A. A person who does not meet the requirements for licensure without examination as an audiologist or otolaryngologist as set forth in Section 61-14B-13 NMSA 1978 or as a hearing aid dispenser as set forth in Section 61-14B-14 NMSA 1978 may apply for a temporary trainee permit. A temporary trainee permit shall be issued to a person who:

1. (1) has reached the age of majority and has a high school education or the equivalent;
2. (2) has identified a sponsor;
3. (3) pays an application fee as determined by the board;
4. (4) has not failed the licensing examination twice within a five-year period; and

5. (5) certifies that the person is not guilty of any of the activities listed in Section 61-14B-21 NMSA 1978.

   B. A temporary trainee permit shall:

6. (1) be valid for one year from the date of its issuance and is nonrenewable for a period of one year following its expiration; and

7. (2) allow the person to complete a training period.

   C. A person issued a temporary trainee permit may be eligible for licensure as a hearing aid dispenser upon:

8. (1) the completion of a minimum of three hundred twenty hours of training, to be completed within a three-month period under the direct supervision of the sponsor;
9. (2) the completion of five continuous months of full-time dispensing work, during which time all sales are approved by the sponsor prior to delivery; and

10. (3) the sponsor approving all fittings, adjustments, modifications or repairs to hearing aids and earmolds.

    D. An audiologist or otolaryngologist issued a temporary trainee permit may be eligible for licensure without examination as a hearing aid dispenser upon the sponsor providing direct supervision for a minimum of three months of all fittings, adjustments, modifications or repairs to hearing aids and earmolds.

History: Laws 1996, ch. 57, § 17; 1999, ch. 128, § 9; 2013, ch. 110, § 12.

ANNOTATIONS

Repeals and reenactments. — Laws 1996, ch. 57, § 27 repealed 61-14B-17 NMSA 1978, as enacted by Laws 1990, ch. 16, § 4, relating to termination of the speech-language pathology and audiology advisory board, and § 17 of that act enacted the above section, effective July 1, 1996.

Delayed repeals. — For delayed repeal of this section, see 61-14B-25 NMSA 1978.

The 2013 amendment, effective June 14, 2013, changed the qualifications for issuance of a hearing aid dispensing temporary trainee permit; and in Subsection D, at the beginning of the sentence, after "An audiologist", deleted "clinical fellow in audiology".

The 1999 amendment, effective June 13, 1999, in Subsection A, deleted "a dispensing" preceding both "audiologist" and "otolaryngologist", substituted "Section 61-14B-13 NMSA 1978" for "Section 13 of the Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensing Practices Act", and substituted "Section 61-14B-14 NMSA 1978" for "Section 14 of that act"; in Subsection A(1), inserted "has reached the age of majority and"; in Subsection A(2), deleted "as defined in the Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensing Practices Act" from the end; in Subsection A(5), substituted "Section 61-14B-21 NMSA 1978" for "Section 21 of the Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensing Practices Act"; and in Subsection D, substituted "An audiologist" for "A dispensing audiologist, nondispensing audiologist".