Selected Article Links:
Regents Conference on the Professions (October 21) Regents Actions Podiatry Nursing Psychology Midwifery Appointments Meetings and Materials Outreach Nominations to State Boards Notebook (brief items)	August/September 1997 Linking Future Directions to Your Feedback Johanna Duncan-Poitier, Associate Commissioner for the Professions

We have devoted much of the past year to strengthening the links between the services we provide and your feedback. State board members, professional association leaders, and countless others who have responded to surveys or offered suggestions have contributed to OP's reform initiatives. Thank you all.

At a June meeting with board chairs and association leaders, I provided news of our ongoing reform initiatives and reported on our results:

• Licenses are issued up to three weeks faster due to processing improvements.
• Informal settlement conferences (ISCs) piloted in four professions have been successful in resolving the oldest pending discipline cases; this initiative resulted in the processing of discipline cases 30% faster.
• Board members are now involved early in the development of regulations and have a stronger role in the streamlined disciplinary processes.
• Customer surveys show better than 90% satisfaction with clarity of materials, courtesy, processing times, and overall service.

Our surveys provide the feedback we need to confirm our direction and identify the next steps in our reform efforts. Through your survey comments, you have encouraged us to "keep up the good work," congratulated us on our strides in improving the licensing and discipline processes, and suggested that we have "restored the reputation of the Office." Your thoughtful comments on opportunities for improvement are also appreciated. Office of the Professions staff continue to follow-up on your suggestions for better service.

The needs you expressed -- for improved Board meeting information, for a better understanding of Board roles, and for consistent policies across all professions, among others -- are helping to guide our performance. The solutions we developed will be implemented this fall, including but not limited to the following:

• biannual orientation for new State Board members
• revision of the "Boards for the Professions" handbook
• publication of standard operating procedures for professional State boards
• consistent guidelines for sharing updates on professional discipline activities
• consistent implementation of nomination process for State board vacancies
• standardized procedures for feedback and involvement of State board members with legislation and regulations
• standardized procedures for distribution of board minutes and agendas across all professions
• assessment and review of State board member and staff representation at national meetings and events, with a view to expanding opportunities where possible

This is our plan for a future in which you figure prominently: serving consumers and professionals to the best of our ability, getting feedback on that service, refocusing as needed, improving services, soliciting more feedback, and so on.

As always, I invite your comments on The Update and Office services; together we can maintain New York State's position as a national leader in professional regulation.

CLEAR Conference

Johanna Duncan-Poitier was a panelist at the Council on Licensure, Enforcement, and Regulation (CLEAR) conference held from September 3 - 6 in Norfolk, Virginia. She discussed "Maintaining Public Protection with Fewer Resources" with panelists from other states. Johanna highlighted New York State's latest achievements in the processing of discipline cases as well as the Office's Web page.

Podiatry
An amendment to Part 65 of the Commissioner's Regulations, effective August 1, 1997, updated references to the podiatry licensing examination and adds one year of postgraduate hospital training in podiatry to the licensure requirements; this training will be required as of July 1, 2000.

The one-year postgraduate training requirement brings New York State into conformity with the vast majority of other states in the nation. It also supports the refocus of the podiatric profession from practice in a private setting to practice as a member of a multi-disciplinary health care team.

For more information, please contact Barbara Zittel at (518) 474-6374 or bzittel@mail.nysed.gov.

Nursing: Preliminary Report on the Role of the Workplace Environment

The Regents endorsed a plan to conduct a formal research study to determine the effects of the workplace environment on professional nursing practice. The research should be completed by June 1998 and a final report presented to the Regents later that year.

The project stems from a June report to the Regents Committee on Professional Practice that described a possible association between workplace conditions and medication errors committed by registered nurses. Since the data in that report are not empirical evidence derived from a formal research study, the conclusions reached have limitations. To ensure a thorough examination of the issue, the Office of the Professions will issue a request for proposals (RFP) for a full-scale study.

