ROSA M. RICHARDSON, )
vs. ) CASE NO. 77-1068
Respondent. )
Pursuant to notice a hearing was held before Charles C. Adams, a Hearing Officer with the Division of Administrative Hearings, at 8405 Northwest 53rd Street, Lindsley Building, Wing B, 2nd Floor, Koger Executive Center, Miami, Florida at 8:30 a.m., August 18, 1977. This case was continued for further consideration at a hearing date, March 6, 1978. The continuation of the hearing was held at 3:00 p.m., on that date, at the location of 1320 South Dixie Highway, Conference Room 1113, Offices of the State of Florida, Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, Coral Gables, Florida.
For Petitioner: Mrs. Rosa M. Richardson
Whether or not the Petitioner, Rosa M. Richardson, is entitled to the issuance of a laboratory technologist license, as regulated by Chapter 483, Florida Statutes.
On March 17, 1977, the Petitioner, Rosa M. Richardson, made application with the State of Florida, Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, to become a licensed clinical laboratory technologist. After reviewing the application of the Petitioner, the application was rejected by the Respondent. The rejection was made in the form of a letter addressed to the Petitioner, that letter being dated April 12, 1977, and appearing in the record as Joint Exhibit #2 by the parties. Basis for the denial of the license application was the
allegation by the Respondent that the Petitioner had failed to have 60 semester hours of academic study as required by Section 10D-41.25(9), Florida Administrative Code. Subsequently, by a pleading entitled Amendment to Notice of Denial of License, the Respondent indicated that it recommended the rejection of the license application on the additional ground that the Petitioner failed to have four years of pertinent experience in an approved laboratory, again under the provisions of Section 10D-41.25(9), Florida Administrative Code.
The Petitioner disagreed with the opinion of the Respondent concerning the issue of her qualifications to become a licensed laboratory technologist, and by correspondence of May 9, 1977, requested a formal hearing. The case was then forwarded to the Division of Administrative Hearings for consideration.
On the initial date of hearing of August 18, 1977, the Petitioner gave testimony concerning her work experience. Some of that experience pertained to a job which she held in May, 1972 through July, 1975, this employment being with the Department of Business Regulation, Division of Pari-Mutual Wagering. The job there was working in the racing laboratory doing routine urinalysis of the horses who were running on the race program. An additional function was to do blood tests for the presence of drugs in certain prisoners who were incarcerated by the law enforcement officials in Dade County.
Mrs. Richardson also worked six months at a regional laboratory as a laboratory technician I. This employment was during the year 1975. Those duties included DKU for new born babies, in other words testing for phenylhetonuria.
In 1975 through 1977,to include the date of hearing, the Petitioner worked for the North American Biological Laboratory Inc. of Miami, Florida. This job was as a laboratory technician. Some of the duties included routine tests for hepatitis.
Mrs. Richardson had also worked from July, 1968 through March, 1977 with the National Cardiac Childrens Hospital in Miami, Florida, as a laboratory assistant.
All the work related experience stated above was in the position of a laboratory technician; that is to say that the work was in a position of a laboratory employee and under the supervision of a person qualified in laboratory work.
Mrs. Richardson's educational background includes a high school diploma from the State of South Carolina; and two years of various courses at the Miami Dade Junior College to include courses in Math, Biology and Chemistry; however, the only courses in which the Petitioner received credit in this latter enrollment period was the credits for Math. The amount of total hours was three credit hours. This initial enrollment in the Miami Dade Junior College was in the years 1968 through 1970.
Mrs. Richardson has also completed a course offered by Charron-Williams College, Paramedical Division. This course was offered in the City of Miami, Florida, and was completed by the Petitioner on August 2, 1974. Moreover, a diploma was given to Mrs. Richardson indicating that she had completed the prescribed course as a clinical laboratory technician.
The Respondent concedes that the Petitioner is entitled to function as a laboratory technician and as a matter of fact the Petitioner is licensed by
the Respondent in that capacity. As stated before, the opposition of the Respondent to the licensure of the Petitioner pertains to the attempt of the petitioner to be a licensed laboratory technologist.
From the position taken at the hearing, the Respondent has abandoned its position in opposition to the licensure based upon the failure of the Petitioner to have completed at least four years of pertinent experience in an approved laboratory. This change in position by the Respondent has been made in view of the prior experience which the Petitioner has. On the second matter of opposition which pertains to the requirement of a minimum of 60 hours or equivalent in quarter or trimester hours in an accredited college or university with a chemical, physical or biological science as a major subject, the Respondent still asserts that the Petitioner has failed to meet those requirements.
