You May Know More Than Your Score Reflects
Many students do not struggle because they are incapable or have not studied enough. They struggle because there is a disconnect between:
- What they learned in chiropractic school
- What they remember from their review
- How NBCE presents the information
- What the question is actually asking
- How to eliminate plausible distractors
- How anxiety affects their ability to retrieve information
I often work with students who clearly understand the concept being tested but repeatedly select the second-best answer. Their knowledge is not necessarily the problem. They may be missing a key word, overlooking an important clinical detail, or having difficulty distinguishing the best answer from another answer that is technically true but does not fully address the question.
During tutoring, we slow down and examine why one answer is better than the others. You will learn how to recognize the clues that make an answer the most complete, most specific, or most appropriate choice for the patient or situation presented.
Simply reviewing more material does not always correct this disconnect.
Individual tutoring allows us to examine your thought process and determine why you are missing questions. Once we identify the reason, we can work on the specific knowledge, clinical reasoning, question interpretation, testing strategy, or nervous-system tools you need.
The Socratic Method: Learning the “Why”
My tutoring uses the Socratic method, which means I ask focused questions that help you examine your reasoning and arrive at a deeper understanding of the material.
I do not want you to memorize that answer choice C was correct.
I want you to understand:
When you understand the “why,” you become less dependent on recognizing a question you have seen before.
You begin developing the critical-thinking skills to approach new questions, eliminate distractors, and apply your knowledge across different patient presentations.
A Completely Judgment-Free Zone
You never have to pretend that you understand something during a tutoring session.
Students sometimes hesitate to ask foundational questions because they believe they should already know the answer. However, missing one definition or underlying concept can interfere with your understanding of an entire topic.
WHAT STUDENTS THINK
"I should already know this."
- Hesitate to ask foundational questions
- Avoid subjects they feel behind on
- Assume one missing definition won't matter
WHAT'S ACTUALLY WELCOME
Ask anything. Really.
- The definition of a word
- A concept you never fully understood
- Why you keep missing a certain question type
- How two similar conditions differ
- How to study with ADHD, dyslexia, or anxiety
Tutoring Designed Around the Way You Learn
There is no single teaching method that works for every student.
Depending on your needs, I may use:
Analogies and
real-world examples
Repetition and
retrieval practice
Comparisons between similar diagnoses
Clinical patient presentations
Visual explanations
Step-by-step reasoning
Foundational review
Pattern recognition
Board-style
questioning
Active recall and
verbal processing
My teaching is neurodivergent-friendly and trauma-informed. Sessions are structured to challenge you without shaming or overwhelming you.
Support for Test Anxiety
Sometimes a student understands the material but cannot consistently access that knowledge during an examination.
When requested, tutoring can also incorporate tools to address test anxiety, including:
We can identify what happens in your thoughts and body when you encounter a difficult question, then develop practical tools to help you remain present and access your knowledge more effectively.
Because your nervous system matters as much as your score.
Who Is One-on-One Tutoring For?
Tutoring may be especially helpful if you:
WHICH EXAM
- Are preparing for NBCE Parts I, II, III, or IV
- Are preparing for the Physiotherapy examination
- Are a licensed doctor preparing for SPEC
- Are preparing for the CCSP examination
WHERE YOU'RE STUCK
- Have been unsuccessful on an examination before
- Have taken a board examination multiple times
- Have difficulty with board-style questions or clinical vignettes
- Need help identifying gaps in your knowledge
- Understand the concept but frequently select the second-best answer
HOW YOU LEARN
- Have ADHD, dyslexia, test anxiety, or another learning difference
- Speak English as a second language
- Have been out of school or practice for several years
- Want individualized guidance instead of another generic review
- Want to improve your clinical reasoning as well as your board performance
Why Combine Tutoring With a CBB Review Program?
FOUNDATION
The recorded Chiro Boards & Beyond program gives you an organized foundation.