The June report focused on registered nurses, but the research study will also encompass licensed practical nurses. The study will examine workplace factors such as staff-to-patient ratios, overtime, staffing reductions, facility reorganizations, and licensee education and work experience.

The RFP will be completed in September and then published in the State Register. In addition, copies of the RFP will be sent to all professional associations and higher education institutions. Information on the RFP will be available on the Office of the Professions Web page. For more information, please contact Milene Sower at (518) 474-3843 or msower@mail.nysed.gov.

The following action was approved at the July 18, 1997 meeting of the Board of Regents.
Psychology

The Board of Regents amended the Commissioner's Regulations (52.10, 72.1, 72.2, and 72.3) as follows:

• revised the curricular requirements for the registration of professional programs in psychology
• (effective January 1, 2002);
• consolidated and clarified the experience requirement;
• authorized the admission of applicants who have completed the required doctoral education and one year of supervised experience to the licensing exam; and
• corrected the name of the exam provider.

The amendments, effective September 5, 1997, conform requirements and guidelines to nationally accepted standards and ensure consistent preparation of licensure applicants. For more information, please contact Kathleen Doyle at (518) 474-3866 or kdoyle2@mail.nysed.gov.

The following was discussed at the July Regents meeting.
Midwifery

The Midwifery Practice Act of 1992 transferred authority for midwifery licensure and practice from the State Department of Health to the State Education Department. The legislation required two reports:

• The Midwifery Preparation and Practice Report ("barriers report"), a study of the incentives for and barriers to the education and practice of midwifery in New York State; and
• The Midwifery Education and Examination Report, a report on the educational preparation of licensed midwives in New York State.

Based in part on baseline data gathered in 1993 and a 1996 survey of New York State midwives, the "barriers" report describes the growing acceptance of the midwifery model of care and outlines the elimination or reduction of many of the barriers previously faced by licensees. Major findings include the following:

• The number of midwives licensed by the Board of Regents in New York State grew by more than 60 percent from July 1995 to April 1997.
• Midwives engaged in clinical practice who responded to the 1996 survey reported that many of the barriers identified in 1993 were now less significant.
• Managed care policies remain a major barrier.

The report, signed by Education Commissioner Mills and Health Commissioner DeBuono, has been transmitted to the Governor, legislative leaders, and the Director of the Division of the Budget.

The education report notes that midwifery education programs have increased fourfold, and the number of program graduates more than doubled between 1992 and 1996; midwifery education is also available in previously underserved areas of the state. In addition, New York's first "direct-entry" (no nursing education prerequisite) midwifery program is now operating.

The report recommends that the Department, in consultation with the State Board of Midwifery, maintain its commitment to solicit and review proposed "direct entry" educational preparation and to identify licensure examinations for "direct entry" applicants. Explorations of mandatory continuing education and practical licensing examinations, among other issues, are supported as well. For more information please contact Lawrence Mokhiber at (518) 474-3848 or lmokhibe@mail.nysed.gov.

Appointments
The Regents made the following recent appointments to the State Boards for the Professions ("R" = reappointment):

June

Dentistry

• Edward D. Emanuele, DDS (Manhasset Hills) (R)
• Stanley A. Small, DDS (Briarcliff Manor)

Medicine

• Saverio Bentivegna, MD (Chappaqua)
• Robert J. Corona, DO (Cazenovia)
• Paul A. Gitman, MD (Manhasset Hills)
• Florence Kavaler, MD (New York)
• David J. Martinke, DO (Buffalo)
• Theodore I. Putnam, MD (Buffalo)

Pharmacy

• Patricia Flemma Donato (Schenectady)
• David B. Flashover (Loudonville)
• Barbara L. McNiff (Manlius)

For service on licensure disciplinary panels:
Nursing

• Arnita Branch, LPN (Schenectady)
• Rosemarie Burke, RN (Williamsville) (R)

Pharmacy

• Sherwin Bieber (Flushing) (R)
• John DeGrazio (East Syracuse) (R)
• Seymour Katz (East Meadow)
• Carl Martorana Franklin Square)
• Meta Smith (Syosset) (R)

