Arkansas Administrative Code
Agency 060 - STATE MEDICAL BOARD
Rule 060.00.01-002 - Regulation 6 - Regulations Governing the Licensing and Practice of Occupational Therapists
Universal Citation: AR Admin Rules 060.00.01-002
Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 2, February 2024
1. APPLICATION FOR LICENSURE. Any person who plans to practice as a licensed occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant in the state of Arkansas shall, in addition to demonstrating his eligibility in accordance with the requirements of Section 7 of Act 381 of 1977, apply for licensure to the Board, on forms and in such a manner as the Board shall prescribe.
1.1 FORMS. Application forms can be secured
from the Arkansas State Medical Board.
1.2 FILING REQUIREMENTS. Completed
applications shall be mailed together with necessary documents and filing fee
to the Board. The filing fee is not refundable. Applications and documentation
must be completed within six months of date of receipt by the Arkansas State
Medical Board. Applications and documentation over six months old are voided
and the applicant must reapply.
1.3
BOARD ACTION ON APPLICANTS. Applications for licensure shall be acted upon by
the Board no later than its next regularly scheduled meeting following the
receipt of the required fee and all credentials.
2. EXAMINATION. All occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants are required to pass an examination, approved by the Board, for licensure to practice the profession in Arkansas, except as otherwise provided in Arkansas Code 17-88-103. The Board has adopted for this purpose the examination administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy for the certification of occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants. For this purpose the Board shall follow the schedule, format and acceptable passing scores set by the National Board for Certification of Occupational Therapy and its designated agent. Applicants may obtain their examination scores in accordance with such rules as the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy may establish.
2.1
RE-EXAMINATION. An applicant who fails an examination may make reapplication to
the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy for re-examination
accompanied by the prescribed fee. Any applicant who fails or misses three (3)
examinations must take additional educational work in the areas of his weakness
as determined by the Committee before being eligible for
re-examination.
3. LICENSING. All occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants must be licensed to practice in the state of Arkansas prior to practicing the profession.
3.1 BY EXAMINATION. The Board
shall register as an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant
and shall issue a license to any person who satisfactorily passes the said
examination provided for in these Rules and Regulations, and who otherwise
meets the requirements for qualification contained herein and pays a fee as
determined by the Board.
3.2 BY
WAIVER OF EXAMINATION. The Board may waive the examination and grant a license
to an occupational therapist (O.T.) or an occupational therapy assistant (OT-A)
if the person has:
(A) Prior to the effective
date of the Act was certified as a registered occupational therapist or an
occupational therapy assistant by the American Occupational Therapy
Association.
3.3
TEMPORARY LICENSES. The Secretary of the Board shall issue a temporary license,
without examination, to practice occupational therapy, in association with an
occupational therapist, licensed under the Act, to persons who have completed
the education and experience requirements of the Act and rules and who are
required to be licensed in order to obtain employment as an occupational
therapist or an occupational therapy assistant. The temporary license shall
only be renewed once if the applicant has not passed the examination or if the
applicant has failed to take the qualifying examination, unless the failure is
justified by good cause acceptable at the discretion of the Board, with
recommendation of the Committee.
3.4 RENEWAL.
(A) A renewal or re-registration fee shall be
paid annually to the Board by each occupational therapist and occupational
therapy assistant who holds a license to practice occupational therapy in the
State of Arkansas.
(B) Each
licensee must complete, answer truthfully, and provide such information on a
Renewal Application prior to being relicensed.
(C) Each occupational therapist and
occupational therapy assistant shall be required to complete ten (10) contact
hours of continuing education each year, as a prerequisite for license renewal
in the State of Arkansas. Credit for continuing education requirements may be
earned in the following manner:
(1) Workshops,
refresher courses, professional conferences, seminars, or facility-based
continuing education programs, especially those designated as provided for
occupational therapists. Hour for hour credit on program content
only.
(2) Professional
presentations, workshops, institutes presented by the therapist (same
presentation counted only once) and are considered on a hour for hour credit on
program content only; five (5) hour maximum per year.
(3) Formal academic coursework related to the
field of occupational therapy. One (1) to two (2) semester hour class
equivalent to five (5) contact hours. Three (3) to four (4) semester hour class
equivalent to ten (10) contact hours.
(4) Publications/Media; Research/Grant
activities. A request to receive credit for these activities must be submitted
in writting for approval, to the Arkansas State Occupational Therapy Examining
committee thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of the licence.
(5) Self-study.
(a) Book, journal or video reviews. Must be
verified by submission of a one (1) page typewritten review of the material
studied, including application to clinical practice, one (1) hour credit per
review; two (2) hour maximum per year.
