AN ACT Relating to granting temporary licenses
to dental hygienists licensed in another state; adding new sections to chapter
18.29 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28B.125 RCW; creating new sections;
and providing an expiration date.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.
The legislature declares that the granting of temporary licenses under this act
is not intended to be a solution to the shortage of dental hygienists in the
state of Washington. The legislature further declares that the long-term
solution to these shortages must be addressed by expanding dental hygiene
training programs at the state's colleges and universities.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A
new section is added to chapter 18.29 RCW to read as follows:
(1) The department shall issue a temporary
license without the examination required by this chapter to any applicant who,
as determined by the secretary:
(a) Holds a valid license in another state that
allows the scope of practice in subsection (3)(a) through (j) of this section;
(b) Is currently engaged in active practice in
another state. For the purposes of this section, "active practice"
means five hundred sixty hours of practice in the preceding twenty-four months;
(c) Files with the secretary documentation
certifying that the applicant:
(i) Has graduated from an accredited dental
hygiene school approved by the secretary;
(ii) Has successfully completed the dental hygiene
national board examination; and
(iii) Is licensed to practice in another state;
(d) Provides information as the secretary deems
necessary pertaining to the conditions and criteria of the uniform disciplinary
act, chapter 18.130 RCW;
(e) Demonstrates to the secretary a knowledge
of Washington state law pertaining to the practice of dental hygiene, including
the administration of legend drugs;
(f) Pays any required fees; and
(g) Meets requirements for AIDS education.
(2) The term of the temporary license issued
under this section is eighteen months and it is nonrenewable.
(3) A person practicing with a temporary
license granted under this section has the authority to perform hygiene
procedures that are limited to:
(a) Oral inspection and measuring of
periodontal pockets;
(b) Patient education in oral hygiene;
(c) Taking intra-oral and extra-oral
radiographs;
(d) Applying topical preventive or prophylactic
agents;
(e) Polishing and smoothing restorations;
(f) Oral prophylaxis and removal of deposits
and stains from the surface of the teeth;
(g) Recording health histories;
(h) Taking and recording blood pressure and
vital signs;
(i) Performing subgingival and supragingival
scaling; and
(j) Performing root planing.
(4)(a) A person practicing with a temporary
license granted under this section may not perform the following dental hygiene
procedures unless authorized in (b) or (c) of this subsection:
(i) Give injections of local anesthetic;
(ii) Place restorations into the cavity
prepared by a licensed dentist and afterwards carve, contour, and adjust
contacts and occlusion of the restoration;
(iii) Soft tissue curettage; or
(iv) Administer nitrous oxide/oxygen analgesia.
(b) A person licensed in another state who can
demonstrate substantively equivalent licensing standards in the administration
of local anesthetic may receive a temporary endorsement to administer local
anesthesia.
(c) A person licensed in another state who can
demonstrate substantively equivalent licensing standards in restorative
procedures may receive a temporary endorsement for restorative procedures.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A
new section is added to chapter 18.29 RCW to read as follows:
A person granted a temporary license under this
chapter who does not meet the requirements for substantively equivalent
licensing standards in restorative or local anesthetic must submit proof of
completion of approved education in these procedures before being eligible to
take the dental hygiene examination.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A
new section is added to chapter 18.29 RCW to read as follows:
The secretary in consultation with the dental
hygiene examining committee shall develop rules and definitions to implement
this chapter.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A
new section is added to chapter 28B.125 RCW to read as follows:
(1) The state board for community and technical
colleges, in coordination with the committee under this chapter, shall identify
health professional training needs not currently met by community and technical
colleges in the state. It shall recommend creation of new training programs
necessary to meet the shortages and identify where such programs shall be
located within the state's community and technical college system.
(2) Every publicly funded community and
technical college identified by the board in subsection (1) of this section
shall include in their biennial budget, and institutional plan, a description
of the training programs that will be created by the college or institute to
alleviate the shortages.
(3) Health personnel shortages shall be
determined in accordance with the health personnel resource plan required by
this chapter.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6.
Sections 2 and 3 of this act shall expire on January 1, 1998.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7.
(1) The department of health shall report to the legislature by December 1,
1996, on the need to continue granting temporary licenses to dental
hygienists. The report shall identify alternatives to granting temporary
licenses that meet the same goals and objectives, including increasing the
number of dental hygienists trained in the state of Washington.
(2) A temporary licenses granted by the
department under sections 2 through 4 of this act is valid for the period
issued.
