Texas Administrative Code › Title 22 - EXAMINING BOARDS › Part 9 - TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD › Chapter 183 - ACUPUNCTURE › Section 183.4 - Licensure

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) Qualifications.
				An applicant must present satisfactory proof to the acupuncture board that the
				applicant meets the following requirements:
(1) is at least 21 years of age;
(2) is of good professional character as
				defined in §
										183.2 of
				this chapter (relating to Definitions);
(3) has successfully completed 60 semester
				hours of general academic college level courses, other than in acupuncture
				school, that are not remedial and would be acceptable at the time they were
				completed for credit on an academic degree at a two or four year institution of
				higher education within the United States accredited by an agency recognized by
				the Higher Education Coordinating Board or its equivalent in other states as a
				regional accrediting body. Coursework completed as a part of a degree program
				in acupuncture or Oriental medicine may be accepted by the acupuncture board
				if, in the opinion of the acupuncture board, such coursework is substantially
				equivalent to the required hours of general academic college level
				coursework;
(4) is a graduate of an
				acceptable approved acupuncture school;
(5) has taken and passed, within five
				attempts, each component of the full National Certification Commission for
				Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) examination:
(A) If an applicant submits to multiple
				attempts on a component before and on or after June 1, 2004, the number of
				attempts shall be combined based on the subject matter tested;
(B) An applicant who is unable to pass each
				component of the NCCAOM examination, within five attempts, may be allowed to
				appear before the Licensure Committee of the board to reconsider applicant's
				ineligibility if the applicant:
(i) is
				allowed a 6th attempt by NCCAOM;
(ii) passes on the 6th attempt; and
(iii) presents satisfactory evidence to the
				board as to why the applicant required an additional examination attempt and
				demonstrates good cause as to why applicant's determination of ineligibility
				should be reconsidered.
(C) A decision to reconsider an applicant's
				ineligibility based on subparagraph (B) of this paragraph shall be a
				discretionary decision of the board;
(6) has taken and passed the CCAOM (Council
				of Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine) Clean Needle Technique (CNT)
				course and practical examination;
(7) has taken and passed a jurisprudence
				examination ("JP exam"), which shall be conducted on the licensing requirements
				and other laws, rules, or regulations applicable to the acupuncture profession
				in this state. The jurisprudence examination shall be developed and
				administered as follows:
(A) Questions for
				the JP Exam shall be prepared by agency staff with input from the Acupuncture
				board and the agency staff shall make arrangements for a facility by which
				applicants can take the examination.
(B) Applicants must pass the JP exam with a
				score of 75 or better.
(C) An
				examinee shall not be permitted to bring medical books, compends, notes,
				medical journals, calculators or other help into the examination room, nor be
				allowed to communicate by word or sign with another examinee while the
				examination is in progress without permission of the presiding examiner, nor be
				allowed to leave the examination room except when so permitted by the presiding
				examiner.
(D) Irregularities during
				an examination such as giving or obtaining unauthorized information or aid as
				evidenced by observation or subsequent statistical analysis of answer sheets
				shall be sufficient cause to terminate an applicant's participation in an
				examination, invalidate the applicant's examination results, or take other
				appropriate action.
(E) A person
				who has passed the JP Exam shall not be required to retake the Exam for another
				or similar license, except as a specific requirement of the board;
(8) is able to communicate in
				English as demonstrated by one of the following:
(A) passage of the NCCAOM examination taken
				in English;
(B) passage of the
				TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) with a score of at least
				"intermediate" on the Reading and Listening sections and a score of at least
				"fair" on the Speaking and Writing sections of the Internet Based Test
				(iBT®), or a score of 550 or higher on the paper based test
				(PBT);
(C) passage of the TSE (Test
				of Spoken English) with a score of 45 or higher;
(D) passage of the TOEIC (Test of English for
				International Communication) with a score of 500 or higher;
(E) graduation from an acceptable approved
				school of acupuncture located in the United States or Canada; or
(F) at the discretion of the acupuncture
				board, passage of any other similar, validated exam testing English competency
				given by a testing service with results reported directly to the acupuncture
				board or with results otherwise subject to verification by direct contact
				between the testing service and the acupuncture board; and
(9) can demonstrate current competence
				through the active practice of acupuncture as follows:
(A) All applicants for licensure shall
				provide sufficient documentation to the board that the applicant has, on a
				full-time basis, actively treated persons, been a student at an acceptable
				approved acupuncture school, or been on the active teaching faculty of an
				acceptable approved acupuncture school, within either of the last two years
				preceding receipt of an application for licensure.
(B) The term "full-time basis," for purposes
				of this section, shall mean at least 20 hours per week for 40 weeks duration
				during a given year.
(C) Applicants
				who do not meet the requirements of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph
				may, in the discretion of the executive director or board, be eligible for an
				unrestricted license or a restricted license subject to one or more of the
				following conditions or restrictions:
(i)
				limitation of the practice of the applicant to specified components of the
				practice of acupuncture and/or exclusion of specified components of the
				practice of acupuncture; or
(ii)
				remedial education including, but not limited to, enrollment, as a student, and
				successful completion of 240 hours of clinical practice at an acceptable
				approved acupuncture school or other structured program approved by the
				board.
(10)
				Alternative License Procedure for Military Service Members, Military Veterans
				and Military Spouses.
(A) An applicant who is
				a military service member, military veteran or military spouse may be eligible
				for alternative demonstrations of competency for certain licensure
				requirements. Unless specifically allowed in this subsection, an applicant must
				meet the requirements for licensure as specified in this chapter.
(B) To be eligible, an applicant must be a
				military service member, military veteran or military spouse and meet one of
				the following requirements:
(i) holds an
				active unrestricted acupuncture license issued by another state that has
				licensing requirements that are substantially equivalent to the requirements
				for a Texas acupuncture license; or
(ii) within the five years preceding the
				application date held an acupuncture license in this state.
(C) The executive director may
				waive any prerequisite to obtaining a license for an applicant described by
				this subsection after reviewing the applicant's credentials.
(D) Applications for licensure from
				applicants qualifying under this subsection shall be expedited by the board's
				licensure division.
(E) Alternative
				Demonstrations of Competency Allowed. Applicants qualifying under this
				subsection:
(i) are not required to comply
				with subsection (c)(1) of this section; and
(ii) notwithstanding the one year expiration
				in subsection (b)(1)(B) of this section, are allowed an additional 6 months to
				complete the application prior to it becoming inactive; and
(iii) notwithstanding the 60 day deadline in
				subsection (b)(1)(G) of this section, may be considered for permanent licensure
				up to 5 days prior to the board meeting.
(F) Applicants with Military Experience.
(i) For applications filed on or after March
				1, 2014, the board shall, with respect to an applicant who is a military
				service member or military veteran as defined in §
												183.2 of
				this chapter, credit verified military service, training, or education toward
				the licensing requirements, other than an examination requirement, for a
				license issued by the board.
(ii)
				This section does not apply to an applicant who:
(I) has had an acupuncture license suspended
				or revoked by another state or a Canadian province;
(II) holds an acupuncture license issued by
				another state or a Canadian province that is subject to a restriction,
				disciplinary order, or probationary order; or
(III) has an unacceptable criminal
				history.