 |
Ohio Administrative Code (Last Updated: January 12, 2021) |
 |
4725 Ohio Vision Professional Board |
|
Chapter4725-3. Examination and Licensing |
4725-3-08. Requirements for licensure by endorsement,dispensing optician or ocularist educated outside the United States of America
-
The board will recognize for licensure by endorsement any optometrist meeting the requirements of section 4725.18 of the Revised Code who has an active license in good standing issued by another state board of optometry or a province in Canada.
The applicant for licensure by endorsement must meet the qualifications as set forth in divisions (A) and (B)(1) to (B) (4) of section 4725.12 of the Revised Code. The applicant must provide proof of being in an active practice of optometry including the use of therapeutic pharmaceutical agents, for at least three years immediately preceding the application. The board may require that the applicant pass all or part of the licensing examination accepted by the board under section 4725.11 of the Revised Code if the board determines that testing is necessary to determine the applicants qualifications for issuance of a certificate of licensure and therapeutic pharmaceutical agents certificate under this paragraph.
If the applicant has not been involved in an active practice of optometry for the past three years the board may require additional testing as deemed necessary. The minimum requirement for such non-practicing applicants to be granted licensure by endorsement would be passing scores in the clinical skills section of the examination given by the national board of examiners in optometry or any equivalent examination as determined by the board.
Applicants licensed after May 19, 1992 must have passed the testing requirements of the national board of examiners in optometry as stated in the Ohio law. Applicants licensed prior to May 19, 1992 must have passed the national board of examiners in optometry examinations or a state test equivalent to the Ohio examination at the time the applicant was licensed in that state.
(A)
The board may require copies of all testing given by the state or province from the state board or province in which the applicant was initially examined to determine that the test was equivalent to the Ohio examination at the time the applicant was licensed in that state or province.
(B) All applications for initial licensure as a dispensing optician or ocularist in Ohio by endorsement shall be submitted to the board in a form designated by the board.
(C) Applications shall be:
(1) Accompanied by the fee in a form established by the board; and,
(2) Accompanied by such evidence, statement, or documents as specified on the application form, including but not limited to:
(a) Verification of licensure in good standing received directly from the state of the current licensure or registration at the time of application; and,
(b) Shall submit to criminal records check completed by the bureau of criminal identification and investigation in accordance with section 4725.501 of the Revised Code. The results of the criminal records check shall be received by the board prior to the issuance of a license to practice as a dispensing optician. In accordance with this rule, the applicant requesting the criminal records check shall:
(i) Provide the bureau of criminal identification and investigation with the applicant's name and address and with the name and address for the Ohio vision professionals board; and,
(ii) Cause a records check to be conducted with the federal bureau of investigation regarding applicant.
(3) The board will only accept the results of a criminal records check that is submitted to the board directly by the bureau of criminal identification and investigation.
(D) An applicant for initial licensure by endorsement as a dispensing optician shall:
(1) Be at least eighteen years of age;
(2) Be of good moral character;
(3) Be a graduate of a secondary school recognized by the state department of education in this state, or similar educational agency in another state or has attained an educational equivalent such as proof of having successfully passed the general educational development (GED) examination or a GED certificate of high school equivalency diploma.
(4) Have successfully completed either of the following:
(a) A two-year college level program in optical dispensing approved by the board that includes, but is not limited to, courses of study in:
(i) Mathematics;
(ii) Science;
(iii) English;
(iv) Anatomy and physiology of the eye;
(v) Applied optics;
(vi) Measurement and inspection of lenses, lens grinding and edging;
(vii) Ophthalmic optics;
(viii) Ophthalmic lens design;
(ix) Keratometry; and,
(x) Fitting and adjusting of spectacle lenses, frames and contact lenses, including methods of fitting lenses and post-fitting care; or,
(b) Two years of supervised experience of at least one thousand hours per year in optical dispensing as a registered apprentice under the direct supervision of a licensed optician; or,
(c) Two years of supervised experience as an employee and under the direct supervision of an optometrist or physician engaged in the practice of ophthalmology.
(d) Not more than one year of such experience may be continuous, supervised optical laboratory experience of not less than thirty hours per week.
(5) The applicant has successfully completed the state board national qualifying examination for either the spectacle dispensing license, the contact lens dispensing license or combination of both examinations for a spectacle-contact lens dispensing license.
(E) If an application for licensure by endorsement submitted to the board remains incomplete for one year, the application shall be considered void.
(F) The appropriate license and wall certificate shall be issued by the board no later than sixty days after approval by the board.
(G) All applications for licensure as an optician or ocularist, educated outside the United States of America, shall be submitted to the board on the appropriate application as designated by the board.
(H) Applications shall be:
(1) Accompanied by a non-refundable fee in a form established by the board and as prescribed in division (B) of section 4725.48 of the Revised Code; and,
(2) Accompanied by such evidence, statements or documents as specified on the application form including but not limited to:
(a) An official transcript in English from the education program submitted to the board directly by the program administrator or designee that includes information sufficient for the board to determine whether the program has educational content and requirements that are substantially similar to those set forth in rule 4725-3-01 of the Administrative Code; or,
(b) Evidence satisfactory to the board of completion of an apprentice program that meets the requirements of section 4725.48 of the Revised Code.
(c) Evidence satisfactory to the board that the applicant has successfully completed the appropriate state board national qualifying examination for the license sought.
(I) An applicant for licensure as a dispensing optician or ocularist, educated outside the United States of America shall:
(1) Be at least eighteen years of age;
(2) Be of good moral character;
(3) Be a graduate of a secondary school substantially similar to a high school equivalency diploma.
(4) For a license as a dispensing optician, have completed the requirements as established in rule 4725-3-01 of the Administrative Code.
(5) For a license as an ocularist, have completed the requirements as established in rule 4725-3-01 of the Administrative Code.
(J) In addition to the requirements of this rule, all optician and ocularist applicants for licensure under this section, shall submit to criminal records checks completed by the bureau of criminal identification and investigation in accordance with section 4725.501 of the Revised Code.
(K) If an application for licensure, under this section, by an optician or ocularist that is submitted to the board remains incomplete for one year, the application shall be considered void.
(L) The appropriate license and wall certificate shall be issued by the board no later than sixty days after approval by the board