What Does Your Psychology Practice/Licensing Act Reveal That Can Help Your Efforts to Develop a Colleague Assistance Program?
As Chair of the Oklahoma Colleague Assistance program for the Oklahoma Psychological Association, I have been involved in helping establish a colleague assistance program over the past several years. A critical turning point in my efforts occurred while working clinically with other health care professionals. I began to examine the practice acts for various disciplines (i.e., medicine, nursing, pharmacy) and this led me to wonder how our psychology practice act compared. I determined six areas in which we differed significantly from our health professional peers in Oklahoma. I have posed these in the form of questions below. Even if you have a formal Colleague Assistance Program (CAP) in your state, it may be useful to review your state’s practice act as it lines up with the workings of your CAP. It may help to obtain a copy of your state’s psychology practice/licensing act as you read through the list.
- Does your practice act contain a reference to practicing with skill and safety that can be compromised by substance abuse and/or a psychiatric condition? Does your state practice act go further to include medical conditions and neurocognitive conditions which can impair functioning? Language about impairment is fairly commonplace in practice acts, but knowing how impairment is defined in your practice act is important.
- What does your state practice act say about reporting an impaired colleague? In Oklahoma, there is no explicit mandate in their licensing act for psychologists to report. Other professions in Oklahoma are explicit about a mandate to report impaired colleagues, and some professionals (e.g., physicians) are required to report across health profession lines. In some states, like Oregon, there is a requirement to make such reports within a specific time period, 10 days (ORS 676.150, signed into law January 1, 2010).
- Related to reporting an impaired colleague, does your state practice act grant civil and criminal immunity if the report is made in good faith? In our Oklahoma psychology practice act, this is not addressed.
- Will your colleague know that you reported her/him to the licensure board? In Oklahoma, the psychologist being reported to the licensure board will receive a copy of the Request for Inquiry (i.e., complaint form) that is sent to the board. This complaint form contains a description of what is being alleged and the name and contact information of the person making the report. Other boards in Oklahoma provide statutory protection of the identity of the person filing a complaint. This of course, lowers the threshold for reporting.
- Does your state practice act require you to answer questions upon annual renewal of your license regarding impairment, treatment, or current suitability to practice with skill and safety? In Oklahoma, this is not addressed in the practice act. Other health professional boards do include a section in their practice act regarding continued suitability to practice with skill and safety. In addition, the licensee is required to complete an annual attestation about suitability or continued ability to practice with skill and safety, among other questions such as legal problems.
- Does your state practice act empower your state licensure board to create or affiliate with an entity that can aid in addressing impairment among psychologists? In Oklahoma, the ability of our licensure board to affiliate with a program was not explicitly outlined in the practice act or Rules of the Board. An interpretation of the board rules by the State Attorney General’s Office determined that the licensure board had the authority to establish such an affiliation. Consequently, our licensure board moved forward with an agreement that allows psychologists to participate in the state's physician monitoring program.
Examining our psychology practice act in Oklahoma and comparing it to the practice act of our healthcare professional peers illuminated some stark differences. When I presented these differences at our annual state psychological association meeting several years ago it created strong momentum to make changes.