Current through September 24, 2024
(1) Applicants graduating prior to January 1,
1992 - Unless applicants choose to qualify pursuant to paragraph (2), all such
applicants must, in addition to having successfully completed all parts of the
pre-1992 National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO)'s examinations, unless
waived, and the Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry or its
predecessor organization's examination, successfully complete the Board's
clinical examination which is Part III of the NBEO's examination
(a) The Board adopts as its written licensure
examinations those administered by the National Board of Examiners in Optometry
and the Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry or its predecessor
organization as they existed through December 31, 1991 for all applicants
graduating prior to January 1, 1992.
(b) The fees to take the examinations
administered by the National Board of Examiners in Optometry are set out and
collected by that organization.
(c)
The Board adopts the determination of the National Board of Examiners in
Optometry and the Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry as to the
passing scores for their respective examinations and certification directly
from the organizations of such applicant scores to the Board shall constitute
successful completion of those examinations.
(2) Applicants Graduating On or After January
1, 1992.
(a) All such applicants must
successfully complete all parts of the revised format National Board of
Examiners in Optometry's examination which includes clinical skills
assessment.
(b) The Board adopts as
its written licensure examinations those administered by the National Board of
Examiners in Optometry and the Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry or
its predecessor organization as they exist after January 1, 1992 for all
applicants graduating on or after January 1, 1992.
(c) The fees to take the examinations
administered by the National Board of Examiners in Optometry are set out and
collected by that organization.
(d)
The Board adopts the determination of the National Board of Examiners in
Optometry as to the passing scores for their examination and certification sent
directly from them to the Board of such applicant scores shall constitute
successful completion of those examinations.
(3) Jurisprudence Examination. All applicants
for licensure must successfully complete the Board's jurisprudence examination
as a prerequisite to licensure.
(a) The Board
shall mail a jurisprudence examination to all applicants for
licensure.
(b) The applicant shall
include a completed jurisprudence examination when his/her completed
application for licensure is sent to the Board's administrative office located
at 227 French Landing, Suite 300, Heritage Place, MetroCenter, Nashville, TN
37243.
(c) There is no fee for the
jurisprudence examination.
(d) The
scope and content of the examination shall be determined by the Board but
limited to statutes and regulations governing the practice of optometry
(Tennessee Code Annotated §§
63-8-101, et seq., and Chapter
1045-02 of the Official Compilation, Rules and Regulations of the State of
Tennessee). Copies of the applicable statutes and regulations can be obtained
at the Board's Internet web page, and are also available upon request from the
Board's administrative office.
(e)
The format of the examination shall be "open-book."
(f) Correctly answering ninety percent (90%)
of the examination questions shall constitute successful completion of the
jurisprudence exam.
(g) If the
Board determines that the applicant has failed to successfully complete the
jurisprudence examination, the applicant will be mailed another examination and
he/she must continue to retake the examination until it has been successfully
completed before the application will be deemed complete and presented to the
Board for consideration.
(4) The Board may, by majority vote, waive
the passage of Parts 1 and 2 of the National Board's Examinations for
applicants graduating prior to 1984 (the year in which Tennessee required
passage of the National Boards), provided the applicants meet each of the
following requirements:
(a) are duly licensed
to practice optometry in at least one other state;
(b) meet all other requirements for full
licensure under the Tennessee Optometry law; and
(c) provide the Board with letters of
recommendation from the Boards of Optometry where the applicants are licensed
and from federal service (military, veterans administration, public health,
etc.), if applicable and from accredited institutions of higher learning where
applicants have been optometric educators if applicable.
(5) Notwithstanding the above, the Board may,
by majority vote, waive the passage of al parts of the National Board's
Examination and may accept proof of clinical competency in lieu of submission
to clinical examination by the Board where the applicant is in good standing
and practicing in another state with clinical competency examinations
comparable to that of the State of Tennessee.
Authority: T.C.A. §§
4-5-202,
4-5-204,
63-8-112,
63-8-112(1) &
(3), 63-8-115, and 63-8-107(c).
