Current through Reg. 50, No. 26; June 27, 2025
(a) An applicant
for a license to practice podiatry in this state must:
(1) be at least 21 years of age;
(2) pass at least 90 semester hours of
undergraduate college courses acceptable at the time of completion for credit
toward a bachelor's degree at an institution of higher education determined by
the department to have acceptable standards;
(3) graduate from a college of podiatry
approved by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education of the American
Podiatric Medical Association, and the college must have been so approved
during the entire period of the applicant's course of instruction;
(4) pass all required sections of the
American Podiatric Medical Licensing Examination;
(5) pass the jurisprudence
examination;
(6) successfully
complete at least one year of GPME in a program approved by the Council on
Podiatric Medical Education of the American Podiatric Medical Association with
a hospital, clinic, or institution acceptable to the department (successful
completion means the applicant must have finished the entire GPME program in
which the applicant matriculated; partial program attendance is not
acceptable)
(7) pay all applicable
fees;
(8) submit a completed
application in a form and manner prescribed by the department;
(9) submit all transcripts of relevant
college coursework, acceptable to the department;
(10) pass a criminal history background check
performed by the department;
(11)
provide proof of passage of a course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR);
and
(12) pass a National
Practitioner Data Bank query check performed by the department.
(b) At the discretion of the
executive director, the GPME requirement, which became effective in Texas on
July 1, 1995, may be waived if the applicant:
(1) has been licensed and in active podiatric
practice for at least five continuous years in another state; and
(2) demonstrates in the application to the
department an acceptable record from that state and all other states under
which the applicant has ever been licensed.
(c) At the discretion of the department, the
National Board Part III (formerly known as PM Lexis) requirement, which became
effective in Texas on January 29, 1992, may be waived if:
(1) the applicant has been in active licensed
practice for at least five continuous years, with an acceptable
record;
(2) the applicant has
successfully completed any other course of training reasonably required by the
executive director relating to the safe care and treatment of patients;
and
(3) the executive director
determines that the applicant has substantially equivalent experience and was
not required to pass a part of an examination related to the testing of
clinical skills when licensed in this or another state.
(d) A showing of an acceptable record under
this section is defined to include, but is not limited to:
(1) a showing that the applicant has:
(A) no civil or criminal judgement, in state
or federal court or other judicial forum, entered against the applicant on a
podiatric medical-related cause of action;
(B) no conviction of or deferred adjudication
for a felony;
(C) no dishonorable
discharge from military service; and
(D) no disciplinary action recorded from any
medical institution or agency or organization, including, but not limited to:
(v) professional organization;
(vi) governmental health organization; or
(vii) extended-care
facility.
(2)
If any judgment or disciplinary determination under this subsection, has been
on appeal, reversed, reversed and rendered, or remanded and later dismissed, or
in any other way concluded in favor of the applicant, it shall be the
applicant's responsibility to bring such result to the notice of the department
by way of certified mail along with any such explanation of the circumstances
as the applicant deems pertinent to the determination of admittance to
licensure in this state.
(3) The
applicant must obtain and submit to the department a letter directly from all
state boards under which they have ever been previously licensed stating that
the applicant is a licensee in good standing with each said board or that said
prior license or licenses were terminated or expired with the licensee in good
standing.
(e) The
department approves and adopts by reference the Standards and Requirements for
Approval of Residencies in Podiatric Medicine and Surgery and Procedures for
Approval of Residencies in Podiatric Medicine and Surgery adopted by the
Council on Podiatric Medical Education of the American Podiatric Medical
Association.
(f) The department
approves and adopts by reference the Standards and Requirements for Accrediting
Colleges of Podiatric Medicine and Procedures for Accrediting Colleges of
Podiatric Medicine adopted by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education of the
American Podiatric Medical Association.
(g) The department may require additional
information from an applicant who has been out of practice for more than two
years and require the applicant to complete additional education, examinations,
or training before issuing a license to ensure the applicant possesses
reasonable knowledge, skill and competence for the safe care and treatment of
patients.
(h) The applicant must
submit, in a form and manner prescribed by the department, evidence sufficient
for the department to determine that the applicant has met all the requirements
and any other information reasonably required by the department. Any
application, diploma or certification, or other document required to be
submitted to the department that is not in the English language must be
accompanied by a certified translation into English.