Committee for Professional Assistance

• Dennis O. Romero (Public Member, Albany)
• Debra A. Windecker (Public Member, Fulton) (R)

July

Engineering and Land Surveying

• Vicki Mastaitis (Albany)

Midwifery

• Linda L. Schutt (Trumansburg)

Optometry

• Sherry J. Bass, OD (Woodmere)
• Allen H. Cohen, OD (Smithtown)
• Joseph Noworyta, OD (Depew)

Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology

• Dennis Hampton (Irvington) (R)

For service on licensure disciplinary panels:
Veterinary Medicine

• Robert C. Watson (Public member, LaFayette)

Board of Regents Meetings and Agenda

• September 17 - Regents Legislative Conference, Albany, New York
• September 18-19 - Albany, New York
• October 14-15 - Special Regents meeting on "Stewardship of Cultural Institutions," including visits to Albany area cultural institutions.
• November 13-14 - Albany, New York

Agendas for the Regents' Committee on Professional Practice and the Committee on Higher and Professional Education are finalized about two weeks prior to the scheduled meetings. For information on agenda items, please contact Mary Holstein at (518) 474-3862 or mholstei@mail.nysed.gov.

Regents Meeting Materials on Internet
The The Regents meeting agenda items and documents will be put on the Internet approximately one week before each meeting.

This is a unique opportunity for anyone interested in professional regulation to share information and ideas with members of the Board of Regents and help shape professional practice in the 21st century. Legislative representatives and experts from other states have been invited.

Small group sessions will discuss the following:

• Corporate Practice of the Professions: Health Professions
  
• Corporate Practice of the Professions: Design/Business Professions
  
• Professional Regulation Across Boundaries
  
• The Latest in Professional Discipline and Continuing Competency

The Conference will be held at the Bar Association of the City of New York, 42 West 44th Street, New York City; registration starts at 8:00 a.m. and programs conclude at 4:30 p.m. Informal interaction will continue at a reception at the Cornell Club, 6 East 44th Street, from 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.

Cost of the Conference is $100.00 with preregistration by October 10, and $125.00 thereafter. For information and registration materials, call 518-474-3862 or E-mail smay@mail.nysed.gov.

Bill of Rights Translated; Brochures Readied for Printing

On January 31, the Office of the Professions released A Consumer's Bill of Rights in conjunction with the debut of the Web license and discipline verification services. Since then, we have distributed 10,000 copies of the Bill via public libraries, senior centers, pharmacies, the Web, and other businesses and organizations. The Bill, which is designed to help the public understand the importance of receiving services from licensed professionals and to prevent illegal practice, has been translated into Chinese, Spanish, and Haitian Creole. The translations now appear on our Web page and are available in standard and poster sizes on request by E-mail (op4info@mail.nysed.gov), phone (518-474-3817), or fax (518-474-1449).

The next phase of this outreach is consumer brochures on individual professions. Twenty-eight brochures are being developed with the State Boards and input from professional associations; each will feature basic information on a given profession (some related professions are combined), services offered, Office contacts, and profession-specific issues. These brochures will be released this fall. An updated discipline brochure detailing professional misconduct, illegal practice, and the complaint process will also be released in the near future.

Buffalo Access Project Leads to Bronx Outreach

Bronx community leaders, members of the licensed professions, educators, and representatives of the State Education Department met on August 7 to launch a new project designed to promote career opportunities and professional services to underserved members of Bronx communities. The meeting follows the success of a groundbreaking 1995 pilot program initiated by the State Board for Chiropractic that continues to benefit citizens of the Buffalo metropolitan area.

A coordinating committee of local educators, career and service programs, local professionals, professional organizations, and professional schools will bring together existing resources, identify new ones, and coordinate activities within Bronx communities to increase opportunities for professional services and careers.

For more information, please contact Norman Cohen at (518) 474-4974 or ncohen@mail.nysed.gov.

Did you know. . .?

