12 (c) Provides for verification of his or her license, on a form provided by the department, by the licensing agency of any state of the United States or province of Canada in which the applicant holds a current license or ever held a license as an ...

(6) An applicant shall hold a license granting therapeutic prescriptive certification at the highest level authorized in any state of the United States or province of Canada where he or she currently practices.

 

R 338.254  School or college Professional optometric degree program; approval standards.

 

 

Rule 4. (1) The board approves and adopts by reference in these rules the standards of the accreditation council on optometric education set forth in the publication entitled “Accreditation Manual: Professional Optometric Degree Programs” of July, 1976, revised June 2004, which govern school or college of optometry accreditation. provide for the accreditation of professional optometric degree programs.

(2)   A school or college of optometry professional optometric degree program accredited by the accreditation council on optometric education may be approved by the board.

(3)   A school or college of optometry professional optometric degree program that is not accredited by the accreditation council on optometry education may be approved by the board if it meets the standards in subrule (1) of this rule.

(4)   Copies of the standards accreditation manual of the accreditation council on optometric education are available free of charge from the American Optometric Association, 243 N. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63141 or from the association’s website at http://www.aoa.org. Printed copies also are available for inspection and distribution at cost from the Department of Consumer and Industry Services Community Health, Ottawa Building, 611 W. Ottawa, P.O. Box 30670, Lansing, MI 48909., for a cost of $6.00 as of the time of adoption of these rules.

 

R 338.255  Michigan board of optometry examination; eligibility. Rescinded.

Rule 5. (1) To be eligible to sit for the Michigan board of optometry examination, an applicant shall file a completed application on a form provided by the department, together with the requisite fee, and shall submit evidence of having completed a program in optometry from a dean of a school or college of optometry approved by the board not less than 30 days before the date of the examination and shall establish that he or she has achieved a minimum scaled score of 75 on all parts of the examination given by the national board of examiners in optometry or its successor organization, or the testing agency currently recognized or endorsed by the association of regulatory boards of optometry or its successor organization. Final transcripts shall be submitted to the department before a license is issued.

(2) An applicant who fails to achieve a minimum scaled score of 75 on each part of the Michigan board of optometry examination within 2 attempts shall be required to retake and achieve a minimum scaled score of 75 on all parts of the examination in each subsequent sitting.

 

R 338.256b  Adoption of standards and criteria by reference.

Rule 6b.  (1) The board approves and adopts by reference the standards and criteria of the council on optometric practitioner education (cope) that are set forth in the publication entitled “Information and Application for Course Qualification,” July 2003.  A copy of the publication may be obtained at no cost from the Council on Optometric Practitioner Education, 1750 S. Brentwood Boulevard, Suite 503, St. Louis, MO 63144 or from the council’s website at http://www.copeonline.org http://www.arbo.org.  Printed copies also are available for inspection and distribution at cost from the Department of Community Health, Bureau of Health Professions, Ottawa Building, 611 W. Ottawa, P.O. Box 30670, Lansing, MI 48909.

(2) A continuing education program that has been approved by cope is considered approved by the board.

 

R 338.257  Relicensure.

 

 

Rule 7. (1)  An individual whose license has been null and void for less than 3 years under section 16201(3) of the code lapsed may be relicensed upon satisfying both of all of the following requirements:

(a)     Submission of Submitting the application and fees.

(b)     Submission of Submitting 40 hours of continuing education in programs approved by the board, as provided in R 338.2566, that have been earned within the 2-year period immediately preceding the date of the application.  If an individual is certified to administer therapeutic pharmaceutical agents, as provided in R 338.275, at least 20 of the continuing education hours shall be in the category of pharmacological management of ocular conditions.

(2) An individual whose license has been null and void for more than 3 years under section 16201(4) of the code may be relicensed upon compliance with subrule (1) of this rule and upon satisfying either of the following requirements:

  (a) Establish that the applicant has been licensed and engaged in the practice of optometry in another state and successfully completed the board’s jurisprudence examination.

