Mission Responsible
by JUDY A. WHITE, PT, Chair
Being a member of the NCBPTE has its
positives and not-so-positives; however, one
thing for sure, it is not a “mission impossible”!
The mission, or purpose, of the Board was
clearly stated by the 1951 N.C. General
Assembly: “to establish and maintain standards
for the practice of physical therapy to protect
the safety and welfare of the citizens of North
Carolina; to license physical therapists and
physical therapist assistants to practice physical
therapy in the State; to investigate complaints
regarding unauthorized practice of physical
therapy in the State and acts of licensees that
violate the Practice Act and to issue interpreta¬
tions of questions arising from the Physical
Therapy Practice Act.” Given this legislative
directive, the mission of the Board is indeed
“mission responsible”! Both the staff and
Board assume this responsibility with full
commitment.
The Board is continually challenged by
changes in health care, both nationally and
internationally. Many of these changes have
become repeat concerns appearing on the
Board’s agenda and have, thus, evolved as
issues. The Board has identified the following
as issues which should be monitored closely:
PROPOSED RULES CHANGES
In order for a Board to make changes in its
Rules, it must follow a strict procedure outlined
by the North Carolina General Assembly. The
purpose of this procedure is to ensure public
input from the citizens of North Carolina. This
procedure includes publication in the North
Carolina Register of a Notice of Rule Making
Proceedings and also filing the text of the rules.
In addition, there is a Public Hearing on the
proposed changes and a designated time for
written comments to be received. Following the
Public Hearing and Board’s action, the rules
must go through the Rules Review Commission
and final approval by the Legislature. The entire
process may take up to two years to complete.
This Newsletter is dedicated to notification
of licensees and the general public that the
Board is proposing changes in its current
rules (please see John Silverstein’s article for
specifics.) In addition to the official Board
Public Hearing that is conducted by the Board
as a matter of standard procedure, the Board
has voted to host three public forums across
supervision, especially physical therapy aides;
foreign educated applicants; continuing
competency for licensees; telehealth; the PT
and PTA national examination process and
reporting; and, documentation. All of these
issues are a part of the routine scrutiny that
the Board achieves in its effort to maintain
its commitment to the mission.
A primary Board focus of the past few
months has been a review of the Board rules
and procedures. Patricia Stravakas, Ben Massey,
and John Silverstein served as members of the
Rules Revision Committee which performed
a thorough review of the existing rules in light
of the Federation of State Boards of Physical
Therapy (FSBPT) Model Practice Act, rules
of other physical therapy boards, and rules
that the Board has previously identified as
needing revision. This committee presented 36
recommendations of changes, interpretations,
and additions to the Board at its September 7
quarterly meeting. Some of these suggestions
included issues of supervision, documentation,
telecommunications, definition of physical
therapy, foreign educated applicants, and
disciplinary actions. These recommendations
have and will continue to generate lengthy,
the state to get input from licensees before
finalizing the rules. Therefore, licensees are
encouraged to attend these forums to express
your opinions for or against the changes.
The Forums will be conducted from 7:00
PM - 9:00 PM at the following locations:
January 10,2001 (Wed) Morganton, Grace
Hospital, 2201 Sterling Street, (take Exit 105
off of 1-40; turn right; take the 1st right at the
stoplight past McDonalds toward hospital; the
meeting will be held in the Conference Dining
Room in the Basement).
January 23,2001 (Tues) Chapel Hill, Wm &
Ida Friday-Center of UNC, H wy 54, (directions:
http://www.fridaycenter.unc.edu)
February 7,2001 (Wed) Greenville, Belk
Building (Room 101) on the campus of East
Carolina University, corner of Greenville Blvd.
and Charles St. Parking Ls available in the front
and back of the building.
in-depth
discussions
by the Board,
beginning at
the December
17 Board
meeting. The
rule change
recommenda¬
tions will then
be presented
for public
scrutiny in
January and
February, at
which time comments will be encouraged and
welcomed. Hopefully, many of you will attend
these public sessions and be active participants
in the process.
In closing, the Board is actively involved
in monitoring the changing environment in
light of the North Carolina Practice Act and
making the appropriate changes as we address
the purpose of the NCBPTE. . .it is a pleasure
to be “mission responsible” !
Inclement weather: please call the Board
office at 800-800-8982 or 919-490-6393 if there
is a question regarding inclement weather. A
recording will provide status information
regarding the forum.
We would like to thank Grace Hospital,
East Carolina University, and the University
of North Carolina for hosting these events.
As the Board is not charging a registration
fee, there will be no be handouts available or
refreshments provided.
The proposed rules should be available
on the web page (www.ncptboard.org) by
January 1,2001. For easy reference, you may
wish to download and print these proposed
rules and bring them to the forum. If you are
unable to attend the forum, please send your
written comments to: ncptboard@mindsnrintt.com.
fax 919-490-5106, or US Postil Mail by Feb 7, 2001.
Ben F. Massey, Jr., PT,
Executive Director
