertification is available to maintain and active listing.
Part III courses are designed to advance the practical, clinical applications of Cox Technic and enjoyed by doctors who are re-certifying.
Definitions
"INACTIVELY CERTIFIED": The physician has taken and passed a practical examination in Cox Technic Flexion Distraction and Decompression procedures at some point reaching as far back as 1973. If he/she has not been recertified since 1/1/04, he/she is listed in the referral directory under INACTIVE DOCTORS.
“ACTIVELY CERTIFIED”: This physician has been certified for the first time in that past 2 years (in 11/08 or 11/09). This physician is listed as ACTIVE .
"Re-CERTIFIED": This physician has either (1) taken at least one refresher course in Cox Technic procedures since 1/1/04 [his/her original certification] or (2) has written a case report of a patient case which was handled using Cox® Decompression procedures. The physician's name is listed as ACTIVE.
The Referral Directory
Certification in Cox Technic Flexion Distraction & Decompression Adjustment & Manipulation (aka flexion-distraction) and listing in the referral directory is a responsibility as is maintenance of the listings as reliable. A patient seeking a practitioner who does this technique does so in hopes of finding a physician to care for his/her spinal condition with this technique on a flexion-distraction table in a similarly effective application as he or she has previously experienced.
The re-certification process enhances certified practitioners’ awareness and knowledge of the latest research, clinical outcomes and procedures related to Cox Technic as well as keeps the referral directory reliable.