Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0480-01-.08 - EXAMINATIONS

(1) The Board requires the following examinations to be successfully completed for licensure as a dispensing optician:

(a) The National Opticianry Competency Examination or its successor, which is graded on a scale of 0-100 with a minimum passing score of seventy (70).

(b) The National Contact Lens Registry Examination or its successor, which is graded on a scale of 0-100 with a minimum passing score of seventy (70).

(c) The Tennessee Dispensing Optician Examination, which is graded on a scale of 0- 100 with a minimum passing score of seventy (70) on each portion of the examination. This examination shall be administered by a testing agency approved by the Board. The following subjects may be included on the Tennessee Dispensing Optician Examination:

1. Anatomy and physiology of the eye

2. Applied ophthalmic and geometric optics

3. Ophthalmic lens design

4. Ophthalmic materials

5. Ophthalmic dispensing

6. Contact lenses

7. Laboratory techniques

8. Practical subjects

(d) The Tennessee Jurisprudence Examination, which is graded on a scale of 0-100 with a minimum passing score of ninety (90).

1. The following subjects may be included on the Tennessee Jurisprudence Examination:

(i) Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 63, Chapters 2 and 14; and

(ii) Official Compilation, Rules and Regulations of the State of Tennessee, Chapter 0480-01.

2. The applicable statutes and regulations can be accessed at the Board's Internet web page or are available upon request from the Board's administrative office.

3. The format of the examination shall be "open-book."

4. The jurisprudence examination shall be mailed or emailed to the Applicant when the application has been received by the Board's administrative office.

5. The applicant shall complete the Tennessee jurisprudence examination and return it to the Board's administrative office.

6. If the Board determines that the applicant has failed to successfully complete the Tennessee jurisprudence examination, the applicant will be mailed another examination and he/she must continue to retake the examination until it has been successfully completed before the application will be deemed complete and presented to the Board for consideration.

(2) Except for the Tennessee Jurisprudence Examination, admission to, application for, and the fee required to sit for the examinations are governed by and must be submitted directly to the testing agencies.

(a) The applicant shall complete all requirements of Rule 0480-01-.04, Qualifications for Licensure prior to being approved to take the Tennessee Dispensing Optician Examination.

(b) The applicant shall cause his/her score results from the National Opticianry Competency Examination and the National Contact Lens Registry Examination to be submitted directly from the testing agencies to the Board administrative office. The applicant shall accomplish this prior to being approved to take the Tennessee Dispensing Optician Examination and in conjunction with the filing of an application for licensure.

(3) The effectiveness of any examination for purposes of measuring competency to practice and therefore eligibility for licensure is two (2) years from the date on which the examination was successfully completed. This is the date on which the applicant took the exam and not the date on which passing scores were reported to the Board.

(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (3), submitting proof of current certification by the American Board of Opticianry and the National Contact Lens Examiners shall be considered as equivalent to passing the examinations required by subparagraphs (1)(a) and (1)(b) if the applicant's initial certification was awarded based upon passing the examinations required by subparagraphs (1)(a) and (1)(b).

Notes

Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0480-01-.08

Original rule filed August 2, 1995; effective October 16, 1995. Amendment filed July 16, 1997; effective September 29, 1997. Amendment filed November 30, 1998; effective February 13, 1999. Amendment filed October 18, 2005; effective January 1, 2006. Amendment filed March 27, 2009; effective June 10, 2009. Amendments filed June 15, 2022; effective 9/13/2022.

Authority: T.C.A. §§ 63-14-101, 63-14-103, and 63-14-107.