  (b)  Take and pass the board’s examination.

(c)   Achieving a minimum scaled score of 75 on the examination of Michigan laws and rules related to the practice of optometry that is administered by the department.

 

R 338.258 Limited licenses.

Rule 8. (1) All of the following provisions apply to a clinical academic limited license:  (a) An application for a clinical academic limited license shall be made on forms provided

by the department and approved by the board.

(b) To be eligible for a license, the applicant shall have graduated from a college or school of optometry approved by the board and meet all of the requirements of the code and rules promulgated thereto.

(c) To be eligible for a license, the applicant shall provide evidence of holding an appointment to a clinical academic position in a college of optometry or school of optometry approved by the board, which college or school is located in the state of Michigan.

(d)The certificate of licensure issued by the department shall clearly state “clinical academic limited license” on its face and shall also show the college or school at which the licensee holds an appointment.

(e) Applicants for renewal of the clinical academic limited license shall submit evidence of having met the continuing education requirements of R 338.256.

(f)The practice of a licensee holding a clinical academic limited license shall be limited to the college or school of optometry identified in subdivision (d) of this subrule.  The licensee shall not hold himself or herself out to the public as being actively engaged in the practice of optometry and shall not directly solicit patients.

(2) All of the following provisions apply to a nonclinical limited license:

(a) An application for a nonclinical limited license shall be made on forms provided by the department and approved by the board.

(b) To be eligible for a nonclinical limited license, the optometrist shall be involved in research, administration, or other scientific activities not involving direct patient care.

(c) To be eligible for a nonclinical limited license, the applicant shall have graduated from a college or school of optometry approved by the board and meet all of the requirements of the code and rules promulgated thereto.

(d)Applicants for renewal of the nonclinical limited license shall submit evidence of having met the continuing education requirements of R 338.256.

 

 

(e) The holder of a nonclinical limited license shall not provide direct patient care and shall not hold himself or herself out to the public as being actively engaged in the practice of optometry.

(3)All of the following provisions apply to a postgraduate educational limited license: (a) An application for a postgraduate educational limited license shall be made on forms

provided by the department and approved by the board.

(b)To be eligible for a postgraduate educational limited license, the applicant shall provide evidence of being accepted into, or presently enrolled in, a postgraduate educational program in a college or school of optometry approved by the board, which school or college of optometry is located in the state of Michigan.

(c) To be eligible for a postgraduate educational limited license, the applicant shall have graduated from a school or college of optometry approved by the board.

(d)                       The certificate of licensure issued by the department shall clearly state “postgraduate educational limited license” on its face and shall designate the school or college at which the licensee will be involved in the postgraduate educational program.

(e)The holder of a postgraduate educational limited license shall not hold himself or herself out to the public as being actively engaged in the practice of optometry and shall not directly solicit patients.

Rule 8. (1) The board may issue an educational limited license, as provided under section 16182(2)(a) of the act, to an individual who has graduated from a board-approved professional optometric degree program, or who will graduate from the program not more than 3 months after applying for an educational limited license, and who is enrolled in a postgraduate course of study or participates in a residency program that is offered by the United States department of veterans affairs or a board-approved institution.

(2)  The board may issue a clinical academic limited license, as provided under section 16182(2)(c) of the act, to an individual who is a graduate of a board-approved professional optometric degree program and who is employed as a faculty member at a board- approved professional optometric degree program.  An optometrist who is licensed under this subrule may perform procedures upon patients while employed as a faculty member at a board-approved professional optometric degree program, if these procedures are performed under the general supervision of a faculty member who is fully licensed as an optometrist. An individual who is licensed under this subrule shall not do either of the following:

(a)  Hold himself or herself out to the public as being engaged in the practice of optometry other than as a faculty member.

(b)   Provide optometric services outside of his or her employment as a faculty member.

(3)  An individual who applies for a limited license under section 16182(2)(a) or (c) of the act shall meet all of the following requirements:

(a)  Comply with section 16174 of the act.

