Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 653 - Medicine Board › Chapter 19 - Prescribing Psychologists › Rule 653-19.2 - Educational Requirements for Conditional Prescription Certificate-joint Rule

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
An applicant for a conditional prescription certificate shall
				have completed a program of study designated by the APA as a program for the
				psychopharmacology training of postdoctoral psychologists. The program must
				have included didactic instruction, a clinical experience, and a practicum
				satisfying the requirements of this rule. A minimum of 40 hours of basic
				training on clinical assessment skills shall be included as part of the
				program's didactic instruction.
(1)
Degree.
An applicant shall possess a postdoctoral master of
			 science degree in clinical psychopharmacology from a program designated by the
			 APA as a program for the psychopharmacology training of postdoctoral
			 psychologists. The degree program must be a minimum of 30 credit hours not
			 including the practicum and shall include coursework in basic science,
			 neuroscience, clinical medicine, pathological basis of disease, clinical
			 pharmacology, psychopharmacology, and professional, ethical and legal issues. A
			 minimum of one-third of the coursework must be completed in a live interactive
			 format. The date the degree is conferred must be within the five-year period
			 immediately preceding the application for a conditional prescription
			 certificate. A program must be designated by the APA at the time the degree is
			 conferred.
(2)
Clinical
			 experience.
An applicant shall have completed a clinical experience in
			 accordance with the requirements of this subrule. During the clinical
			 experience, a psychologist shall learn clinical assessment techniques and
			 pathophysiology through direct observation and hands-on training with a
			 training physician. During the clinical experience, a psychologist shall become
			 competent in health history interviews, physical examinations, and neurological
			 examinations with a medically diverse patient population. The clinical
			 experience must be associated with the psychopharmacology training program from
			 which the psychologist obtained the postdoctoral master of science degree in
			 clinical psychopharmacology.
a.
Scope.
At the beginning of the clinical experience, the psychologist
			 shall directly observe the training physician performing clinical assessments
			 of patients. After the training physician determines the psychologist has
			 gained sufficient knowledge, the clinical experience shall transition to the
			 psychologist's performance of clinical assessments of patients under the direct
			 observation of the training physician. After the training physician determines
			 the psychologist has gained sufficient knowledge and experience, the
			 psychologist may perform clinical assessments of patients without being
			 directly observed by the training physician, provided that the training
			 physician is on site at all times when the psychologist is with patients and is
			 reviewing all medical records. A psychologist and a training physician shall
			 have ongoing discussions regarding the psychologist's clinical assessment
			 skills and progress in the clinical experience.
b.
Minimum experience.
The
			 clinical experience shall consist of a minimum of 600 patient encounters that
			 shall be completed by the end of the practicum.
c.
Conflict of interest.
A
			 training physician shall not be an employee of the psychologist or otherwise
			 have a conflict of interest that could affect the training physician's ability
			 to impartially evaluate the psychologist's performance. A psychologist may
			 utilize more than one training physician.
d.
Milestones.
To
			 satisfactorily complete the clinical experience, a psychologist shall
			 demonstrate competency in each of the following:
(1) Perform a health history interview to
			 obtain pertinent information regarding a patient's chief complaint, history of
			 the present illness, past medical and surgical history, family history,
			 allergies, medications, and psychosocial history. The psychologist shall
			 perform a review of systems to elicit a health history and shall appropriately
			 document the health history.
(2)
			 Perform a physical examination in a logical sequence, ensuring appropriate
			 positioning of the patient, proper patient draping, and proper application of
			 the principles of asepsis throughout the examination. The psychologist shall
			 verbalize and assess the components of a general survey and be able to
			 accurately assess all of the following: vital signs, including pulse,
			 respiration, and blood pressure; skin, hair and nails; head, face and neck;
			 eyes; ears, nose, mouth and throat; thorax, lungs and axillae; heart;
			 peripheral vascular system; abdomen; and musculoskeletal system. The
			 psychologist shall be proficient in utilizing any equipment needed to conduct a
			 physical examination.
(3) Complete
			 a neurological examination demonstrating knowledge of the history related to
			 the neurological system and the ability to assess the following: mental status,
			 cranial nerves, motor system, sensory system, and reflexes. The psychologist
			 shall differentiate normal laboratory values from abnormal laboratory values
			 and correlate abnormal laboratory values with impaired physiological systems.
			 The psychologist shall identify adverse drug reactions and identify laboratory
			 data and physical signs indicating an adverse drug reaction.
e.
Informed
			 consent.
At the initial contact, the psychologist shall inform the
			 patient, or the patient's legal guardian when appropriate, of the
			 psychologist's training role in the clinical experience. The psychologist shall
			 provide sufficient information regarding the expectations and requirements of
			 the clinical experience to obtain informed consent and appropriate releases.
			 Upon request, the psychologist shall provide additional information regarding
			 the psychologist's education, training, or experience.
f.
Training documentation.
The psychologist and the training director shall maintain documentation
			 accounting for all clinical experience patient encounters, including the dates,
			 times, and locations of all clinical experience patient encounters, and
			 documentation of completion of the milestones defined in these rules. The
			 applicant shall provide additional documentation to the board upon
			 request.
g.
Certification.
The training physician(s) and the training director
			 shall certify on forms provided by the board that the applicant has
			 successfully completed the minimum number of clinical experience patient
			 encounters required and demonstrated competence in clinical assessment
			 techniques and pathophysiology through completion of the milestones defined in
			 these rules.