Dear RDH:
This is in response to a letter by Suzanne Mann, RDH (May 1996 issue). Ms. Mann wrote to inquire about licensure by credentials in New Mexico. She noted in her letter that she is a "dues paying member of ADHA" but that she had been unable to get the information she sought from us.
It is our practice to keep record of all inquiries, so we went back to see if we could find any information on Ms. Mann`s call. We were unable to find a record of a conversation with her and discovered in fact she has not been an active member of ADHA since 1994. Never-theless, if we had spoken with Ms. Mann, member or not, we would have offered to send her "Statutory Provisions for Licensure by Credentials/Reciproci-ty," an ADHA publication that provides state-by-state information about the process.
For example, it would have told her that in New Mexico:
"Licensure by credentials is available to a licensee of another state who is a graduate of a two-year accredited program (except for a dental hygienist with seven years` practice who licensed prior to the national board requirement and is thus excused). Also required is infection control continuing education, 15 additional CE credits in the 12 months prior to application, and active practice of 1,000 hours during three of the past five years."
Because these published guidelines are open to board interpretation, and subject to change at any time, we would also have provided her with our dental hygienist resource booklet with the telephone number of the state licensing authority.
We would have encouraged her to follow up with the agency for more details about the application process. We have taken the liberty of forwarding this information to Ms. Mann, along with membership information, as her membership had expired in 1994.
If any of your other readers are interested in the documents cited here, or in information about ADHA membership, they can reach us at (800) 243-3242 or they can visit our World Web site at http: //www.adha.org.
Thank you for the opportunity to clarify this matter for your readers.
Ann Battrell Stillwell, RDH, BS
President, American Dental Hygienists` Association