• Commonly asked questions about pharmacy, dentistry, and dental hygiene continuing education requirements are answered on our Web page. From the home page, go from the "New York State Boards and Professions" link to one of the three professions. These questions and answers were also mailed to all registrants in the three professions.
• A chart of the number of licensees registered in each profession as of April 1, 1997 is posted on the Office's Web page. From our home page, choose "New York State Boards and Professions."
• The Update is posted on the Office of the Professions' Web page under the "News" heading. To capture text for your own publications, use your browser to save the text in a file or select and copy the text you need.
• The Office of the Professions has upgraded its computer equipment. One result is that many staff now have a new email address. The new format is (USER)@MAIL.NYSED.GOV; please check your address books.

The New York State Board of Regents will host its annual Legislative Conference in Albany on Wednesday, September 17. The Conference focuses on issues relevant to all Department program areas. This year the Professions segment is directed at the following:

• practice boundaries in the professions
• issues related to telepractice of the professions

Please note that written testimony will be accepted on any topic of legislative concern; the discussion segment, however, will be limited to the listed topics. For more information, please contact Lawrie Lierheimer at (518) 486-1765 or llierhei@mail.nysed.gov.

At its May 1997 national conference, the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards (FCLB) named the New York State Board for Chiropractic as "Board of the Year: 1997." The FCLB annually selects from its more than 60 member boards the one "which has exemplified standards of excellence, serving as a model for every chiropractic licensing board in North America."

The Board's Consumer Guide to Chiropractic, its program to increase diversity in the profession, its ongoing development of sexual misconduct guidelines, and the Office of the Professions' broad achievements in customer service all led to the Board's recognition by its peers. For more information, please contact Norman Cohen at (518) 474-4974 or ncohen@mail.nysed.gov.

The Board of Regents appointed Milton L. Lawney, D.D.S., as Executive Secretary to the State Board for Dentistry in May. In announcing the appointment, State Education Commissioner Richard P. Mills cited Milton's "broad professional and community experience."

A 1974 graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo's dental surgery (D.D.S.) program, Milton was in private practice in Conklin, Broome County, from 1976 until 1991. Active in professional organizations, Milton has also worked extensively in the community, developing "Dental Max," a program which provides dental care to indigent children through a unique community-based arrangement in the Binghamton area.

Milton Lawney and the State Board for Dentistry can be reached at (518) 474-3838 or mlawney @mail.nysed.gov.

The Industry Advisory Council, formed to advise the Department on implementing the amended Regents Rule on design delegation, held its second meeting in Albany on May 6.

The Council, which includes representatives of the design professions, contractors, and subcontractors, discussed the preparation of a delegation guide for the field and worked to define the Rule's terms, especially "ancillary." A draft guide will be distributed to Council members for discussion at its September meeting. Members also agreed to discuss specific cases of design delegation taken from actual contract documents.

In court action on the Rule, the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Albany County, declined to rule on the legal relationships between the contractors and other parties. The State filed its response to the remaining issues in early June and now awaits a response from the petitioners and a re-calendaring of the legal action.

For more information, please contact Thomas King at (518) 474-3846 (tking@mail.nysed.gov) or William Martin (wmartin@mail.nysed.gov) at (518) 474-3930.

Wanted: Nominations for Membership on the State Boards for the Professions

Dedicated individuals, including licensed professionals and members of the public, are needed from throughout the State to serve on the 25 State boards. In addition to advising the Board of Regents and the State Education Department on a wide range of licensing and practice issues to ensure public protection, board members play a key role in professional misconduct proceedings.

Applications for board membership may be submitted directly by interested individuals, or nominations may be made by colleagues or professional associations. All nominees will receive full consideration for current and expected board vacancies. Boards represent the State's judicial districts and strive to reflect New York's cultural diversity as well as the various aspects of their profession(s). Nominations of and applications from individuals with diverse backgrounds and individuals with disabilities are encouraged.

The accompanying table lists expected vacancies, but nominations are welcome any time; potential board members are interviewed throughout the year. The frequency of board meetings and participation on discipline review panels varies from board to board. Board members receive $100 a day plus expenses for their service. For more information about the needs of particular Boards, or to submit nominations, please contact the Board Executive Secretary for the profession.

