June 2010- Oregon
Taking License | by Kraig Bohot
From training customer service staff to better detecting fraudulent identification, and requiring applicants already licensed in other states to pass examinations to obtain licensure in Oregon, the Oregon Health Licensing Agency (OHLA) and Board of Cosmetology are taking steps to ensure all applicants for licensure are qualified to provide services on the public with skill and safety.
On a recent day at OHLA, customer service staff discovered two Social Security cards that were not official government documents.
“While it is rare, finding two fake Social Security cards in one day shows that we need to continue to stay on top of attempts to thwart the qualification process,” says OHLA Licensing and Business Services Manager Sylvie McMillan. “We take this very seriously.”
OHLA and the Board of Cosmetology adopted a new policy at the board’s May 10 meeting to require out-of-state applicants already authorized to practice in other states to pass both the Oregon Laws & Rules and field of practice examination(s) to qualify for certification in Oregon.
“Because licensing requirements vary from state to state, we want to ensure that all of our applicants for certification meet Oregon standards,” says Board of Cosmetology Chair Debora Masten. “This streamlines the qualification process by taking out the variables among state standards.”
Approximately 500 out-of-state applicants are certified in one of the four fields of cosmetology in Oregon annually through reciprocity, which recognizes other states’ and countries’ equivalent education, examination and licensing requirements. However, few state standards are exactly the same, resulting in differences in education and examination requirements.
I’ve heard from two other states, Massachusetts and New Mexico, which require the written examination for out-of-state applicants. Some states, such as Massachusetts, require these applicants to take a practical examination as well. Neighboring Washington and California require out-of-state applicants to pass a written examination.
For an additional $50 per examination for each of field of practice and the hour and a half it takes to complete each examination, the new requirement doesn’t appear to be too burdensome to out-of-state applicants compared to the public protection goal of ensuring they’re qualified to practice in Oregon.
“We want to make certain that if they’re coming into this state they know what they’re doing,” says OHLA Director Randy Everitt.
Who would disagree with that?
This new feature will appear periodically to provide an “up close and personal” look at Oregon Health Licensing Agency staff to provide Northwest Stylist readers a better understanding of the licensing and regulatory process and the people behind the process.
Many of the issues readers of Northwest Stylist become aware of result in revisions to Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) and Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) that establish the regulatory parameters of professions regulated by the Oregon Health Licensing Agency, including the four fields of practice of the Board of Cosmetology.
OHLA Policy Analyst Samie Patnode works with OHLA boards and councils to develop these regulatory revisions and guide them through the legislative and administrative rulemaking process.
Patnode has been busy in 2010 with a full slate of issues that require research, analysis and holding board and council sub-committee meetings to leverage the professional expertise and public perspective of board and council members.
In 2010, OHLA is preparing for, currently conducting or has completed administrative rulemaking for the Board of Cosmetology, Board of Direct Entry Midwifery, Nursing Home Administrators Board, Respiratory Therapist Licensing Board, Sex Offender Treatment Board, and the Advisory Council for Electrologists, Permanent Color Technicians and Tattoo Artists and is preparing proposed legislation for the Board of Denture Technology.
Describe your job in approximately 25 words: I facilitate development of profession-specific and agency-wide policy as it relates to regulatory requirements in state statute and administrative rule. It can be both collaborative and sometimes controversial.
What do you like about your job the most? Getting people with diverse viewpoints to find common ground. The diversity and complexity of the issues involved.
What is the most challenging aspect of your job? Trying to address multiple issues and meet multiple deadlines for multiple professions. There are a lot of details that need to connect from concept to completion that require thorough review, discussion and consensus.
How do you cope with the challenges of the job? By realizing that it’s a team effort and by leveraging the knowledge and expertise of board and council members, external stakeholders, and agency staff, management and legal counsel.
What helps you succeed in your job? I learned a lot about organizational leadership working toward my degree in business management. State training for administrative rulemaking and rule writing has helped, as well as on-the-job experience in the last session of the Oregon State Legislature. There are too many people to mention that have taken the time to help explain the idiosyncrasies of policy development.
This new feature highlights inquiries from other states and Oregon’s responses.
Question: Does your state require all salons have a sterilization unit? From: Iowa Board of Cosmetology Arts & Sciences http://www.idph.state.ia.us/licensure/board_home.asp?board=cos
Answer: No. Under Oregon Administrative Rule (OAR) 817-010-0065(4): Optional sterilization equipment used in lieu of disinfectants shall be checked annually to ensure it is reaching the temperature and/or pressure required by manufacturer’s instructions.
5) When used according to the manufacturer’s instructions, each of the following is an approved method of disinfecting tools and implements:
(a) Complete immersion in the disinfecting solution of the object(s) or portion(s) thereof to be disinfected;
(b) Steam sterilizer, registered and listed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; or
(c) Dry heat sterilizer or autoclave, registered and listed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The Board of Cosmetology voted at its May 10, 2010 meeting to approve a legislative proposal to establish a cosmetology field of practice incorporating the individual fields of practice of esthetics, hair design and nail technology.
Board Chair Debora Masten voted against the proposal, stating it was unclear why individual fields of practice were established in the first place in 2005, questioning whether or not a cosmetology umbrella certification would facilitate licensure reciprocity between Oregon and other states, and observing that an increasing number of practitioners are specializing in individual fields of practice.
Board members stated that “cosmetology” is nationally recognized as a field, that it would not change what is taught in cosmetology career schools, and that the statutory definition of “cosmetology” means “…the art or science of beautifying the improving the skin, nails and hair….”
OHLA Policy Analyst Samie Patnode stated there has not been a true cosmetology certification issued since 1978 and that the process of implementing a cosmetology field of practice would take approximately two years if approved by the Oregon State Legislature in the 2011 session.
To ensure cosmetology career schools are meeting state standards for conducting the practical examination, the Board of Cosmetology voted to conduct random, rather than scheduled, evaluations.
How many practitioners and facilities are active in Oregon? (Numbers in parentheses +/- change from previous month.) According to Oregon Health Licensing Agency (OHLA) records as of May 3, 2010:
Practitioners..... 31,089 (-6)
Facilities..... 4,714 (+33)
Independent contractors..... 7,730 (+168)
Certificate of ID..... 344 (+32)
Barbering..... 5,063 (-35)
Esthetics..... 13,358 (+29)
Hair Design..... 21,320 (+71)
Nail Technology..... 14,226 (-23)
Looking for past Board News? Visit the archives page.
Oregon Health Licensing Agency
700 Summer Street NE, Suite 320 • Salem, OR 97301-1287
Licensing Office (503) 378-8667 • Enforcement Unit (503) 378-4294
www.oregon.gov/OHLA
OHLA Agency Staff:
Randy Everitt, Director
Tim Molloy, Regulatory Operations
Board of Cosmetology:
Debora Masten, Salem - Chair
Sharon Wiser, Lake Oswego - Vice Chair
Michael D. Snook, Salem
Linda Bergmann, Florence
Patricia A. Hall, Pendleton
Herb Hirst, North Plains
Shelly Couch, Gladstone
