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Meeting of the Board of Regents | April 2003

Tuesday, April 1, 2003 - 6:25am

 

THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

TO:

The Honorable the Members of the Board of Regents

FROM:

Johanna Duncan-Poitier

COMMITTEE:

Higher and Professional Education

TITLE OF ITEM:

Proposed Promulgation of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to the Residency Option Pathway for Dental Licensure

DATE OF SUBMISSION:

April 17, 2003

PROPOSED HANDLING:

Action

RATIONALE FOR ITEM:

To Implement Statute

STRATEGIC GOAL:

Goal 3

AUTHORIZATION(S):

SUMMARY:

 Attached for action is a proposed regulation to establish requirements for a new residency option pathway for dental licensure that would permit a candidate to substitute successful completion of an acceptable dental residency program for the licensure examination in clinical dentistry. The proposed amendment would specifically add subdivision (i) to the current section 61.2 and a new section 61.18 to the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education.

The proposed regulation was discussed at the March 2003 meeting of the Board of Regents. A Notice of Proposed Rule Making was published in the State Register on February 19, 2003. An Assessment of Issues Raised by Public Comment is also attached. Supporting materials for the proposed regulation are available upon request from the Secretary to the Board of Regents.

I recommend that the Board of Regents take the following action:

VOTED: That subdivision (i) of section 61.2 and section 61.18 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education be added, as submitted, effective May 22, 2003.

 

 Attachments

  

AMENDMENT TO THE REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION

Pursuant to sections 207, 6506, 6507, 6601, and 6604 of the Education Law.

1. Subdivision (i) is added to section 61.2 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, effective May 22, 2003, as follows:

(i) In accordance with section 6604(4) of the Education Law, applicants who are issued by the department a license to practice dentistry between May 22, 2003 and December 31, 2005, may substitute successful completion of a residency program that meets the requirements of section 61.18 of this Title in lieu of successful completion of Part III, the examination in clinical dentistry.

2. Section 61.18 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education is added, effective May 22, 2003, as follows:

Section 61.18 Residency option pathway for dental licensure.

(a) Definitions. As used in this section:

(1) CDA means the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association.

(2) Clinical means relating to or involving the direct examination and treatment of patients.

(3) Competent to practice dentistry means the level of knowledge and skills necessary to perform safely and independently the practice of dentistry consistent with the definition of the practice of dentistry in section 6601 of the Education Law.

(b) Residency program. In accordance with section 6604(4) of the Education Law, applicants who are issued by the department a license to practice dentistry between May 22, 2003 and December 31, 2005 may substitute successful completion of a residency program that meets the requirements of this section in lieu of successful completion of the examination in clinical dentistry (Part III of the dental licensing examination), prescribed in section 61.2 of this Title. In addition to meeting other requirements of this section, such residency program shall meet the following requirements:

(1) The residency program shall be a postdoctoral clinical dental residency program in either general dentistry, or a specialty of dentistry as defined in paragraph (2) of this subdivision, of at least one year's duration in a hospital or dental facility accredited for teaching purposes by the CDA, which is completed successfully by the applicant within two years prior to application for licensure to the department.

(2) The residency program in a specialty of dentistry shall be in the specialty of endodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, prosthodontics, or another specialty of dentistry, as determined by the department, for which at least 50 percent of the CDA accredited residency program consists of clinical training in one or more of the following areas: general dentistry, endodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, and prosthodontics.

(3) The residency program shall include a formal written outcome assessment which is acceptable to the department.

(i) For a CDA accredited residency program in general dentistry, the formal written outcome assessment used by the residency program shall be acceptable to the department if it includes:

(a) an acceptable notarized written statement by the residency program director attesting that the applicant has completed successfully the CDA accredited residency program and is in the director's judgment competent to practice dentistry; and

(b) acceptable notarized written statement(s) by the residency program director who supervised the dental procedures performed by the applicant, and/or the attending dentist(s) who supervised the dental procedures performed by the applicant if different from the residency program director, attesting that the applicant completed independently, and to generally accepted professional standards for dentistry, two full crowns, two endodontically treated teeth, four restorations (two anterior, two posterior) and one periodontal case during the residency program.

(ii) For a CDA accredited residency program in a specialty of dentistry, as defined in paragraph (2) of this subdivision, the formal written outcome assessment used by the residency program shall be acceptable to the department if it includes an acceptable notarized written statement by the residency program director attesting that the applicant has successfully completed the CDA accredited residency program in a specialty of dentistry, as defined in paragraph (2) of this subdivision, and is in the director's judgment competent to practice dentistry.

(c) A residency program that has not met the requirements of this section shall not be acceptable to the department for purposes of licensure under this section. A formal written outcome assessment shall not be acceptable to the department for purposes of licensure under this section if it does not meet the requirements of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of this section.

PROPOSED PROMULGATION OF SUBDIVISION (i) OF SECTION 61.2 AND SECTION 61.18 OF THE REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION PURSUANT TO SECTIONS 207, 6506, 6507, 6601, AND 6604 OF THE EDUCATION LAW RELATING TO THE RESIDENCY OPTION PATHWAY FOR DENTAL LICENSURE

ASSESSMENT OF ISSUES RAISED BY PUBLIC COMMENT

The proposed rule was published in the State Register on February 19, 2003. Below is a summary of written comments received by the State Education Department concerning the proposed rule making and the State Education Department's assessment of the issues raised by the comments.

