(a) General. Except as otherwise provided, an individual applying for licensure must:
  (1) submit completed application on forms approved by the board;
  (2) pay the appropriate application fee;
  (3) certify that the applicant is mentally and physically able to function as a medical physicist; and
  (4) be of good moral character.
(b) Eligibility. To be eligible for a license, a person must:
  (1) have an earned master's or doctoral degree:
    (A) from a program of study in medical physics that is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs (CAMPEP);
    (B) from a regionally accredited college or university in physics, medical physics, biophysics, radiological physics, medical health physics or equivalent courses; or
    (C) from a regionally accredited college or university:
      (i) in physical science (including chemistry), applied mathematics or engineering; and
      (ii) have twenty semester hours (30 quarter hours) of upper division semester hour credit or graduate level physics courses, if offered:
        (I) by the faculty of a Department of Physics and would be acceptable in meeting undergraduate or graduate degree requirements in physics of the offering department; or
        (II) by the faculty of a program accredited in medical physics by the CAMPEP; or
        (III) by the faculty of another science department and acceptable to the board.
  (2) have demonstrated, to the board's satisfaction, the completion of at least two years of full-time work experience in the medical physics specialty for which the application is made.
  (3) have work experience in more than one specialty to include six additional months of full-time equivalent work experience in each additional medical physics specialty for which the application is made.
(c) Work experience. Full-time work experience shall be at least 32 hours per week in the specialty area. Part-time work experience may be aggregated in order to meet the minimum of 32 work hours per week. All work experience must have been completed in the five years preceding the date of application for licensure as a medical physicist, or training license in the medical physics specialty for which application is made.
(d) International academic credit. Degrees and course work received at international universities shall be acceptable only if such course work could be counted as transfer credit by regionally accredited universities. An applicant having an international degree(s) must furnish at the applicant's own expense an International Credential Evaluation from the Foreign Credential Service of America (FCSA), a credential evaluation from an American Board of Radiology (ABR) approved Credentials Evaluation organization, or another similar entity as approved by the board. The degree evaluation must be sent directly to the board by the evaluation service. An applicant must submit with the application complete certified copies of academic transcripts showing proof of the degree(s) awarded (or equivalent degree) and the date awarded. Documents written in languages other than English shall be accompanied by a certified English translation.
(e) Approved specialty examination. An applicant under this section must successfully pass one of the following examinations in each specialty for which application is submitted:
  (1) for the therapeutic radiological physics specialty, the examination offered by:
    (A) the American Board of Radiology or its successor organization in therapeutic radiological physics, radiological physics or therapeutic medical physics;
    (B) the American Board of Medical Physics or its successor organization in radiation oncology physics; or
    (C) the Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine or its successor organization in radiation oncology physics;
  (2) for the medical nuclear physics specialty, the examination offered by:
    (A) the American Board of Radiology or its successor organization in medical nuclear physics radiological physics or nuclear medical physics;
    (B) the American Board of Medical Physics or its successor organization in nuclear medicine physics;
    (C) the American Board of Science in Nuclear Medicine or its successor organization in physics and instrumentation or in molecular imaging science; or
    (D) the Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine or its successor organization in nuclear medicine physics;
  (3) for the diagnostic radiological physics specialty, the examination offered by:
    (A) the American Board of Radiology or its successor organization in diagnostic radiological physics, radiological physics or diagnostic medical physics;
    (B) the American Board of Medical Physics or its successor organization in diagnostic imaging physics or diagnostic radiology physics; or
    (C) the Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine or its successor organization in diagnostic radiology health physics;
  (4) for the medical health physics specialty, the examination offered by:
    (A) the American Board of Radiology or its successor organization in radiological physics;
    (B) the American Board of Health Physics or its successor organization in health physic or comprehensive health physics;
    (C) the American Board of Medical Physics or its successor organization in medical health physics; or
    (D) the American Board of Science in Nuclear Medicine or its successor organization in radiation protection.
(f) Jurisprudence Examination. Applicants for licensure must pass a jurisprudence examination ("JP exam"), which shall be conducted on the licensing requirements and other laws, rules, or regulations applicable to the medical physicist profession in this state. The jurisprudence examination shall be developed and administered as follows:
  (1) Questions for the JP Exam may be prepared by board staff with input from the Advisory Committee and board, or contracted out to a third party vendor. Board staff shall make arrangements for a facility by which applicants can take the examination;
  (2) Applicants must pass the JP exam with a score of 75 or better within three attempts, unless the Board allows an additional attempt based upon a showing of good cause. An applicant who is unable to pass the JP exam within three attempts must appear before the licensure committee of the board to address the applicant's inability to pass the examination and to re-evaluate the applicant's eligibility for licensure. It is at the discretion of the licensure committee to allow an applicant additional attempts to take the JP exam;
  (3) An examinee shall not be permitted to bring books, compends, notes, journals, calculators or other help into the examination room, nor be allowed to communicate by word or sign with another examinee while the examination is in progress without permission of the presiding examiner, nor be allowed to leave the examination room except when so permitted by the presiding examiner.
  (4) Irregularities during an examination such as giving or obtaining unauthorized information or aid as evidenced by observation or subsequent statistical analysis of answer sheets, shall be sufficient cause to terminate an applicant's participation in an examination, invalidate the applicant's examination results, or take other appropriate action;
  (5) A person who has passed the JP Exam shall not be required to retake the Exam for another or similar license, except as a specific requirement of the board;
(g) Alternative License Procedures for Military Service Members, Military Veterans, and Military Spouses.
  (1) An applicant who is a military service member, military veteran, or military spouse may be eligible for alternative demonstrations of competency for certain licensure requirements. Unless specifically allowed in this subsection, an applicant must meet the requirements for licensure as specified in this chapter.
  (2) To be eligible, an applicant must be a military service member, military veteran, or military spouse and meet one of the following requirements:
    (A) holds an active unrestricted medical physicist license issued by another state that has licensing requirements that are substantially equivalent to the requirements for a Texas medical physicist license; or
    (B) within the five years preceding the application date held a medical physicist license in this state.
  (3) The executive director may waive any prerequisite to obtaining a license for an applicant described by this subsection, after reviewing the applicant's credentials.
Cont'd...
(4) Applications for licensure from applicants qualifying under this section shall be expedited by the board's licensure division. Such applicants shall be notified, in writing or by electronic means, as soon as practicable, of the requirements and process for renewal of the license.
  (5) Alternative Demonstrations of Competency Allowed. Applicants qualifying under this section, notwithstanding:
    (A) the one year expiration in §160.8(a)(2) of this title (relating to Application Procedures), are allowed an additional six months to complete the application prior to it becoming inactive; and
    (B) the 20 day deadline in §160.8(a)(6) of this title, may be considered for permanent licensure up to five days prior to the board meeting.
(h) Applicants with Military Experience.
  (1) For applications filed on or after March 1, 2014, the Board shall credit, with respect to an applicant who is a military service member or military veteran as defined in §160.2 of this title (relating to Definitions), verified military service, training, or education toward the licensing requirements, other than an examination requirement, for a license issued by the Board.
  (2) This section does not apply to an applicant who:
    (A) has had a medical physicist license suspended or revoked by another state or a Canadian province;
    (B) holds a medical physicist license issued by another state or a Canadian province that is subject to a restriction, disciplinary order, or probationary order; or
    (C) has an unacceptable criminal history.

Source Note: The provisions of this §160.7 adopted to be effective July 7, 2016, 41 TexReg 4819; amended to be effective February 1, 2018, 43 TexReg 465