(b) Self-study coursework verified by
submission of proof of course completion. The number of contact hours credited
will be determined by the Arkansas Occupational Therapy Examining Committee.
Course outline and proof of completion must be submitted to the Committee
thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of the license.
(6) Any deviation from the above continuing
education categories will be reviewed on a case by case basis by the Committee.
A request for special consideration or exemption must be submitted in writing
sixty (60) days prior to the expiration of the license.
(7) All continuing education programs shall
directly pertain to the profession of occupational therapy. The Committee will
not pre-approve continuing education programs. All licensees shall submit
documentation of completion of continuing education experiences, upon renewal
of the license. Acceptable documentation is as follows:
(a) Official transcripts documenting
completion of academic coursework directly related to the field of occupational
therapy.
(b) A signed verification
by a program leader or instructor of the practitioner's attendance in a
program, by letter on letterhead of the sponsoring agency, certificate, or
official continuing education transcript, accompanied by a brochure, agenda,
program or other applicable information indicating the program
content.
(c) A letter from a
practitioner's supervisor on the agency's letterhead, giving the names of the
continuing education programs attended, location, dates, subjects taught, and
hours of instruction.
(8) Therapists receiving a new license will
not be required to submit for continuing education credit during the first
partial year of licensure. Failure to submit verification of continuing
education for renewal will result in issuance of a "failure to comply"
notification. If requirements are not met within ten days of receipt of the
notification, disciplinary action may be taken. If the continuing education
submitted for credit is deemed by the Committee to be unrelated to the
profession of occupational therapy, the applicant will be given three months to
earn and submit replacement hours. These hours will be considered as
replacement hours and cannot be counted during the next licensure period. If
the applicant feels the continuing education credit has been denied
inappropriately, the applicant may appeal the issue to the Board for
determination within thirty days of the date of receiving notice from the
Committee. The Board will be responsible for maintaining all of the records
involved in the continuing education requirements set forth in this regulation.
The re-registration fee and proof of continuing education completed, as set
forth above, shall be presented to the Board and the Committee before or during
the birth month of the license holder each year. Failure to re-register and
comply with the continuing education requirements by the last day of the birth
month of the license holder of that year shall cause the license of the
occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant in question to
automatically expire. This requirement becomes effective 1993 with the first
submission of continuing education credits being required in January of
1994.
3.5
REINSTATEMENT. Any delinquent license of less than five (5) years may be
reinstated, at the discretion of the Board by,
(A) Paying all delinquent fees and a penalty
of Twenty Five and No/100 (S25.00) Dollars for each year or part of a year he
has been delinquent, and
(B) by
providing proof of completion of the continuing education requirement for each
year, and
(C) completing the
Renewal Application provided by the Board.
Any person who shall fail to re-register and pay the annual license fee for five (5) consecutive years shall be required to make reapplication to the Board before his license may be reinstated.
4. REFUSAL, REVOCATION, AND/OR SUSPENSION OF LICENSE. The Board after due notice and hearing may deny or refuse to renew a license, or may suspend or revoke a license, or impose such penalties as provided by the Practice Act, where the licensee or applicant for license has been guilty of unprofessional conduct which has endangered or is likely to endanger the health, welfare, or safety of the public. Such unprofessional conduct shall include:
(A) Obtaining a license by means of fraud,
misrepresentation or concealment of material facts; or providing false material
to the Board at application or renewal.
(B) Being guilty of unprofessional conduct or
gross negligence as defined by rules established by the Committee, or violating
the Code of Ethics adapted and published by the Committee;
(C) Treating or undertaking to treat,
ailments of human beings otherwise than by occupational therapy, as authorized
by the Act;
(D) Being convicted of
a crime other than minor offenses defined as "minor misdemeanors",
"violations", or "offenses", in any court, except those minor offenses found by
the Board to have direct bearing on whether one should be entrusted to serve
the public in the capacity of an occupational therapist or occupational therapy
assistant;
(E) Use of any drug or
alcohol to an extent that impairs his ability to perform the work of an
occupational therapist with safety to the public;
(F) Being adjudged to have a mental condition
that renders him unable to practice occupational therapy with reasonable skill
and safety to patients.
5. FEES. The fees are as follows:
|
OT |
OTA |
|
|
A. Application Fee |
S25.00 |
S25.00 |
|
B. Full License Fee |
$50.00 |
$25.00 |
|
C. Temporary Permit Fee |
$25.00 |
$25.00 |
|
D. Reinstatement Fee |
$50.00 |
$50.00 |
|
All delinquent fees plus S25.00 late fee per year for each year delinquent up to five (5) years, |
||
|
E. Annual Renewal Fee |
$50.00 |
S50.00 |
|
F. Renewal Late Fee |
$25.00 |
S25.00 |
6. DEFINITIONS
6.1 ACT DEFINED. The term Act as
used in these rules shall mean the Arkansas State Occupational Therapy
Licensing Act 381 of 1977.
