Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 2, February 2024
1.
APPLICATION FOR LICENSURE. Any person who plans to practice as a licensed
respiratory care practitioner (LRCP) in the state of Arkansas shall, in
addition to demonstrating eligibility in accordance with the requirement of
Arkansas Code Ann.
17-84-302
or
17-84-303,
apply for licensure to the Board on forms and in such manner as the Board shall
prescribe.
1.1 FORMS. Application forms may be
secured from the Arkansas State Medical Board.
2. EXAMINATION. All respiratory care
practitioners shall be required to pass an examination for a license to
practice the profession in Arkansas, except as otherwise stated in Arkansas
Code Ann.
17-84-301.
It is not the intent of the Board to examine for licensure as a respiratory
care practitioner those individuals engaged solely in the practice of pulmonary
function testing.
3. LICENSING. All
respiratory care practitioners in the state of Arkansas must be licensed to
practice, except as otherwise stated in Arkansas Code Ann.
17-84-301.
3.1 BY EXAMINATION. The Board shall register
as a respiratory care practitioner and shall issue a license to any person who
satisfactorily passes the examination provided for in the Act 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 shall waive the examination and grant a
license as a licensed respiratory care practitioner (LRCP) to any person who
meets the qualifications outlined in Arkansas Code Ann.
17-84-302.
1.3 TEMPORARY LICENSE. The secretary of the
Board may issue a temporary permit without examination to practice respiratory
care to persons who are not licensed in other states but otherwise meet the
qualifications for licensure set out in the Act. The temporary permit may be
renewable at six (6) month intervals not to exceed a maximum of two (2) permits
per applicant. *A temporary permit will be issued to respiratory care students
based on the following criteria:
a. Students
must be enrolled in an AMA approved Respiratory Care program as specified in
Section 7.4, entering their last semester
of technical training.
b. Students
must submit a notarized copy of their current school transcript and a letter of
recommendation that states the expected graduation date from their program
director.
c. Students will practice
limited respiratory care under the supervision of a licensed respiratory care
practitioner, as specified in Section
7.2 & 7.3.
3.4 RECIPROCITY. A licensed
respiratory care practitioner who has been issued a license in another state or
territory whose qualifications for licensure meet or exceed those prescribed in
the Act shall be issued a license to practice respiratory care in the state of
Arkansas upon payment of the prescribed fees if the state or territory from
which the applicant comes accords a similar privilege of licensure to persons
licensed in this state by the Board.
3.5 RENEWAL. A license or re-registration fee
of $25.00 shall be paid to the Board by each respiratory care practitioner who
holds a license to practice respiratory care in the state of Arkansas.
Registration fee shall be paid by the last day of the birth month. The license
of any person failing to re-register and pay said fee by the last day of the
birth month shall expire automatically.
3.6 REINSTATEMENT. Any delinquent license of
less than five (5) years may be reinstated by paying all delinquent fees and a
penalty of $10.00 for each year or part of a year he has been delinquent. Any
person who shall fail to re-register and pay the annual fee for five (5)
consecutive years shall be required to be re-examined by the Board, as per Rule
2, before his license may be reinstated.
3.7 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, of any licensee or applicant for
licensure:
(a) Who is habitually drunk or who
is addicted to the use of narcotic drugs;
(b) Who has been convicted of a violation of
state or federal narcotic laws.
(c)
Who is, in the judgement of the Board, guilty of immoral or unprofessional
conduct.
(d) Who has been convicted
of any crime involving moral turpitude;
(e) Who is guilty, in the judgement of the
Board, of gross negligence in his practice as a respiratory care
practitioner.
(f) Who has obtained
or attempted to obtain registration by fraud or material
misrepresentation;
(g) Who has been
declared insane by a court of competent jurisdiction and has not thereafter
been lawfully declared sane;
(h)
Who has treated or undertaken to treat ailments to human beings other than by
respiratory care and as authorized by this Act, or who has undertaken to
practice independent of the prescription and direction of a licensed
physician.
4.
FEES. The fees are as follows:
Initial application for licensure by examination or by
reciprocity: $75.00
An applicant whose application is rejected shall be refunded all
but $25.00 of the paid application fee.
Application for temporary permit: $35.00
Annual renewal: $25.00
Reinstatement: All delinquent fees plus a penalty of $10.00 per
year for all years delinquent.
5. CONTINUING EDUCATION. All respiratory care
practitioners licensed by the Board in the state of Arkansas must complete
twelve (12) continuing education hourly units as a condition for renewal of a
license. Each licensee will sign his renewal application verifying that he has
completed said twelve hours and will maintain, for a period of three years,
proof of the courses taken, should it be requested by the Board for audit
purposes.