COMMENT: Requiring statements in the formal written outcome assessment to be notarized is unnecessary.

RESPONSE: The proposed regulation requires the residency program's formal written outcome assessment to include a written statement by the residency program director attesting that the dental resident completed the residency program and is in the director's judgment competent to practice dentistry. In addition, for general dentistry, the program director and/or attending dentist(s) must attest to the successful completion of specified dental procedures. The regulation requires these statements to be notarized. Verification of a dental resident's successful completion of a residency program in lieu of passing the clinical dentistry examination is essential to ensure adequate preparation to support licensure. The Department believes requiring notarized statements will not place an undue burden on residency programs and will serve to protect the public by preventing the submission of fraudulent documents. The Department did modify the previous draft of the regulation to omit the proposed inclusion of language in the verification statement to the effect that such statement was "sworn under penalty of law."

COMMENT: It is unnecessary to require the residency program director to make a written statement attesting that the dental resident is in the director's judgment competent to practice dentistry. This could result in liability issues for the directors.

RESPONSE: Requiring the statement that the applicant is, in the residency program director's judgment, competent to practice dentistry is consistent with the intent of the authorizing statute. Education Law, section 6604(3) specifically states: "any such residency program shall include a formal outcome assessment evaluation of the resident's competence to practice dentistry acceptable to the department." The State Education Department believes that this requirement is reasonable and is necessary to protect the public. The Department further notes that, after discussing this issue with representatives of dental organizations and the directors of residency programs, it was determined that requiring residency program directors to verify a dental resident's competency to practice dentistry upon completing an approved dentistry residency program is consistent with law and would not present an unreasonable burden.

COMMENT: Permitting the residency option pathway to dental licensure will open many abuses and will diminish the public confidence in the competence of dentists.

RESPONSE: The regulation implements a statute enacted by the New York State Legislature which established the residency option pathway to dental licensure. This option will permit an applicant for licensure in dentistry to substitute successful completion of an acceptable residency program in dentistry for the licensure examination in clinical dentistry. As mandated by statute, the regulation requires the residency program to include a formal written outcome assessment of the resident's competency to practice dentistry in order to ensure adequate preparation to support licensure.

. COMMENT: Completion of the residency program should not be required in the case of specialty residency programs, which are more than one year in duration. Completing one year of the specialty residency program should suffice.

RESPONSE: The authorizing statute, Education Law section 6604(3), specifically requires the applicant for licensure to satisfactorily complete the postdoctoral residency program. The State Education Department does not have the authority to remove this statutory requirement by regulation.

COMMENT: Oral and maxillofacial pathology and/or oral and maxillofacial radiology should be included as acceptable residency programs.

RESPONSE: Oral and maxillofacial pathology and oral and maxillofacial radiology residency programs may participate in the residency pathway option, provided that at least 50 percent of the program consists of appropriate clinical training in one or more areas of dental practice identified in the regulation.

COMMENT: Candidates in residency programs in the specialty of oral and maxillofacial pathology should be required to be board certified for the residency pathway option.

RESPONSE: The statute authorizing the residency pathway option does not include board certification as a requirement. Accordingly, the State Education Department may not establish this additional requirement in regulation.

COMMENT: The proposed change is innovative. Completion of a residency program will provide an accurate assessment of an individual's competency to practice dentistry.

RESPONSE: No response to this comment is necessary.

COMMENT: A specialty residency program is not an acceptable substitute for the clinical licensing examination.

RESPONSE: Permitting specialty residency programs to participate in the residency pathway option is consistent with the authorizing statute. Education Law, section 6604(3) does not limit such participation to residency programs in general dentistry. The regulation prescribes appropriate specialty residency programs in dentistry that may participate and requires a formal written outcome assessment to evaluate the resident's competency to practice dentistry, as defined in section 6601 of the Education Law.

COMMENT: The residency pathway option is inappropriate if the candidate would be licensed to practice general dentistry, rather than licensure in a specialty of dentistry, after completing a specialty residency program or if the candidate did not graduate from an ADA accredited dental school.

RESPONSE: The proposed regulation does not alter the education requirement for licensure in dentistry. It simply permits the applicant to substitute successful completion of an acceptable postdoctoral residency program for the licensure examination in clinical dentistry. The State Education Department is not authorized by law to issue specialty licenses in dentistry.

COMMENT: The residency program director and/or attending dentist(s) should attest to the satisfactory completion of removable prosthodontics by a resident in a general dentistry residency program.

RESPONSE: The regulation provides that the residency program must have a formal written outcome assessment. That outcome assessment must include a written statement by the residency program director attesting to the dentist's competency to practice dentistry, as defined in Education Law, section 6601. Such practice includes the completion of removable prosthodontics. In addition, for general dentistry, the outcome assessment must include a written statement by the program director and/or attending dentist(s) attesting to the successful completion of specified procedures that are consistent with the procedures on the current clinical licensing examination.

COMMENT: The regulation should not lapse after 2005.

RESPONSE: Chapter 143 of the Laws of 2002 contains a sunset clause for the residency pathway option. Such option will expire on January 1, 2006 by law. The State Education Department does not have the authority to remove this sunset clause by regulation.

COMMENT: The regulation requires residency programs to develop new curricula, which takes a considerable amount of time. In addition, all applicants for dental licensure should have the option of using the residency option pathway.

RESPONSE: The regulation will not require the development of new curricula. In addition, all applicants for dental licensure will have the option of using this residency option pathway to dental licensure in lieu of completing the clinical licensing examination.