6.2
FREQUENT AND REGULAR SUPERVISION DEFINED: As specified in the Occupational
Therapy Practice Act
17-88-102(3)
An "occupational therapy assistant" means a person licensed to assist in the
practice of occupational therapy under the frequent and regular supervision by
or in consultation with an occupational therapist whose license is in good
standing. "Frequent" and "regular" are defined by the Arkansas State
Occupational Therapy Examining Committee as consisting of the following
elements:
(A) The supervising occupational
therapist shall have a legal and ethical responsibility to provide supervision,
and the supervisee shall have a legal and ethical responsibility to obtain
supervision regarding the patients seen by the occupational therapy
assistant.
(B) Supervision by the
occupational therapist of the supervisee's occupational therapy services shall
always be required, even when the supervisee is experienced and highly skilled
in a particular area.
(C) Frequentf
Regular Supervision of an occupational therapy assistant by the occupational
therapist is as follows:
(1) The supervising
occupational therapist shall meet with the occupational therapy assistant for
on-site, face to face supervision a minimum of one (1) hour per forty (40)
occupational therapy work hours performed by the occupational therapy
assistant, to review each patient's progress and objectives.
(2) The supervising occupational therapist
shall meet with each patient being treated by the occupational therapy
assistant on a monthly basis, to review patient progress and
objectives.
(D) The
occupational therapists shall assign, and the occupational therapy assistant
shall accept, only those duties and responsibilities for which the occupational
therapy assistant has been specifically trained and is qualified to perform,
pursuant to the judgment of the occupational therapist.
(1) Assessment/reassessment. Patient
evaluation is the responsibility of the occupational therapists. The
occupational therapy assistant may contribute to the evaluation process by
gathering data, and reporting observations. The occupational therapy assistant
may not evaluate independently or initiate treatment prior to the occupational
therapist's evaluation.
(2)
Treatment planning/Intervention. The occupational therapy assistant may
contribute to treatment planning as directed by the occupational therapist. The
occupational therapist shall advise the patient/client as to which level of
practitioner will carry out the treatment plan.
(3) Discontinuation of intervention. The
occupational therapy assistant may contribute to the discharge process as
directed by the occupational therapist. The occupational therapist shall be
responsible for the final evaluation session and discharge
documentation.
(E)
Before an occupational therapy assistant can assist in the practice of
occupational therapy, he must file with the Board a signed, current statement
of supervision of the licensed occupational therapist(s) who will supervise the
occupational therapy assistant. Change in supervision shall require a new
status report to be filed with the Board.
(F) In extenuating circumstances, when the
occupational therapy assistant is without supervision, the occupational therapy
assistant may carry out established programs for up to thirty calendar days
while appropriate occupational therapy supervision is sought. It shall be the
responsibility of the occupational therapy assistant to notify the Board of
these circumstances.
(G) Failure to
comply with the above will be considered unprofessional conduct and may result
in punishment by the Board.
6.3 DIRECT SUPERVISION OF AIDES DEFINED.
(A) The occupational therapy aide as defined
in
17-88-102(4)
means a person who aids a licensed occupational therapist or occupational
therapy assistant in the practice of occupational therapy, whose activities
require an understanding of occupational therapy but do not require
professional or advanced training in the basic anatomical, biological,
psychological, and social sciences involved in the practice of occupational
therapy.
(B) The aide functions
with supervision appropriate to the task as determined by the supervisor. This
supervision is provided by the occupational therapists or the occupational
therapy assistant. The aide is not trained to make professional judgments or to
perform tasks that require the clinical reasoning of an occupational therapy
practitioner. The role of the aide is strictly to support the occupational
therapist or the occupational therapy assistant with specific non-client
related tasks, such as clerical and maintenance activities, preparation of a
work area or equipment, or with routine client-related aspects of the
intervention session.
(C) Any
duties assigned to an occupational therapy aide must be determined and
appropriately supervised on-site, in-sight daily by a licensed occupational
therapist or occupational therapy assistant and must not exceed the level of
training, knowledge, skill and competence of the individual being supervised.
Direct client related duties shall require continuous visual supervision by the
occupational therapist or the occupational therapy assistant. The Board holds
the supervising occupational therapist professionally responsible for the acts
or actions performed by any occupational therapy aide supervised by the
therapist in the occupational therapy setting.
(D) Duties or functions which occupational
therapy aides shall not perform include the following:
(1) Interpreting referrals or prescriptions
for occupational therapy services;
(2) Performing evaluative
procedures;
(3) Developing,
planning, adjusting, or modifying treatment procedures;
(4) Preparing written documentation of
patient treatment or progress for the patient's record;
(5) Acting independently or without on-site,
in-sight supervision of a licensed occupational therapist during patient
therapy sessions.
