PRINTER'S NO. 4207
No. 2705 Session of 2008
INTRODUCED BY McILVAINE SMITH, BOBACK, BRENNAN, CALTAGIRONE, EACHUS, FRANKEL, GEORGE, GRUCELA, HENNESSEY, JAMES, JOSEPHS, KORTZ, KULA, McGEEHAN, MELIO, MYERS, M. O'BRIEN, PARKER, ROEBUCK, K. SMITH, SWANGER, THOMAS, YOUNGBLOOD, MURT AND BENNINGTON, JULY 9, 2008
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE, JULY 9, 2008
AN ACT 1 Providing for instruction of domestic violence awareness for 2 health care professionals licensed or certified by the 3 Commonwealth or governed by the State Board of Medicine, 4 State Board of Osteopathic Medicine or State Board of 5 Nursing. 6 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 7 hereby enacts as follows: 8 Section 1. Short title. 9 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Domestic 10 Violence Awareness Continuing Medical Education Act. 11 Section 2. Biennial relicensure and recertification. 12 (a) Requirements.--The appropriate licensing board shall 13 require physicians, certified nurse practitioners, registered 14 nurses, licensed practical nurses, nurse aides and assistants or 15 any other health care professional licensed or certified by the 16 Commonwealth or governed by the State Board of Medicine, State 17 Board of Osteopathic Medicine or State Board of Nursing to 18 complete a one hour continuing medical education course,
1 approved by the appropriate licensing board, on domestic 2 violence awareness as part of the biennial relicensure or 3 recertification as defined under section 25(b) of the act of 4 December 20, 1985 (P.L.457, No.112), known as the Medical 5 Practice Act of 1985. The course shall consist of information on 6 domestic violence, the impact of domestic violence on patients' 7 health, the number of patients in that professional's practice 8 who are likely to be victims of domestic violence and the number 9 who are likely to be perpetrators of domestic violence, 10 screening procedures for determining whether a patient has any 11 history of being either a victim or a perpetrator of domestic 12 violence and instruction on how to provide the patients with 13 information and referrals to resources in the local community, 14 such as domestic violence programs and advocacy groups that 15 provide legal aid, shelters, victim counseling, batterer 16 intervention services or counseling for children. 17 (b) Confirmation.--Each licensee or certificate holder shall 18 submit confirmation of having completed the required course on a 19 form provided by the appropriate licensing board when submitting 20 fees for each biennial renewal. 21 (c) Alternative courses.--The appropriate licensing board 22 may approve additional equivalent courses, which shall contain 23 all of the required elements specified under subsection (a), 24 that may be used to satisfy the requirements of this section. 25 Each licensing board that requires a licensee to complete an 26 education course under this subsection may include the hours 27 required for completion of the course in the total hours of 28 continuing medical education required by law for the profession. 29 (d) Multiple licenses.--Any person holding two or more 30 licenses subject to the provisions of this act shall be 20080H2705B4207 - 2 -
1 permitted to show proof of having taken one board-approved 2 course on domestic violence awareness for purposes of 3 relicensure or recertification for additional licenses. 4 (e) Failure to comply.--Failure to comply with the 5 requirements of this section shall constitute grounds for 6 disciplinary action under each respective practice act. In 7 addition to discipline by the appropriate licensing board, the 8 licensee or certificate holder shall be required to complete the 9 course set forth under subsection (a). 10 Section 3. Initial licensure and certification. 11 (a) Board requirements.--The appropriate licensing board 12 shall also require, as a condition of granting a license in this 13 Commonwealth, that each applicant for initial licensure by the 14 appropriate licensing board complete an educational course 15 acceptable to the board on domestic violence awareness which is 16 substantially equivalent to the course required under section 17 2(a). 18 (b) Compliance.--An applicant who has not taken the course 19 at the time of licensure shall, upon submission of an affidavit 20 showing good cause, be granted six months to complete the 21 requirement. 22 Section 4. Reporting. 23 Each licensing board shall report to the Department of State, 24 the chair of the Public Health and Welfare Committee of the 25 Senate and the chair of the Health and Human Services Committee 26 of the House of Representatives by July 1 of each year as to the 27 implementation of and compliance with the requirements of this 28 act. 29 Section 5. Effective date. 30 This act shall take effect in 120 days. F24L63JAM/20080H2705B4207 - 3 -