When this modified position was made known to the Petitioner in the course of the August 18, 1977 hearing, it was brought to the attention of the undersigned that the Petitioner was presently attending a college program which would lead to the completion of 60 semester hours or equivalent of work which would bring about an approval of her application to be a licensed laboratory technologist. By agreement of the parties, the hearing was recessed to allow the Petitioner to pursue that course study with the understanding that if the Petitioner decided that she was unable to achieve licensure through the completion of that course study, this knowledge could be made known to the undersigned and a recommended order would be drafted on the basis of the information which had been presented at the August 18, 1977 hearing.
A period of time passed in which no one indicated their position on the question of requiring a recommended order to be made. This period of inactivity came to a close when the undersigned was made aware of the fact that the Petitioner wished to have a determination of the issue of her entitlement to a license as a laboratory technologist made before any completion of the current program in which she has enrolled. Therefore, on March 6, 1978 the hearing was reconvened. At that time it was offered into the record that 21 hours out of the needed 60 hours had been completed in the junior college program in which the Petitioner was now enrolled. Consequently, it left the hearing in the posture that any entitlement which the Petitioner would have to a license as a laboratory technologist must be conferred on the basis of the completion of the course with Charron-Williams College or some other alternative method expressed in Section 10D-41.25, Florida Administrative Code. This provision of the Florida Administrative Code pertains to the requirements for licensure as a laboratory technologist. A perusal of those requirements leads to the conclusion that the only possible basis for licensure which could be demonstrated, after an examination of that section, and in view of the testimony, would be the Section 10D-41.25(9), Florida Administrative Code, that provision states:
10D-41.25 Laboratory Personell -- Quali- fications, Technologist. A technologist shall meet one of the following requirements:
* * *
(9) Successful completion of two years of academic study (a minimum of 60 semester hours or equivalent in quarter or trimester hours) in an accredited college or university with a chemical, physical or biological science as a major subject, and at least four
years of pertinent experience in an approved laboratory, or
There are insufficient credit hours in the current enrollment In the junior college to meet the 60 semester hours or equivalent demand. Likewise, an examination of the Composite Exhibit #2, by the Petitioner, which includes the diploma, would show that the course study with Charron-Williams College was for purposes of becoming a clinical laboratory technician and not for the purpose of becoming a laboratory technologist. Moreover, assuming for purposes of argument that the program was designed as a course for clinical laboratory technologists, the credit received from Charron-Williams would not qualify because Charron- Williams is not an accredited college or university within the meaning of the aforementioned section of the rule. That rule is Section 10D-41.25, Florida Administrative Code.
This conclusion on the subject of accreditation has been reached by an examination of Section 483.051(11), Florida Statutes. That provision says that the Respondent may approve the curriculum in schools and colleges offering education and training leading toward the granting of a license.
The Respondent has taken the opportunity to set the qualifications and by its Section 10D-41.22(11), Florida Administrative Code, has defined the term accredited. In that provision it states:
10D-41.22 Definitions. In addition to definitions set forth in Section 483.041, F.S., as used in this chapter, unless context indicates to the contrary, the following terms shall mean:
(11) Accredited -- refers to educational accreditation by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association as deter- mined by the U.S. Commissioner of Education, or the Florida Department of Education, or, on an equivalent basis by the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services.
In the course of the hearing proof was offered that the publication Higher Education-Education Directory (1974-75), published by the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Education Division; is a directory which list the institutions accredited by agencies, which agencies are recognized by the U.S. Commissioner of Education as being an acceptable accrediting agency or association. That publication does not list Charron-Williams College as being an accredited institution for purposes of academic study, at the time that the Petitioner received her diploma from that college.
Finally, the Charron-Williams College seems to recognize that it has not achieved sufficient status to even have its graduates licensed as clinical laboratory technicians, a lesser level of endeavor than that necessary to become a clinical laboratory technologist. This recognition is stated in the December 23, 1977 letter from the president of the Charron-Williams College, Miami, Florida, addressed to the Director of the Office of Laboratory Services within the State of Florida, Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services. This letter may be found as Respondent's Exhibit #1, entered into evidence. Through that correspondence, the president of the college is requesting of the Respondent those things necessary to have its students accepted for licensure.
Upon the consideration of all the facts, the petitioner does not qualify for licensure as a laboratory technologist within the meaning of Chapter 483, Florida Statutes, and Section 10D-41.25, Florida Administrative Code.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction in this cause.
Based upon the consideration of all the facts it is concluded as a matter of law that the Petitioner is not entitled to licensure as a laboratory technologist, under the terms and conditions of Chapter 483, Florida Statutes, and Section 10D-41.25, Florida Administrative Code.
M. Richardson, to become a licensed laboratory technologist be denied.
DONE AND ENTERED this 20th day of March, 1978, in Tallahassee, Florida.
CHARLES C. ADAMS
Mrs. Rosa M. Richardson Leonard Helfand, Esquire 17935 Northwest 47th Place Department of Health and Carol City, Florida 33055 Rehabilitative Services