Notebook Brief Items of Note

• First Athletic Training Licenses Issued On May 22 Through the end of July, 48 athletic trainers had been certified.
  
  
• Taking the Lead: Licensing Authorities Benchmark the Office of the Professions Licensing authorities throughout the United States have taken note of New York's accomplishments. The Office has recently hosted or responded to requests from licensing authorities representing New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maine, the New York State Unified Court System, and Tennessee. They have been particularly interested in the services we provide through the Web as well as our system for reregistering licensees within one day. A representative from Maine writes, "We have checked out your homepage and think it's the best we've seen."
  
  
• Maintaining a National Presence State board Executive Secretaries will be discussing board budget development with Board Chairs to help maximize New York's involvement in appropriate national meetings.

  Joanne Darcy Crum, L.S., Chair of the State Board for Engineering and Land Surveying, has been elected Vice President of the Northeast Zone of the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying. The Council prepares the professional engineering and land surveying licensing examinations used by all 55 U.S. licensing jurisdictions; it also prepares model laws and regulations for use by the licensing boards in these jurisdictions.

  State Board for Nursing member Darlene McCown and Executive Secretary Milene A. Sower attended the June national conference of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing's Multistate Regulation Workshop. Milene Sower is also currently a candidate for the National Council's Board of Directors.

  Ronnie Hausheer, Executive Secretary to the State Boards for Acupuncture, Occupational Therapy, and Speech-Language Pathology, attended the May 2 inaugural meeting of the Federation of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Regulatory Agencies; the meeting focused on similarities and differences in state licensing requirements, and participants also began discussions on how to share news of disciplinary actions taken by individual states.

  In July, Vernon Alleyne (Vice Chair of the State Board for Chiropractic) and Ronnie Hausheer attended the Continued Competency Summit in Chicago. Conference participants, including representatives of licensing authorities and professional associations, explored multiple approaches to assuring the competence of licensed professionals throughout their careers.

  Arthur Ainsberg, Vice Chair of the State Board for Public Accountancy, attended the June regional conference of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), which explored such "hot" issues as corporate nonlicensee ownership of accounting firms and national licensing. Associate Commissioner Johanna Duncan-Poitier served as the keynote speaker at the New York State Society of CPAs Annual Educators Conference. Board Executive Secretary C. Daniel Stubbs, Jr. participated in the Joint AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)/NASBA Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA) Committee. Among other things, the Committee recommended allowing nonlicensee ownership of accounting firms and fee arrangements such as commissions.

  Nina Gottlieb, Director of Prosecutions, served as a Law Consultant at a meeting of the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying; the committee she's working with is compiling comprehensive information on court decisions and legal opinions on the administration and enforcement of licensing acts.

  Kathleen M. Doyle, Executive Secretary to the State Boards for Psychology and Massage Therapy, presented and led discussions at the first Northeast regional meeting of the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards. Representatives gathered to reach consensus on such issues as computerized testing, national certification, and region-specific matters. Psychology Board Chair Shepard Goldberg and Kathleen Doyle will discuss these issues at September's national meeting of the association.
  
  

• Web Page Use Through August, we have recorded nearly 77,000 hits on our Web home (front) page, 62,000 on the license verification feature, and 32,000 on the discipline search tool. In August, the license verification page was hit 11,698 times.
  
  
• Pharmacy Licensing Process Streamlined Pharmacy applicants who passed the June series of licensing examinations were licensed three weeks faster than ever before, thanks to processing improvements -- 267 successful June candidates were licensed by July 31.
  
  
• Summer Interns The Office of the Professions sponsors an internship program which allows students to experience the mechanics of public administration. Cornell University graduate Jeffrey Liu, Renata Rivkin (attending SUC Oswego), and Jignesh Shah (attending SUC Cortland) recently completed summer internships with the Office. Their contributions included compiling and preparing professional discipline summaries for our Web page and working with the Professional Assistance Program.

Last Updated: September 1997