Picking up where we left off last week on licensing transparency, this week we look at how transparency from third-party groups can also help, or hinder, both our efforts to gather data for the occupational licensing database and a person's ability to apply for a license.
Many state boards require certifications from third-party organizations specific to a given profession. This can help us as we gather data, since it often provides background on a profession and, at times, resources for the state licensing boards themselves. Other times, organizations have those resources but require an account to access them. The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) are two such cases. The AANP does link to state practice acts and licensing boards, but its state fact sheets require an account to view.
One example is the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists, or ARRT. These certifications carry their own education and continuing education requirements, and since many states require them, they indirectly standardize licensing requirements across states. For each radiologic modality of radiography, radiation therapy, nuclear medicine, and others, ARRT lists two pathways: primary and post-primary. The requirements differ: the primary pathway requires an associate's degree. In contrast, the post-primary pathway requires certification through ARRT or a credential from the Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board (NMTCB) or the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS), along with structured education and clinical experience. Two additional certifications, Imaging Assistant and Registered Radiologic Assistant (R.R.A.), have their own requirements, with Imaging Assistant requiring a high school diploma or G.E.D. and R.R.A. requiring at least a master's degree. Fees vary by modality and pathway, ranging from $225 to $450 for the primary and post-primary pathways, and $75.00 for the imaging assistant certification. Transparency around education and fees is especially valuable when a state board requires a third-party certification as a prerequisite for licensure. Even when a state official fee total doesn't include this certification cost, we can still note the ARRT fee separately in our database.
National organizations such as the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) also act as advocacy groups on behalf of their professions. NSGC has one of the most transparent and helpful resources we've encountered so far. It includes a licensure map showing which states currently license genetic counselors, where legislation has been introduced, where it's been enacted, and where none has been introduced at all. The site also links to each state board's application, rules and regulations, licensure law, and general information page, along with the current laws that have passed or bills moving through state legislatures. It also offers resources for counselors licensed in multiple states, renewal requirements, continuing education requirements, and state-by-state checklists, all continually updated throughout the year. Resources like these give us a clear sense of which states license a profession and where to find the data.
With many professions, especially medical ones, requiring third-party certifications as a prerequisite for licensure, transparency from these organizations can either help or hinder our efforts to add and update the licensing database each year. These organizations sometimes provide valuable resources that help us understand a profession. However, they are not part of state occupational licensing boards and don't answer to state governments the way boards do, so they aren't obligated to disclose this information at all. The NSGC is a good example of a third-party organization going beyond that obligation, openly sharing licensing resources even though nothing requires them to.
Ethan Kelley is a Legislative Analyst at the Knee Regulatory Research Center and a predoctoral scholar at West Virginia University.