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By: Lori POE, MS, RD Licensure and Legislative Chair PADA
Posted 3/2003
- I am an RD and took time off to have children,
I have not worked in the field for the last few years can I still apply
for licensure? Yes, as long as you are current with your registration as
an RD.
- I currently do not work in the field of nutrition
but I am an RD and may work in nutrition in the future can I still apply
now? Yes, as long as you are current with your registration as an RD.
- Do you have to work full time in order to
apply for licensure? No, as long as you are current with your registration
as an RD you can apply regardless of your working status.
- What benefit is it to get licensed if you
do not work in the clinical setting and do not get reimbursed for services?
Although you may not work in a hospital or long term care setting now who
knows what may happen in the future to your job. Licensure is a legal definition
and provides you legal protection as a licensed professional and possibly
a better paying job.
- Is Licensure mandatory in PA? No,
but without licensure you can not call yourself an LDN. Also, it is likely
that hospitals
will require their dietitians/nutritionists to become licensed because
of issues like reimbursement. For example, Act 98, the Diabetes Law, requires
that MNT (Medical Nutrition Therapy) be performed "under the direction
of a licensed health care professional".
- How much will it cost to be licensed & how
much will it cost to apply? The estimated fee is under $100 for a two year
period. Application fee is expected to be around $35.
- Who determines who meets the criteria to be
licensed? The licensure board issues the license and has the ultimate decision
as to whether or not a person is issued a license.
- I am a DTR who has worked in the field for
over 15 years can I apply for licensure? During the
grandfather period 9/29/02-9/29/03 individuals who have worked in the field
for at least 5
of the 7 years preceding the law (9/29/02) & have a baccalaureate degree
or higher are eligible to apply even if they are not an RD. Although you
may be eligible to apply that does not guarantee you will be issued a license,
that is determined by the licensure board based on their review.
- I just recently finished my internship and
passed the RD exam, but have not worked in the field for 5 years can I
still apply to be licensed? Yes, as long as you have passed the RD exam,
you are eligible so apply.
- I was licensed in another state do I still
need to apply to be licensed in PA? Yes, each state law is different so
you should apply in PA and notify your old state of this change. The licensure
board will review your past license to see if it meets the standards set
in our law before they will grant you a license.
Additional Question and Answers
- Tell me again why this is necessary,
and why we just can't have our own Board?
Governor Ridge's office, and Governor Casey's
office before him, has mandated that no new Licensure Boards be
created. At this time, we would have no chance of getting a bill
passed if we insisted on our own Board. In addition, as noted previously,
we have approached most of the major health care related Boards
and have been turned down. Only the nurses have opened the door
for us.
- Will nutrition professionals have
to work under the direction of nurses?
No. This law would regulate the profession
in Pennsylvania, not day to day working relationships. I don't see
why there would be any significant change.
- What benefits would there be to PADA
members if this bill passes with a combined board? Besides
finally getting a bill passed, Pennsylvania nutrition professionals
(who are a frugal lot) would benefit by having one of the lowest
licensure fee scales in the country. Licensure fees are set to cover
the cost of Board activities, so the large number of nurses (approximately
70,000) would enable our fees to be very low. PA nurses currently
pay about $20.00 every two years.
- I still don't see any reference to
dietetic technicians, what about us?
If you recall from past discussions, the only
state that currently licenses technicians is Maine, although other
states are looking at it. Here in Pennsylvania, we have had such
a difficult task getting legislators to understand what dietitians
do, we decided we just couldn't "muddy the waters" anymore
and request inclusion of dietetic technicians. However, this is
another point where we could benefit from collaborating with the
nurses. As you may be aware, Pennsylvania licenses both registered
nurses (RN's) and licensed practical nurses (LPN's), so there is
a model in place license dietitians and dietetic technicians.
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