Intern Permit
TEMPORARY, LIMITED, AND SUPERVISED PRACTICE OF OPTOMETRY.
This Permit applies only to an optometrist who is seeking North Carolina licensure and who has not previously been granted a North Carolina license
An optometrist wishing to engage in the practice of optometry in North Carolina prior to taking and passing the Board’s clinical/practicum examination and who has never been licensed previously by the Board must first obtain an Intern Permit, previously known as a “Provisional License”. An applicant for an Intern Permit must hold a doctor of optometry degree from a school or college of optometry accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE) and be an “academically qualified optometrist”.* Such an applicant will be referred to as an Intern and should be introduced to patients as an “Intern seeking North Carolina licensure.”
The Intern should not be considered a provider or schedule patients under the Intern’s name. The Intern should not be listed as a provider in any marketing to patients.
An optometrist who has been previously licensed by the Board should refer to the Board’s Policy on Reinstatement or Restoration of License
The following criteria must be met before an optometrist can apply for an Intern Permit to practice optometry in North Carolina.
The applicant must be an academically qualified optometrist.*
The applicant must be seeking licensure in North Carolina:
He/she must have an active application to take or retake the North Carolina clinical/practicum examination at its next administration. Failure to take the Board’s Exam would make the applicant ineligible to renew the intern permit unless the applicant has still has not met the Board’s prerequisite requirement of passing the required NBEO examinations. In situations of good cause or excusable neglect, the Board at its discretion may reconsider the application.
The applicant must meet the following National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO) criteria:
The applicant has successfully passed NBEO examination Part I, Part II with TMOD, Part III and ISE, or
The applicant has registered to take the next administration of Part I, Part II with TMOD, TMOD (stand alone), Part III and/or ISE or is waiting for the results of any of these examinations.
An applicant holding a valid and active license in another state or jurisdiction who wishes to practice optometry in North Carolina before taking and passing the Board’s clinical/practicum examination must also meet criteria 1. and 2. above and have successfully passed all parts of the NBEO examinations that were available at the time the applicant graduated from an accredited school or college of optometry or is actively seeking NBEO exams or results as outlined in criteria 2. b. ii. above. Such applicant must also provide evidence or otherwise satisfy the Board that he/she is in good standing with each other state or jurisdiction in which he/she has been or currently is licensed. He/she also must provide evidence to the Board regarding (a) any restriction on his/her license or any discipline to which he/she has been subjected in any state or jurisdiction in which he/she previously has been licensed; (b) any surrender of a license by him/her in any state or jurisdiction; and (c) any pending disciplinary matter or investigation by any state or federal agency or authority.
Intern Permit authority:
Pursuant to section 90-115.1(5) of the General Statutes of North Carolina, the Board may issue an Intern Permit allowing an optometrist to render services and perform procedures that a duly licensed North Carolina optometrist may perform in accordance with Article 6 of Chapter 90 of the General Statutes of North Carolina, provided that such are performed at the direction and under the supervision of a North Carolina licensed optometrist. Ordinarily, such approval will be given by the Board only to persons who have an opportunity to work under the supervision of a North Carolina licensed optometrist in order to gain additional clinical experience prior to taking the licensing examinations or while awaiting the results of such examination.
“At the direction and under the supervision of” shall be applied to the facts of each particular situation in which an Intern performs optometric procedures which otherwise may be performed only by a licensed optometrist. The optometrist supervising the Intern assumes the responsibility for the Intern and therefore can and should control and direct the services and procedures performed by the Intern.
Responsibilities of the supervising optometrist and Intern:
Both the supervising optometrist(s) and the Intern must register by completing an application with the Board, and the optometrist seeking Intern Permit must pay the applicable registration fee. The application form is available on the Board website at: https://www.ncoptometry.org/board-policies/provisional-license-and-application.
The supervising optometrist must have been licensed for a minimum of five years in North Carolina and his/her license must be in good standing as outlined in criteria 3 above.
Direct supervision required: the supervising optometrist must be physically present within the practice location when the Intern is examining patients or providing optometric services. The practice location must be registered as a primary or branch office and must be located in North Carolina. Being absent from the practice location but being “available by phone” or “by computer” does not constitute direct supervision. Additional “direct supervision” requirements for the supervising optometrist are discussed in paragraphs 4, 5, and 6 below.
Identification of the Intern to the patient:
The Intern will likewise inform the patient of his/her status and introduce himself/herself as, "I am Dr. ABC; I’m interning with Dr. XYZ, and waiting to take the licensing examination. An Intern shall also wear appropriate identification at all times when involved in patient care that will identify himself/herself to patients by his/her name, degree if achieved and the word “INTERN”.
After the Intern has worked up the patient, the supervising optometrist must personally review the patient’s chart and independently evaluate and confirm the findings of the Intern. The supervising optometrist shall be responsible for all notations in the patient record and that he/she has independently confirmed all notations. When signing the chart, the supervising optometrist is attesting that he/she has met with the patient and has appropriately examined the patient.
Prescriptions:
Glasses or contact lens
In the event that the intern generates a glasses and/or contact lens prescription, the supervising optometrist must sign the prescription.
Pharmaceuticals
In all cases in which a prescription pharmaceutical agent is recommended by the Intern in the treatment of a patient, the supervising optometrist shall physically examine the patient prior to any prescription being written to determine the agent’s appropriateness for the patient’s condition. The supervising optometrist must sign all such prescriptions.
Limitations of authority:
The Intern will not participate in any form of telemedicine
If the Intern has passed the NBEO’s ISE examination and the supervising optometrist is certified by this Board to perform injections, the Intern may perform injections under the personal supervision (in the same room) by the supervising optometrist. An appropriate informed consent must be used and must note the specifics of the procedure.
Acknowledging responsibilities of the internship:
Both the supervising optometrist(s) and the Intern must apply to the Board for approval of the internship and each must acknowledge his/her respective responsibilities.
Term of an Intern Permit:
The initial Intern Permit is issued either for a six-month period or until the results of the Intern’s clinical/practicum examination are announced, whichever occurs first. All renewals begin the day following the day Board Exam results are released and must be consecutive and require the intern to register and take the next regularly scheduled Board Exam. The permit is forfeited if not renewed and cannot be renewed if the intern fails to take the Board's Exam unless he/she was unsuccessful at qualifying to take the Board’s Exam. The maximum number of times that any one applicant can renew an Intern Permit is two. Any current or former holder of a "provisional license," now recognized as an "intern permit," will have this permit considered as part of their maximum licensure count.
Intern Permit subject to discipline:
Both the holder of an Intern Permit and the licensed supervising optometrist are subject to discipline under the provisions of, inter alia, G.S. 90-121.2 and relevant Board rules.
Intern Permit fee:
The fee for an initial Intern Permit is $300 and $100 for the 2nd and 3rd consecutive extensions.
*If a candidate has successfully completed all academic requirements for graduation from an accredited optometry school, but the school has a requirement that the student must have successfully completed one or more parts of NBEO examinations before they confer the doctor of optometry degree, for the purpose of this Policy that candidate will be considered an “academically qualified optometrist.”
Intern Permits will be granted with a start date no earlier than one day following the first exam deadline for the preceding exam. (approximately eight months) or the date of application if after.