45 Pa. Commw. 195 | Pa. Commw. Ct. | 1979
Opinion by
Joseph R. Oliver (Petitioner) asks us to review the adjudication and order of the State Board of Psychologist Examiners (Board) which denied his application for a license filed pursuant to the Act of March 23, 1972 (Act), P.L. 136, as amended, 63 P.S. §1201 et seq.
The Board first notified Petitioner of this denial by letter dated November 21, 1973. Petitioner thereafter appealed the decision. On April 23, 1974, he attended an informal interview before the Board and, on June 14, 1974, the Board sustained its initial decision denying him a license. Petitioner then requested a formal administrative hearing. This hearing took place on August 9, 1974. The case was continued, however, in order to enable Petitioner to present further evidence. After numerous continuances had been granted Petitioner, the Board finally refused to grant another continuance, when, on November 17, 1977, Petitioner failed to appear at the scheduled time for the hearing. It then rendered the order and adjudication from which Petitioner now appeals.
Petitioner next contends that the Act itself violates his constitutional right to due process of law, that is, to engage in the occupation of psychologist. There is no vested right to practice psychology; rather, it is a conditional right subject to the police power of the state to protect and preserve the public health. Watson v. Maryland, 218 U.S. 173 (1909); Reisinger v. State Board of Medical Education and Licensure, 41 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 553, 399 A.2d 1160 (1979). So long as the requirements relating to learning, skill and examination bear a direct, substantial, and reasonable relationship to the practice of psychology, the state may set reasonable standards for determining qualifications of those who hold themselves out as psychologists and may also grant to an administrative body the authority to enforce these standards. Reisinger, supra. We believe that the standards set forth in the Act do indeed bear a reasonable relationship to the practice of psychology and do not violate Petitioner’s right to practice his profession.
Finally, Petitioner asserts that the Board’s findings of fact are not supported by substantial evidence. The gravamen of this assertion appears to be predi
Accordingly, we affirm.
Order
And Now, this 21st day of August, 1979, the order of the State Board of Psychologist Examiners dated April 24, 1978, denying the application of Joseph R. Oliver to obtain a license as a psychologist, is hereby affirmed.