+
APPLICATION
Tutoring allows us to apply that material directly to your individual needs.
Students who use both receive:
- Comprehensive content review between sessions
- Targeted practice during tutoring
- Individualized explanations
- Help identifying weaker areas
- Board-style question practice
- Test-taking strategies
- Accountability and study guidance
- Optional support for test anxiety
~100%
Students who have combined a Chiro Boards & Beyond review program with individualized tutoring have reported a success rate close to 100%.
This approach has helped students pass after multiple attempts, including those who had been unsuccessful six or seven times.
WHAT'S COVERED
20+ Hours of Detailed Clinical Review
The Chiro Boards & Beyond SPEC Review includes more than 20 hours of on-demand recorded instruction designed to provide the depth of review that may be especially valuable when you've been away from academic material for an extended period.
Revisit systemic disease, clinical presentations, laboratory concepts, diagnostic patterns, and the conditions you may not have reviewed in detail for years. We connect those concepts back to the way a patient might actually present.
Review spinal and extremity conditions regionally, comparing presentations and helping you distinguish diagnoses with overlapping findings. Instead of memorizing another list, we'll work on rebuilding the clinical pattern.
Chiropractic Technique and Procedures
Reconnect with the chiropractic procedures and technique concepts relevant to the examination, including material you may not routinely use in your current or previous style of practice.
You receive the detailed X-ray instruction incorporated into my Part III clinical review. You may or may not encounter actual radiographic films in the exact way you expect on your examination, but I intentionally include the deeper imaging review.
Imaging is another way to strengthen your understanding of pathology, clinical presentation, differential diagnosis, and the complete patient picture.
Bring the pieces together and think through what happens next.
- What does this patient need?
- What is appropriate?
- What needs additional evaluation?
- What changes the management decision?
This is where remembering information becomes clinical reasoning.
BUILT ON REAL TEACHING EXPERIENCE
More Than 20 Years of Board-Preparation Experience
Dr. I. Jo Kaleta, DC, CCSP, has more than 20 years of experience teaching chiropractic board preparation and has instructed more than 20,000 students.
She personally created comprehensive review programs for Parts I, II, III, IV, Physiotherapy, SPEC, and CCSP. Her students’ successes include perfect scores of 800 on National Board examinations, as well as students who passed after multiple previous unsuccessful attempts.
Throughout her career, Dr. Jo has helped students with learning disabilities, neurodivergent learners, and students for whom English is a second language become successful on their board examinations. Her supportive, judgment-free teaching approach meets each student where they are and adapts the material to the way they learn best.
Her experience in chiropractic practice, allopathic medical settings, sports medicine, and board instruction allows her to connect foundational knowledge with clinical reasoning, patient presentations, and the way information appears on National Boards.
Session Details
Session Length
Tutoring sessions are generally scheduled in two-hour increments. This gives us enough time to assess your reasoning, work through practice questions, address knowledge gaps, and reinforce the material without rushing.
Format
Sessions are held online through Zoom with screen sharing.
Investment
Individual tutoring is $90 per hour.
A standard two-hour session is $180.
Preparing for Your Session
Before your session:
- Write down any questions or concepts you want to discuss.
- Identify the subjects or question types that feel most difficult.
- Bring paper or a digital document for notes.
- Be prepared to work through practice questions in a supportive, judgment-free setting
Students may take notes during the session. Recording sessions or reproducing the practice questions used during tutoring is not permitted.
Frequently Asked Question
Do I need to purchase a CBB review program before scheduling tutoring?
How many tutoring sessions will I need?
What subjects can we cover?
Can you help me if I have failed several times?
Can you help with test anxiety?
Can I ask basic questions?
You Do Not Have to Keep Studying the Same Way
If you have put in the time but are still not seeing the results you need, it may not mean you need to work harder.
You may need someone to help you identify the gaps, organize the material, understand how questions are constructed, and develop a strategy that works with the way you learn.
Let’s determine what's keeping you from a passing score.
