Applicants for the NCA are staff members that are sponsored by their employer – a licensed healthcare practitioner. Previous experience of any kind is not required or necessary and the enrollee will not be expected or encouraged to directly analyze a patient case or determine a protocol without guidance. Staff members will be stepping up into a more active supportive nutritional role in the clinic. In addition to new skills, the enrollee will be provided with a clear path to implement process changes and become more hands-on.

The NCA Program has gone through 4 renditions, 3 learning platforms, and a total rework of the content, delivery and number of required hours. We are now entering the final phase - a more improved program with better flow and accountability. We reduced this entry level certification from 100 to 60 core hours so that participants can complete their required study in less time and apply these new skills sooner. We are still only charging enough to cover the costs of print materials and online participation – in exchange for mandatory and honest feedback, when requested. 

Even though this is a pilot program, Texas Chiropractic College has reviewed the required content and is sponsoring the certification. We expect to release the finalized course version in Fall 2023.

The final NCA Pilot Program will begin on March 30, 2023. The finalized program will offer 2-3 open enrollment periods each year so we can keep group activity on schedule.

The NCA program has 20 weeks of directed online lessons and a 4 week wrap-up period to review materials and take the final exam. We want NCA enrollees to use new information and skills in the clinic immediately, to be engaged in their position, and stay with their sponsoring practitioner for a long period of mutually beneficial employment. This 20-24 week timeframe will allow our staff to monitor enrollees so completion is achieved. Just like the ACN certification, we will not penalize anyone that doesn’t make that timeline happen, but we will set the pace for success.

The Whole Food Practice staff will send an online questionnaire to the sponsoring practitioner at the beginning and ½ way through the certification program. This questionnaire will require a brief exchange on expectations, new skills and application, confidence with patients, initiative in business or marketing strategies, and how we can help the enrollee get more from the program.

We recommend that the sponsoring practitioner schedule monthly discussions with the enrollee during this period to discuss roadblocks and resolutions, and to give the staff member the support they need to implement change in their expanding role.

If the practitioner is not concurrently enrolled in the ACN certification, they may purchase brief coaching sessions to discuss the new emerging NCA job role, pay changes, internal processes, nutrition integration and patient education. We do strongly suggest that a sponsoring practitioner participate in the ACN certification if they have staff members in the NCA, however, it is not a condition for staff participation. 

The final exam is a culmination of the required materials and quizzes, foundational nutrition concepts, and current nutritional topics relevant to supporting a whole food therapeutic practice. We will provide a comprehensive study guide that will walk you through important learning and provide examples of questions that may appear on the final exam. You may take notes in the guide and use it as an “open book” while taking your final examination.

The NCA final examination is a 60 question, online test that provides immediate scoring, wrong answer tips and additional topic reminders for continued learning after the exam. Questions will be formatted as multiple choice, true or false, matching or fill in the blank. Each enrollee must pass the exam with an 80% score or higher and it can be taken more than once in order to achieve this passing score. You may keep your resources and study guide open during this test, but you may not use the internet to search topics and answers.

We provide each potential enrollee and their sponsoring practitioner with ample time to ask questions during our complimentary discovery session and email exchanges. We will never pressure anyone into purchasing any certification programs. Once a practitioner or staff member submits their NCA application, receives notification of approval, and payment is processed, no refunds will be offered or negotiated.