(E)
Services provided by an Occupational Therapy Aide cannot be billed as
Occupational Therapy.
(F) Failure
of licensee to supervise an Aide as described herein will be considered as
unprofessional conduct and may result in punishment by the Board.
7. PRINCIPLES OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY ETHICS OF THE AMERICAN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY ASSOCIATION.
The Occupational Therapy Examining Committee has adopted the statement on ethics of the American Occupational Therapy Association as the standard of ethical practice for Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy Assistants licensed in the state of Arkansas. A violation of these principles and code of ethics will be considered as unprofessional conduct and may result in disciplinary action by the Board, as defined in the practice act and the administrative procedure act.
The American Occupational Therapy Association's Code of Ethics is a public statement of the values and principles used in promoting and maintaining high standards of behavior in occupational therapy. The American Occupational Therapy Association and its members are committed to furthering people's ability to function within their total environment. To this end, occupational therapy personnel provide services for individuals in any stage of health and illness, to institutions, to other professionals and colleagues, to students, and to the general public.
The Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics, is a set of principles that applies to occupational therapy personnel at all levels. The roles of the practitioner [occupational therapist and occupational therapy assistant), educator, fieldwork educator, supervisor, administrator, consultant, fieldwork coordinator, faculty program director, researcher/scholar, entrepreneur, student, support staff, and occupational therapy aide are assumed.
Principle 1. Occupational therapy personnel
shall demonstrate a concern for the well-being of the recipients of their
services (beneficence).
(A) Occupational
therapy personnel shall provide services in an equitable manner for all
individuals.
(B) Occupational
therapy personnel shall maintain relationships that do not exploit the
recipient of services sexually, physically, emotionally, financially, socially
or in any other manner. Occupational therapy personnel shall avoid those
relationships or activities that interfere with professional judgment and
objectivity.
(C) Occupational
therapy personnel shall take all reasonable precautions to avoid harm to the
recipient of services or to his or her property.
(D) Occupational therapy personnel shall
strive to ensure that feel are fair, reasonable, and commensurate with the
service performed and are set with due regard for the service recipient's
ability to pay.
Principle
2. Occupational therapy personnel shall respect the rights of the
recipients of their service (e.g. autonomy, privacy, confidentiality).
(A) Occupational therapy personnel shall
collaborate with service recipients or their surrogate(s) in determining goals
and priorities throughout the intervention process.
(B) Occupational therapy personnel shall
fully inform the service recipients of the nature, risks, and potential
outcomes of any interventions.
(C)
Occupational therapy personnel shall obtain informed consent from subjects
involved in research activities indicating they have been fully advised of the
potential risks and outcomes.
(D)
Occupational therapy personnel shall respect the individual's right to refuse
professional services or involvement in research or educational
activities.
(E) Occupational
therapy personnel shall protect the confidential nature of information gained
from educational, practice, research and investigation activities.
Principle 3.
Occupational therapy personnel shall achieve and continually maintain high
standards of competence (duties).
(A)
Occupational therapy practitioners shall hold the appropriate national and
state credentials for providing services.
(B) Occupational therapy personnel shall use
procedures that conform to the Standards of Practice of the American
Occupational Therapy Association.
(C) Occupational therapy personnel shall take
responsibility for maintaining competence by participating in professional
development and educational activities.
(D) Occupational therapy personnel shall
perform their duties on the basis of accurate and current
information.
(E) Occupational
therapy practitioners shall protect service recipients by ensuring that duties
assumed by or assigned to other occupational therapy personnel are commensurate
with their qualifications and experience.
(F) Occupational therapy practitioners shall
provide appropriate supervision to individuals for whom the practitioners have
supervisory responsibility.
(G)
Occupational therapists shall refer recipients to other service providers or
consult with other service providers when additional knowledge and expertise
are required.
Principle
4. Occupational therapy personnel shall comply with laws and
Association policies guiding the profession of occupational therapy (justice).
(A) Occupational therapy personnel shall
understand and abide by applicable Association policies; local, state, and
federal laws; and institutional rules.
(B) Occupational therapy personnel shall
inform employers, employees, and colleagues about those laws and Association
policies that apply to the profession of occupational therapy.
(C) Occupational therapy practitioners shall
require those they supervise in occupational therapy related activities to
adhere to the Code of Ethics.
(D)
Occupational therapy personnel shall accurately record and report all
information related to professional activities.
History: Adopted June 15, 1978; Amended December 11, 1992; March 12, 1993; December 4, 1997; February 2, 2001; April 6, 2001
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Arkansas may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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