Date Presented 04/06/19
OTs must abide by certain standards to maintain a license to practice. Despite the existence of various studies on licensure loss in other healthcare professions, no prior research has been conducted regarding OT licensure revocation. The most common reasons for OT licensure loss were fraud and criminal conviction. These results can enhance ethical decision making in practice as well as educational curricula.
Primary Author and Speaker: Regina Drummond
Contributing Authors: Myrel Agbayani, Christine Chong, Chris Josko, Shelby Murley
PURPOSE: Occupational therapists must abide by certain standards to maintain a license to practice (American Occupational Therapy Association, 2016). Despite state requirements and the existence of guidelines for ethical practice provided by AOTA, therapists continue to face disciplinary actions due to a variety of reasons related to unethical and error-based practice (AOTA, 2015). While various studies on licensure loss have been completed within other health care professions, no prior research has been conducted regarding occupational therapist licensure revocation. The purpose of this study was to examine reasons for occupational therapy licensure loss and related demographic information in the United States from 2005 to 2015.
DESIGN: A retrospective descriptive study design was used to examine the reasons for OT licensure revocation in the United States from 2005 to 2015. An evaluation of public data assessed characteristics of specific groups of OTs that have lost their licenses. Institutional Review Board approval was obtained prior to implementation of this study.
METHOD: Fifty states were categorized into four regions: West, Midwest, South and Northeast (U.S. Census Bureau, n.d.). Public state databases were then scanned for the desired variables (region, gender, reason for licensure loss, etc.) within the 2005 to 2015 timeframe. Email correspondence was utilized for states with no public data available on licensure revocation. The collected data from the state licensing board websites or through email correspondence were compiled exported for descriptive statistical analysis.
RESULTS: From 2005 to 2015, 65 OTs had their license revoked in 40 states and District of Columbia. Fraud and criminal conviction were the top two reasons for licensure revocation in the majority female sample. The South region displayed the most license revocations than other regions. The majority of revocations occurred during the first 0-10 years of professional practice.
CONCLUSION: The results of this study may enhance ethical decision-making of occupational therapists and positively impact occupational therapy education. There is no standardized protocol across all states to determine a licensure sanction versus revocation, but a common measure utilized by all states is recommended.
IMPACT STATEMENT: Occupational therapists should be aware of common reasons for licensure revocation and ensure quality care while abiding by the AOTA Code of Ethics. Future research should focus on why OTs commit actions that lead to licensure revocation and disciplinary actions as a whole.
References
American Occupational Therapy Association. (2015). Enforcement procedures for the Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 69(Suppl. 3), 6913410012. http://dx.doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2014.696S19
American Occupational Therapy Association. (2016). How to get a license. Retrieved from http://www.aota.org/Advocacy-Policy/State-Policy/Licensure/How-To.aspx
U.S. Census Bureau. (n.d.). Census regions and divisions of the United States. Retrieved from https://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/maps-data/maps/reference/us_regdiv.pdf
