1. (a) Any person who wishes to practice podiatric medicine in this state must:

   1. (1) be at least 21 years of age;
   2. (2) successfully complete at least 90 semester hours of undergraduate college courses acceptable at the time of completion for credit toward a bachelor's degree at an institution of higher education determined by the department to have acceptable standards;
   3. (3) successfully graduate from a reputable college of podiatry approved by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education of the American Podiatric Medical Association, and the college must have been so approved during the entire period of the applicant's course of instruction;
   4. (4) successfully pass all required sections of the American Podiatric Medical Licensing Examination and the jurisprudence examination;
   5. (5) successfully complete at least one year of GPME in a program approved by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education of the American Podiatric Medical Association with a hospital, clinic, or institution acceptable to the department (successful completion means the GPME program which was actually begun/matriculated is completed; the applicant must have successfully completed the entire program; partial program attendance is not acceptable);
   6. (6) pay all applicable fees;
   7. (7) submit a completed application on a department-approved form;
   8. (8) submit all transcripts of relevant college coursework, acceptable to the department;
   9. (9) successfully pass a criminal history background check performed by the department;
   10. (10) provide proof of successful completion of a course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR); and
   11. (11) successfully pass a National Practitioner Data Bank query check performed by the department.
2. (b) The department approves and adopts by reference the Standards and Requirements for Approval of Residencies in Podiatric Medicine and Surgery and Procedures for Approval of Residencies in Podiatric Medicine and Surgery adopted by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education of the American Podiatric Medical Association.
3. (c) The department approves and adopts by reference the Standards and Requirements for Accrediting Colleges of Podiatric Medicine and Procedures for Accrediting Colleges of Podiatric Medicine adopted by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education of the American Podiatric Medical Association.
4. (d) The department may require additional information from an applicant who has been out of practice for more than two years and require the applicant to complete additional education, examinations, or training before issuing a license to ensure the podiatrist possesses reasonable knowledge, skill and competence for the safe care and treatment of patients.
5. (e) The applicant shall submit evidence sufficient for the department to determine that the applicant has met all the requirements and any other information reasonably required by the department. Any application, diploma or certification, or other document required to be submitted to the department that is not in the English language must be accompanied by a certified translation into English.

Source Note:The provisions of this §130.40 adopted to be effective November 1, 2018, 43 TexReg 6953; amended to be effective September 1, 2019, 44 TexReg 4725.