Meeting of the Board of Regents | January 2008

SUMMARY

Issue for Discussion

              The Associate Commissioner for the Professions will report on recent noteworthy activities relating to the Office of the Professions (OP).

Reason(s) for Consideration

              For information and possible policy guidance.

Proposed Handling

              The report will be presented to the Higher Education and Professional Practice Committee at the January 2008 Regents meeting.

Procedural History

              N/A

Background Information

              The Associate Commissioner’s report this month will focus on the following items:

• Issues related to the corporate practice of the health professions, including  health services in correctional facilities in New York City and in-store retail health clinics

• Testimony regarding primary care at a public hearing conducted by the Health Committee of the New York State Assembly

• Office of the Professions Leadership Forum – a meeting of approximately 100 representatives of professional associations, State Board Chairs, staff from the New York State Senate and Assembly, and OP staff to share priorities relating to the regulation of the professions in the upcoming year with a focus on the four core commitments of the OP (see attached presentation or go to http://www.op.nysed.gov/leaderforum-112807_files/LeadershipForumSlides-11-28-2007.ppt):

• State-of-the-Art Licensing and Registration
• Improved System for Practice Clarification
• State-of-the-Art Discipline System
• Maximization of OP Efforts to Contribute to P16 Efforts to Improve Student Performance

              At the Leadership Forum, teams led by OP managers described initiatives that will positively impact all of our processing and practice responsibilities. As suggested by the co-chairs of the Higher Education and Professional Practice Committee last month, OP plans to schedule future discussion and action items for the Committee regarding the work of the teams and the office’s strategic plan, including discussions of the relevant policy issues.  Examples of these discussions are the initiatives of the Planting the Seed team, the technology team, the discipline/illegal practice team, and the team devoted to reconciling practice interpretations and aging Title 8 statutory provisions with Commissioner’s Regulations and Regents Rules.  Based upon the guidance provided by the members of the Committee, we will propose a schedule that will include these discussions within the next year.

Recommendation

              N/A

Timetable for Implementation

              N/A