Licensure Bills Move Forward in Multiple States
Last week, a handful of states took steps toward approving
bills that would make significant changes to licensure laws in their respective districts.
In Virginia,
SB 590 would allow the Virginia Board of Dentistry to grant a faculty
license to a graduate of a foreign dental school without examination, provided
the applicant has been granted a certification letter from the dean or program
director of an accredited dental program confirming the applicant has clinical
competency and clinical experience that meet the credentialing requirements.
The bill has passed the State Senate and will be considered by the Virginia House
of Delegates. Provisions of the bill will expire on July 1, 2025.
In Florida, SB 926 would require candidates for
initial licensure as dentists or dental hygienists to demonstrate clinical skills
on a manikin rather than a live patient. Specifically, dentists would be required
to perform restorations and demonstrate periodontal skills on a manikin that has
typodont teeth, as approved by the Commission on Dental Competency Assessments
(CDCA). Teeth used for restorations would simulate caries, while those used for
periodontal skills would simulate calculus. Dental hygienists would be required
to demonstrate clinical skills on a manikin that has typodont teeth with simulated
dentition and calculus as approved by CDCA.
This
bill has passed the Senate and an identical companion bill is moving through the House.
New Mexico’s HB 191 will expand the state’s portability
laws for number of professions, including those governed by the state’s Board
of Dental Health Care. If signed into law, the bill would require the Board to
issue an expedited license, without examination, to a dentist or dental hygienist
licensed in another licensing jurisdiction if the applicant holds a license that
is current and in good standing. The Board would still be granted some discretion,
as it would also be required to determine by rule the jurisdictions and foreign
countries from which it will not accept an applicant for expedited licensure.
A list of approved and unapproved jurisdictions would be required to be posted
on the Board’s website, along with a reason for the disapproval.
The bill has passed both chambers of the legislature and will
be sent to the Governor for consideration. Similar laws have
recently been signed
or implemented in Arizona, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri and Oklahoma. |