(b)  Submit proof of graduation from an accredited professional optometric degree program that is approved by the board or from a non-accredited professional optometric degree program that is approved by the board, as provided in R 338.254.

(c)   Submit proof of appointment to either of the following, as applicable:

(i)   A postgraduate course of study or a residency program, as provided in subrule (1) of this rule.

(ii)   A faculty position at a board-approved professional optometric degree program, as provided in subrule (2) of this rule.

 

 

(4)   Limited licenses, as described in subrules (1) and (2) of this rule, shall be renewed annually at the discretion of the board.

(5)   Applicants for renewal of a clinical academic limited license shall submit evidence of having completed 10 hours of board-approved continuing education in pharmacological management of ocular conditions required for the year.

 

R 338.259  Patient records; referral of patients for care.

Rule 9. (1) Patient records shall contain all of the following information:

(a)  The name of the examining optometrist.

(b)  The chief complaint or reason for the examination.

(c)   The results of each procedure performed.

(d)  The assessment of findings.

(e)     The management disposition, including a referral recommendation, if appropriate.

(2) The records shall be retained by the licensee or assignee for not less than 7 years.

(2) (3) If, in the course of the examination of a patient, an optometrist, in his or her professional judgment, determines the presence of a condition that requires evaluation or treatment which is outside the scope of practice of optometry, then it is the professional responsibility of the optometrist to refer the patient for further care.

 

R 338.261 Assessment of fines. Rescinded.

Rule 11. (1) When a fine has been designated as an available sanction for a violation of sections 16221 to 16226 of the code, in the course of assessing a fine, the board shall take into consideration the following factors without limitation:

(a) The extent to which the licensee obtained financial benefit from any conduct comprising part of the violation found by the board.

(b) The willfulness of the conduct found to be part of the violation determined by the board. (c) The public harm, actual or potential, caused by the violation found by the board.

(d) The cost incurred in investigating and proceeding against the licensee.

(2) A fine shall not exceed the sum of $5,000.00 for each violation found to have been committed by the licensee.

 

R 338.270 Advertising; Signage; name of optometrist.

Rule 20.  Whenever professional services are advertised, offered by any unregistered person, firm or corporation, maintaining entity that maintains an optometric department or employs a licensed optometrist, the name of the optometrist in charge providing services must appear in sufficiently large type and in a prominent place so as to afford the public the opportunity of easily ascertaining it.  This rule also applies to signs both inside and outside of the office or building wherein the optometrist practices.

 

R 338.275  Certification to administer topical ocular diagnostic pharmaceutical agents; application; qualifications; adoption of standards.

Rule 25. An applicant for certification to administer a topical ocular diagnostic pharmaceutical agent in the practice of optometry shall submit a completed application, on a form provided by the department, together with the requisite fee.  In addition to meeting the other requirements of the code and the rules promulgated pursuant thereto to the code, an applicant shall satisfy all of the following requirements:

 

 

(a)   Successfully complete a course of study in general and clinical pharmacology. The applicant shall be considered to have successfully completed the required course of study upon being granted the credit hours designated for the course of study by the teaching institution where the course is offered.

(b)   Establish a board-approved emergency treatment plan for the management and referral of patients who experience any adverse drug reaction.

(c) Submit to a board-approved examination on the subject of general and ocular pharmacology as it relates to the practice of optometry, and achieve a score on the examination of not less than 75%.  If an applicant fails the examination, it may be retaken upon payment of the requisite fee.

 

UNETHICAL AND ETHICAL CONDUCT

 

R 338.291 Unethical and ethical conduct.

Rule 1.  Unethical conduct is conduct contrary to the ethics of the optometric profession. Ethical conduct consists of an optometrist’s compliance with all both of the following provisions:

(a)     Advising a patient if consultations with an optometric colleague or reference for other professional care seems advisable.

(b) Verifying frame specifications and the power of all lenses processed from the prescription for the protection of the patient against errors.

(c)   (b) Avoiding holding himself or herself out in a manner that carries any intimation that the optometrist has superior skill or equipment or is superior to other optometrists.