STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

MARY DONNA LEE, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) CASE NO. 96-2187

) BOARD OF CLINICAL LABORATORY ) PERSONNEL, )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice, the Division of Administrative Hearings, by its duly designated Hearing Officer, Daniel M. Kilbride, held a formal hearing in the above-styled case on July 9, 1996, in Orlando, Florida.

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: Mary Donna Lee, pro se

2544 Robert Trent Jones Drive Apartment Number 816

Orlando, Florida 32835

For Respondent: Lealand L. McCharen

Assistant Attorney General Office of the Attorney General The Capitol, PL-01

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1050 STATEMENT OF THE ISSUE

Whether Petitioner is qualified for licensure as a Clinical Laboratory Supervisor, pursuant to Section 483.809, Florida Statutes and Rule 59O-5.002, Florida Administrative Code.

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

By application dated July 26, 1995, Petitioner applied to Respondent for a Clinical Laboratory Supervisor's license. In its Notice of Intent to Deny, Respondent informed Petitioner that her application had been denied based on her lack of qualifications for the certification. On November 28, 1995, Petitioner filed an Election of Right to Hearing requesting a Formal Hearing. This matter was referred to the Division of Administrative Hearings on May 8, 1996 and this hearing followed.

Petitioner testified herself, and offered into evidence two exhibits.

Respondent presented no witnesses and offered into evidence two exhibits. All exhibits were admitted into evidence. Near the close of the hearing, the Hearing Officer ruled that the record of the proceeding would remain open for a period

of thirty (30) days to permit Petitioner to supplement her application by providing an evaluation of her college transcript, as provided in Rule 59O- 6.002(8), Florida Administrative Code. Proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law were due ten (10) days after the thirty day period or ten days after the submission of the transcript, whichever was last.

A transcript of the hearing was filed on July 29, 1996. Petitioner has not filed a supplement to her application, nor asked for an extension of time, nor has she filed proposed findings of fact, as of the date of this order.

Respondent filed its proposed findings on August 19, 1996.

Explicit rulings on the proposed findings of fact contained in the Respondent's proposed recommended order may be found in the attached Appendix to Recommended Order, Case Number 96-2187.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. By application dated July 20, 1995, Petitioner applied to Respondent for a Clinical Laboratory Supervisor's license.

   
   

2. Petitioner has not earned a doctoral degree in clinical laboratory science, one of the specialty areas, or one of the chemical or biological sciences.

   
   

3. Petitioner does not have a masters degree in clinical laboratory science, one of the specialty areas, or one of the chemical or biological sciences.

   
   

4. Petitioner does not have a baccalaureate degree in medical technology, one of the specialty areas, or one of the chemical or biological sciences.

   
   

5. Petitioner does have a baccalaureate degree in business administration and has taken college level courses in biology, human anatomy and chemistry.

   
   

6. Petitioner has demonstrated that she has five years of pertinent experience following receipt of the degree.

   
   

7. Accompanying her application for licensure, Petitioner presented documentation that she completed an advanced clinical practicum as a Specialist in Blood Bank Technology in 1995 and has been certified by the national Board of Registry in Chicago, Illinois.

   
   

8. Petitioner did submit an evaluation of her college transcript by a qualified staff member of the Board of Registry, Chicago, Illinois.

   
   

9. Petitioner did not submit an evaluation of her college transcript by a Chairperson of a chemical or biological science department of a regionally accredited U. S. college or university.

   
   

10. Petitioner did not file a motion for an extension of time in which to submit an evaluation of her college transcript prior to the expiration of the thirty day extension period.

    
    

    CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

    
    

11. The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction over the subject matter and the parties. Section 120.57(1), Florida Statutes.

12. Section 483.809(1)(a), Florida Statutes, imposes on the Respondent the duty and obligation to prescribe the qualifications for licensure for all clinical laboratory personnel.

    
    

13. Section 483.809(b), Florida Statutes, specifically permits the Respondent to require appropriate education, training, experience or the passing of an examination as qualifications for licensure. Consequently, the Board has the full authority to prescribe educational requirements for licensure as a Clinical Laboratory Supervisor.

    
    

14. Section 483.805(4), Florida Statutes, authorizes the Board of Clinical Laboratory Personnel to adopt such rules as may be necessary to carry out its duties and authority.