5.1 TYPES OF ACCEPTABLE CONTINUING
EDUCATION.
The following categories of experience will be accepted for
meeting the continuing education requirements:
a. Courses completed in the techniques and
application of respiratory therapy care provided through an approved
respiratory care educational program.
b. Participation in programs which provide
for the awarding of continuing respiratory care education, continuing education
units or equivalent credits which may be granted through national or state
organizations such as the American Association of Respiratory Care, Arkansas
Society for Respiratory Care, American Thoracic Society or the American College
of Chest Physicians, or their successor organizations.
c. Instruction in programs as described in
the preceding sections (a,b) provided such instruction is not related to one's
employment responsibilities.
d.
Passage of the National Board for Respiratory Care credentialing or
re-credentialing examinations for the entry level practitioner or the written
or clinical simulation for advanced practitioners.
e. Any activity completed within the 12
months prior to the issuance of the initial license.
5.3 DOCUMENTATION. All licensed practitioners
shall submit documentation of completion of continuing education experiences on
such forms as the Board shall supply, upon request by the Board. Acceptable
documentation is as follows:
a. Official
transcripts documenting completion of respiratory care course work.
b. A signed notarized certification 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 sponsoring institution on
the agency's letterhead giving the name of the program, location, dates,
subjects taught, and hours of instruction.
d. A notarized copy of the official
transcript indicating successful passage of the National Board of Respiratory
Care credentialing or re-credentialing examinations for the entry level
practitioner or the written or clinical simulation for advanced
practitioners.
5.4
CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT. Continuing education credits will be awarded based
on the following criteria:
a. For completed
applicable respiratory care course work, five (5) continuing education units
will be awarded for each semester credit or hour successfully
completed.
b. For programs
attended, continuing education units will be awarded as stated in the program
literature or one (1) continuing education unit will be awarded for each hour
of instruction.
c. For instruction,
three (3) continuing education units will be awarded for each clock hour of
respiratory care instruction, signed by program director.
d. For passage of the National Board for
Respiratory Care credentialing or re-credentialing examinations for the entry
level practitioner or the written or clinical simulation or advanced
practitioner, six (6) continuing education units will be awarded.
e. Any activity approved by the Arkansas
Respiratory Care Examining Committee.
5.5 FAILURE TO COMPLETE THE CONTINUING
EDUCATION REQUIREMENT. A practitioner who has failed to complete the
requirements for continuing education as specified in Section 5:
a. May be granted up to a three (3) month
extension at which time all requirements must be met.
b. A practitioner may not receive another
extension at the end of the new reporting period.
5.6 EXCESSIVE CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS.
Credits reported on the Board which exceed the required number as
specified in Section
4.1 shall not be credited to the
new reporting period.
5.7
HARDSHIP. The Board has considered hardship situation in formulating these
sections.
5.8 The provisions of
this Section (5-5.8) shall become effective January 1, 1989.
6. DEFINITIONS.
6.1 ACT DEFINED. The term Act as used in
these rules shall mean Act 1094, the Arkansas Respiratory Care Act of
1995.
6.2 NATIONAL CREDENTIALS
DEFINED. The National Board of Respiratory Care issues the credentials of
C.R.T.T. (Certified Respiratory Therapy Technician) and R.R.T (Registered
Respiratory Therapist). Persons holding these credentials meet the
qualifications for licensure in the state of Arkansas until otherwise
determined by the Board.
6.3 STATE
CREDENTIALS DEFINED. Persons who have met the qualifications and obtained a
license in the state of Arkansas shall be designated by the credentials of
L.R.C.P. (Licensed Respiratory Care Practitioner).
7. OTHER DEFINITIONS.
7.1 STUDENT. A Person currently enrolled in
an accredited, approved training program who is actively engaged in the
clinical practice of respiratory care at the level of their clinical
education.
7.2 LIMITED. The
clinical practice of respiratory care shall be restricted to the level of
current and progressive clinical training as provided by an accredited,
approved training program in respiratory care. The definition applies to
respiratory care students.
7.3
SUPERVISION. Supervision by a licensed respiratory care practitioner who is
responsible for the functioning of the practitioner.
7.4 APPROVED TRAINING PROGRAM. Respiratory
care programs approved by the Arkansas State Board of Higher Education or like
organizations in other states.
8. Members of the Arkansas Respiratory Care
Examining Committee will be paid the sum of $35.00 per day per diem when they
are meeting as a Committee.
History: Adopted May 25, 1988; Amended September 8,1995, December
4, 1997; Revised March 5, 1999; *Revised February 4, 2000; Amended December 6,
2001