Respiratory care practitioners.

(1) Under the Respiratory Care Practice Act, the Respiratory Care Board of California licenses and regulates the practice of respiratory care and therapy. The act requires an applicant to successfully pass the national respiratory therapist examination conducted in accordance with board regulations. This bill would, instead, require an applicant to pass all parts of the national registered respiratory therapist examination, unless an applicant provides evidence that he or she passed the national certified respiratory therapist examination prior to January 1, 2015, and there is no evidence of prior license or job-related discipline, as determined by the board in its discretion. The bill would make conforming changes. (2) The act authorizes a person who has filed an application for licensure with the board to perform as a respiratory care practitioner applicant under the direct supervision of a respiratory care practitioner, if the applicant has met education requirements and passed the national respiratory therapist examination, if he or she ever attempted the examination. Those privileges automatically cease if the applicant fails that examination. This bill would authorize the board to extend the dates an applicant may perform as a respiratory care practitioner applicant for up to 6 months when the applicant is unable to complete the application for licensure process due to causes outside his or her control, or when the applicant provides evidence that he or she has successfully passed the national certified respiratory therapist examination, and the applicant has otherwise completed the application for licensure process and has not previously been authorized to practice as a respiratory care practitioner applicant.