TITLE 18. PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING
BOARD OF MEDICINE
Initial Agency Notice
Title of Regulation: 18VAC85-20. Regulations Governing the Practice of Medicine, Osteopathic Medicine, Podiatry, and Chiropractic.
Statutory Authority: § 54.1-2400 of the Code of Virginia.
Name of Petitioner: Michael J. Schultz.
Nature of Petitioner's Request: The petitioner requests that the board amend its regulations to (i) prohibit physicians, podiatrists, and chiropractors from refusing to provide medical care to patients or prospective patients if those individuals or their accompanying representatives refuse to wear masks; (ii) prohibit physicians, podiatrists, and chiropractors from enforcing any requirements for patients, prospective patients, or patient representatives to wear masks to receive medical care, including when following policies of insurers or organizations or when following guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, local health departments, or the Virginia Department of Health; (iii) prohibit physicians, podiatrists, and chiropractors from refusing to provide medical care to any patient or prospective patient based on the vaccination status of the patient or the patient's representative for any COVID-19 vaccine or for any vaccine under Emergency Use Authorization status; and (iv) prohibit physicians, podiatrists, and chiropractors from refusing to provide medical care to any patient or prospective patient who refuses to disclose whether they have received any vaccine, including any COVID-19 vaccine.
Agency Plan for Disposition of Request: The petition for rulemaking will be published in the Virginia Register of Regulations on April 11, 2022, and on the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall. Public comment will open on April 11, 2022, and will close on May 11, 2022. The Board of Medicine will consider the petition and all comments in support or opposition at its next meeting on June 17, 2022. The petitioner will be notified of the board's decision after that meeting.
Public Comment Deadline: May 11, 2022.
Agency Contact: William L. Harp, M.D., Executive Director, Board of Medicine, 9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 300, Richmond, VA 23233, telephone (804) 367-4558, or email william.harp@dhp.virginia.gov.
VA.R. Doc. No. PFR22-28; Filed March 23, 2022, 9:00 a.m.
BOARD OF NURSING
Agency Decision
Title of Regulation: 18VAC90-26. Regulations for Nurse Aide Education Programs.
Statutory Authority: § 54.1-3005 of the Code of Virginia.
Name of Petitioner: Gary Bahena.
Nature of Petitioner's Request: Amend regulations to allow for the following: (i) the use of licensed hospitals for clinical education rather than nursing homes; (ii) the elimination of requirement that registered nurses and licensed practical nurses serving as clinical instructors have experience working in nursing homes; and (iii) an allowance for clinical instructors to be on site and to perform their regular work at the same time but reduce the ratio from 10-to-one to four-to-one for students to instructor.
Agency Decision: Request granted.
Statement of Reason for Decision: At its meeting on March 22, 2022, the Board of Nursing voted to initiate a fast-track rulemaking regulatory action to (i) amend the regulations governing nurse aide education to allow nurse aide training to occur in locations other than a nursing home facility focusing on geriatric care and (ii) amend the regulations governing nurse aide education to update requirements of the program coordinator, primary instructor, and other instructional personnel to clarify roles and duties of each and to allow instructional personnel from other health professions to supplement the primary instructor.
The board voted to take no action on the request to allow clinical instructors to be on site and to perform their regular work concurrent with clinical instruction but reduced the ratio for students to instructor from 10-to-one to four-to-one. The board made this decision because the decreased ratio would require programs to hire more instructors at a time when they have struggled to fill instructor spots. This would increase the burden on nurse aide education programs and increase costs for students. Additionally, the division of the instructor's attention between their regular duties and instructor duties could lead to a decrease in the quality of instruction for the students.
Agency Contact: Jay P. Douglas, R.N., Executive Director, Board of Nursing, 9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 300, Richmond, VA 23233, telephone (804) 367-4520, or email jay.douglas@dhp.virginia.gov.
VA.R. Doc. No. PFR22-16; Filed March 22, 2022, 1:43 p.m.
BOARD OF PSYCHOLOGY
Agency Decision
Title of Regulation: 18VAC125-20. Regulations Governing the Practice of Psychology.
Statutory Authority: § 54.1-2400 of the Code of Virginia.
Name of Petitioner: Diana Rexach.
Nature of Petitioner's Request: Amend requirements for residency in school psychology to accept five years of experience working as a school psychologist limited in lieu of 1,500 hours of a supervised residency.
Agency Decision: Request denied.
Statement of Reason for Decision: At its meeting on March 15, 2022, the Board of Psychology voted to take no action on this petition. This decision was based on the variety of experience school psychologists limited obtain and the inability to provide a general acceptance of all school psychologist limited experience as equivalent to residency training. The board, however, intends to review this issue and related training and residency requirement issues at a later meeting.
Agency Contact: Jaime Hoyle, Executive Director, Board of Psychology, 9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 300, Richmond, VA 23233, telephone (804) 367-4406, or email jaime.hoyle@dhp.virginia.gov.
VA.R. Doc. No. PFR22-09; Filed March 15, 2022, 4:25 p.m.