Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 9, September, 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.
3.3 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 is valid
for six (6) months and is not renewable.
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 $40.00 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
they have been delinquent. They will also be required to submit twelve (12)
continuing educational units (CEU's) for each year 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 their
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 judgment 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 judgment of the
Board, of gross negligence in their 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: |
$40.00 |
|
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 their
renewal application verifying that they have 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.
5.2 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.
5.3
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 (RRT), Adult Critical Care Specialty Examination (ACCS), Certified
Respiratory Therapy Sleep Disorders Specialist Examination (CRT-SDS),
Registered Respiratory Therapy Sleep Disorders Specialist Examination
(RRT-SDS), Neonatal/Pediatric Specialty Examination (NPS), Certified Pulmonary
Function Technologist (CPFT), and Registered Pulmonary Function Technologist
(RPFT), six (6) continuing education units will be awarded.
e. Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support
(ACLS), Neonatal Advanced Life Support (NALS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support
(PALS), Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP), and Sugar, Temperature, Airway,
Blood work, Lab work, and Emotional support for the family (STABLE) are awarded
six (6) CEU's on initial and/or re-certifications.
f. Any activity approved by the Arkansas
Respiratory Care Examining Committee.
5.4 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. Only active licensees 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.
5.5 EXCESSIVE CONTINUING EDUCATION
CREDITS.
Credits reported to the Board which exceed the required number as
specified in Section 5 shall not be credited to the new reporting
period.
5.6 HARDSHIP. The
Board has considered hardship situation in formulating these
sections.
5.7 The provisions of
this Section (5 - 5.7) 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 for Respiratory Care issues the credentials of
C.R.T. (Certified Respiratory Therapist) 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; Amended October 6, 2005; Amended October 4, 2012;
Amended June 5, 2014.
