(A) Definitions.
(1) "Armed
forces" means:
(a) The armed forces of the United States, including the
army, navy, air force, marine corps, and coast guard;
(b) A reserve component of the armed forces listed in
paragraph (A)(1)(a) of this rule;
(c) The national guard, including the Ohio national guard
or the national guard of any other state;
(d) The commissioned corps of the United States public
health service;
(e) The merchant marine service during wartime;
or
(f) The Ohio organized militia when engaged in full-time
national guard duty for a period of more than thirty days.
(2) "Member"
means any person who is serving in the armed forces.
(3) "Military
duty" includes service in the uniformed services on active duty, in the
active guard and reserve, and as a military technician dual status under 10
U.S.C. 10216.
(4) "Veteran"
means any person who has completed service in the armed forces, who has been
discharged under honorable conditions or who has been transferred to the
reserve with evidence of satisfactory service.
(B) Temporary military licensure when the
eligible person has a license in another state.
(1) In accordance with
section 4743.041 of the Revised Code, a person who presents the following
qualifications is eligible for a temporary military license to practice as an
orthotist, prosthetist, prosthetist-orthotist, or pedorthist in
Ohio:
(a) The person holds a valid license to practice as an
orthotist, prosthetist, prosthetist-orthotist, or pedorthist issued by another
state;
(b) The person is in good standing in all states of
licensure;
(c) The person presents adequate proof to the board that
the person or the person's spouse is on military duty in the state of
Ohio; and
(d) The person complies with the criminal records check
requirements in section 4779.091 of the Revised Code. The results of the
criminal records check must be received by the board prior to the issuance of a
military license to practice as an orthotist, prosthetist,
prosthetist-orthotist, or pedorthist.
(2) The board must abide
by the timelines set forth in division (D) of section 4743.041 of the Revised
Code in granting a temporary military license.
(3) An application for a
temporary military license must include the following:
(a) Proof of either of the following:
(i) That the applicant is
on military duty and is stationed in Ohio; or
(ii) That the applicant
is married to a person on military duty who is stationed in Ohio.
(b) Proof that the applicant holds a valid unrestricted
license to practice as an orthotist, prosthetist, prosthetist-orthotist, or
pedorthist in another state;
(c) Attestation that the applicant has complied with the
criminal records check in section 4755.70 of the Revised Code; and
(d) Attestation that the applicant is aware that the
license will be revoked in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code
if:
(i) The person's
licensed issued by another state expires or is revoked, or the person is not in
good standing;
(ii) For a person who is
a military spouse, six months have elapsed since the divorce, dissolution, or
annulment of the marriage to a person on military duty;
(iii) The person is
disqualified from obtaining a license because of a conviction, judicial finding
of guilt, or plea of guilty to a disqualifying criminal offense specified on
the list the board has made available pursuant to division (C) of section 9.78
of the Revised Code.
(4) A temporary military
license expires six years after the date of issuance. A person may apply for a
non-military license by endorsement while the military license is
active.
(5) The board must waive
all fees associated with a temporary military license.
(6) A person holding a
military license must practice within the scope of practice for orthotics,
prosthetics, and pedorthics for the state of Ohio and may not exceed the
person's education or training.
(C) Military programs of training which
may be accepted for members of the military who do not have an out of state
license.
(1) In accordance with
Chapter 5903. of the Revised Code, the board finds that there are no military
programs of training, military primary specialties, and lengths of service that
are substantially equivalent to or which exceed the educational and experience
requirements for licensure as an orthotist, prosthetist, prosthetist-orthotist,
or pedorthist.
(2) In the course of
processing and considering a license application pursuant to section 4779.09 of
the Revised Code, the board must consider military education, training and
experience as elements that may assist an applicant in qualifying for a license
to the extent the board is authorized to do so by statute, rule or executive
directive.
(D) License renewal for active members of the
military.
(1) In accordance with
section 5903.10 of the Revised Code, a license holder whose license expired due
to the license holder's service in the armed forces is eligible for
renewal of the expired license in accordance with section 4779.20 of the
Revised Code and rules 4779-8-01 and 4779-9-01 of the Administrative Code, if
the following conditions are met:
(a) The license holder presents the board with satisfactory
evidence that, not more than six months prior to the date the evidence is
submitted to the board, the license holder was honorably discharged or
separated under honorable conditions;
(b) The license holder is not suffering a mental or
physical illness, including physical deterioration, that adversely affects
cognitive, motor, or perception skills the affect the license holder's
ability to practice according to acceptable and prevailing standards of care;
and
(c) The license holder meets the requirements for license
renewal required by section 4779.20 of the Revised Code and rules 4779-8-01 and
4779-9-01 of the Administrative Code.
(2) The provisions of
paragraph (D) of this rule also apply if the license holder's spouse
served in the armed forces and the spouse's service resulted in the
license holder's absence from this state.
(E) Continuing education for active members of the
military.
(1) In accordance with
section 5903.12 of the Revised Code, the provisions of this paragraph apply to
a license holder who has been a member of the armed forces who has served on
active duty for a period in excess of thirty-one days.
(2) A license holder who
meets the provisions contained in paragraph (E)(1) of this rule may submit a
statement and supporting documentation to the board requesting an extension of
the current continuing education reporting period.
(a) The license holder must submit proper documentation
verifying the active duty service and the length of that active duty
service.
(b) Upon receiving the application and proper
documentation, the board must extend the current continuing education reporting
period by an amount of time equal to the total number of months that the
license holder spent on active duty during the current continuing education
reporting period. Any portion of a month served must be considered one full
month.
(F) Determining fulfillment of continuing
education for active members of the military.
(1) In accordance with
section 5903.121 of the Revised Code, the board must consider relevant
education, training, or service completed by a license holder as a member of
the armed forces in determining whether a license holder has met the continuing
education requirements needed to renew the license.
(2) For the board to
consider relevant education, training, or service completed by the license
holder in accordance with paragraph (F) of this rule, the license holder must
submit a request for consideration and documentation of the education,
training, or service to the board at least ninety days prior to the expiration
of the license.
(G) The application fee for an initial
license or reinstatement must be waived for an applicant who is a current
member of the armed forces.
(H) Application process.
(1) The board's
applications must include a question to identify if the applicant is a member
of the armed forces, a veteran, or a spouse or surviving spouse of a member of
the armed forces or veteran. This status must be stored in the licensing
system.
(2) When the board
receives an application from an person identified in paragraph (H)(1) of this
rule, the processing of that application must be prioritized, with a goal of
ensuring that a license is issued the same day that the application is
complete.