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.
1.2 TIME AND PLACE OF FILING. Applicants
pursuing licensure in the state of Arkansas by examination shall mail completed
applications together with necessary documents and fees to the Board by the
following dates:
|
Examination |
Deadline |
|
March |
December 15 |
|
July |
April 15 |
|
November |
August 15 |
Applications filed after the aforementioned deadlines will be
considered by the Board for the next scheduled examination.
2. EXAMINATION. All respiratory
care practitioners shall be required to pass an examination, approved by the
Board, 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.
2.1 TIME AND SUPERVISION.
Applicants for licensure shall be examined for licensure at a time and under
supervision as the Board may determine as stated in Arkansas Code Ann.
17-84-302.
2.2 FREQUENCY AND PLACE. All examinations
will be given in the city of Little Rock at a time and place published by the
Board. The Board shall give reasonable public notice of such examination and
deadlines in accordance with its rules at least sixty (60) days prior to its
administration.
2.3 PASSING SCORE.
The Board shall establish with recommendations from the Arkansas Respiratory
Care Examining Committee, the standards for acceptable performance for each
examination.
2.4 RE-EXAMINATION.
Any applicant who fails an examination and is refused a license may repeat the
examination upon payment of the prescribed fee.
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 may be
renewable at six (6) month intervals not to exceed a maximum of two (2) permits
per applicant.
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. This
re-registration fee shall be paid before or during the birth month of the
license holder beginning in 1998, and each year thereafter. The failure to
re-register and pay said fee by the last day of the birth month of the license
holder shall cause the license of any person so failing to re-register to
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 that the license has been delinquent.
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 |
|
Re-examination: |
$90.00 |
|
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 show documentation of completion of six (6)
continuing education units as a condition for renewal of licensure.
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 for 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 TYPES OF ACTIVITIES NOT ACCEPTABLE FOR
CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT.
The following activities are not acceptable for meeting
continuing education requirements:
a.
Unsupervised courses of study.
b.
Organization activity such as service on committees or councils or as officers
in a professional organization.
5.3 DOCUMENTATION. All licensed practitioners
shall submit documentation of completion of continuing education experiences on
such forms as the Board shall supply, upon renewal of the license. Acceptable
documentation is as follows:
a. Official
transcripts documenting completion of respiratory care course work.
b. A signed 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, signed by program
director.
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 educations 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.
d.
For passage of the National Board for Respiratory Care credential ling or
re-credentialling examinations for the entry level practitioner or the written
or clinical simulation or advanced practitioner, six-(6)-continuing education
unit wiIl 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
4.1:
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. On-site 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.
