(a) The board shall issue a temporary license to practice optometry to a person who applies for and is eligible for licensure pursuant to Section 3046, but who is unable to immediately take the Part III - Patient Encounters and Performance Skills Examination developed by the National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO), required for licensure under this chapter, due to the state of emergency, proclaimed by the Governor on March 4, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to Section 3046, the person shall also satisfy all of the following conditions: (1) The person has never been previously licensed to practice optometry in any state in the United States. (2) The person pays to the board the applicable fee of one hundred dollars ($100), or a fee in an amount as determined by the board, not to exceed the reasonable cost of administering this section and submits an application to be a temporary licensee, as described in subdivision (j), to the board. (3) The person has received approval from their accredited school of optometry that the person meets the educational requirements to practice optometry. (4) The person satisfies all other conditions to licensure established by this chapter. (b) A person holding a temporary license shall be subject to the same rights and restrictions that are afforded to a person holding a valid, unrevoked California optometrist license, except as set forth in this section. For the purposes of this chapter, âtemporary licenseeâ means a person holding a temporary license pursuant to this section. (c) A temporary licensee shall practice under the direct supervision of a supervising optometrist. For the purposes of this chapter, âsupervising optometristâ means a California licensed optometrist that has been licensed for a minimum of five years and has been certified for the treatment of glaucoma, pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 3041, and submits an application to be a supervising optometrist, as described in subdivision (k), to the board. A licensed physician practicing ophthalmology may also supervise a temporary licensee and shall be subject to all of the same reporting requirements as set forth in this section. (d) Notwithstanding any other law, a temporary licensee may perform services as authorized by this chapter if both of the following requirements are met: (1) The temporary licensee renders the services under the direct supervision of a supervising optometrist who is not subject to a disciplinary condition imposed by the board prohibiting that supervision or prohibiting the employment of a temporary licensee. (2) The supervising optometrist is legally and professionally responsible for the actions of the temporary licensee. (e) For the purposes of this chapter, âdirect supervisionâ means that a supervising optometrist oversees the activities of, and accepts responsibility for, the services rendered by a temporary licensee. Direct supervision, as defined in this subdivision, requires that the supervising optometrist be physically present and immediately available in the facility or office in which the optometric services are being provided when the temporary licensee is with a patient. (f) The supervising optometrist shall have a formal written procedure in place by which patients are informed that an optometrist with a temporary license will be performing the services. Additionally, the patient shall be informed that the supervising optometrist will be supervising the temporary licensee and the supervising optometrist will be identified to the patient. The temporary licensee shall note in the medical record the patientâs consent to this process prior to performing services authorized by this chapter. (g) During the timeframe in which the temporary licensee holds a temporary license, the temporary licensee shall not open their own optometric office or place of practice. (h) The temporary license shall expire either upon the date that the temporary licensee c
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