    
    

15. It did so when it adopted Rules 590-2.002, 590-5.002 and 590-6.001 and 590-6.002, Florida Administrative Code, which read in pertinent part:

    
    

    590-2.002 Clinical Laboratory Personnel.

    (2) Supervisor means a person qualified to be a supervisor pursuant to the rules of this Board who is responsible for the day- to-day supervision or oversight of the technical and scientific operations in

    a laboratory speciality....

    * * *

    590-5.002 Supervisor.

    ...In order to be licensed as a supervisor in any specialty, an applicant shall meet the education and experience requirements of this rule and shall have four hours of Board approved HIV/AIDS continuing education pursuant to rule chapter 590-11.

    1. Education. An applicant shall meet one of the following education requirements:

       * * *

       1. Have a baccalaureate degree in medical technology, one of the specialty areas, or one of the chemical or biological sciences.

          
          

          590-6.001 Manner of Application.

          1. All persons applying for licensure shall submit an application signed under oath to the Board. The application must be accompanied by the application fee.

          2. The application shall contain the following:

       1. The clinical laboratory personnel category for which licensure is sought: supervisor...

          
          

          590-6.002 Documentation for Licensure.

          The following is a list of acceptable documents which shall be submitted to the Board as appropriate for the type of license sought in order to show eligibility for the license:

          1. Official transcript sent directly from the institution.

       * * *

       (8) For applicant's with a degree from a regionally accredited U. S. college or university whose major is not a chemical or biological science may submit an evaluation of the applicant's academic record from the chairperson of a chemical or biological science department of a regionally accredited U. S. college or university to demonstrate that the applicant's education is equivalent to a U. S. degree in the chemical or biological sciences.

       
       

16. The Board in the proper exercise of its rule making authority, created a separate and readily accessible pathway in Rule 590-6.002(8), Florida Administrative Code, for applicants whose degrees were not in the required fields to submit an evaluation of their transcripts to determine if their coursework was the equivalent of the required education.

    
    

17. Thus, the Board offered a comprehensive and equitable opportunity for applicants to a qualify for licensure while carrying out its duty to protect the public.

    
    

18. It is well established in Florida law that the formal rule making process is notice to the public at large of the requirements of any adopted rule.

    
    

19. Petitioner's lack of one of the specified educational degrees coupled with her failure to submit proper evaluation of her transcript with her application or during the additional thirty (30) day period permitted by the Hearing Officer, leaves no other conclusion but that Petitioner is ineligible for the license sought.

RECOMMENDATION

Based on the foregoing, it is hereby

RECOMMENDED that a Final Order be entered denying Petitioner's application for licensure as a Clinical Laboratory Supervisor.

DONE AND ENTERED this 27th day of August, 1996, in Tallahassee, Florida.

DANIEL M. KILBRIDE, Hearing Officer Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building

1230 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1550

(904) 488-9675

Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 27th day of August, 1996.

APPENDIX TO RECOMMENDED ORDER, CASE NO. 96-2187

Petitioner's proposed findings of fact.

Petitioner did not submit proposed findings.

Respondent's proposed findings of fact.

Accepted in substance: paragraphs 1,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. Rejected as subsumed or irrelevant and immaterial:

Paragraphs 2 (see Preliminary Statement) and 3 (see preliminary statement).

COPIES FURNISHED:

Lealand L. McCharen Assistant Attorney General

Office of the Attorney General The Capitol, PL-01

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1050

Diane Orcutt, Executive Director

Board of Clinical Laboratory Personnel Agency for Health Care Administration Northwood Centre

1940 North Monroe Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0792

Jerome W. Hoffman, General Counsel Agency for Health Care Administration 2727 Mahan Drive

Tallahassee, Florida 32308

Douglas M. Cook, Director

Agency for Health Care Administration 2727 Mahan Drive

Tallahassee, Florida 32308

Mary Donna Lee, pro se

2544 Robert Trent Jones Drive Apartment Number 816

Orlando, Florida 32835

NOTICE OF RIGHT TO SUBMIT EXCEPTIONS

All parties have the right to submit written exceptions to this Recommended Order. All agencies allow each party at least 10 days in which to submit written exceptions. Some agencies allow a larger period within which to submit written exceptions. You should contact the agency that will issue the final order in this case concerning agency rules on the deadline for filing exceptions to this Recommended Order. Any exceptions to this Recommended Order should be filed with the agency that will issue the final order in this case.

Docket for Case No: 96-002187

Orders for Case No: 96-002187