When to Apply by Internship

File the Application for Licensure as a Therapeutic Optometrist by Internship to request the Board’s pre-approval of a six-month internship. Whether you are required to complete a six-month internship before you can be licensed as a Therapeutic Optometrist depends on whether you hold a current optometry license in another jurisdiction, how long you have practiced in that jurisdiction and whether that jurisdiction has licensure standards that are at least equal to Delaware’s standards.

When you file an Application for Licensure as a Therapeutic Optometrist by Reciprocity, the Board will determine whether any jurisdiction where you hold a current license and where you have practiced at least five years has licensure standards that are at least equal to Delaware's standards. If the Board determines that none of the jurisdictions has equivalent standards, you must re-apply by internship because you cannot be licensed by reciprocity.

Information about Internship

The internship period starts the day after the Board approves it. The period must consist of at least 35 hours per week for at least six months. You must be supervised throughout the period by one or more doctors approved by the Board.

It is your responsibility to select a doctor to supervise you during the internship. In making your selection, note the following:

• If the supervisor is neither an ophthalmologist nor therapeutically-certified optometrist, you must complete 100 additional hours of clinical internship with a therapeutically-certified optometrist, medical doctor or osteopathic physician.
• If you select a therapeutically-certified optometrist not licensed in Delaware, he or she must be licensed in a jurisdiction where the standards of therapeutic practice are comparable to those in Delaware.

If more than one doctor will be supervising you, the Board must approve all of them. A supervising doctor:

• must supervise you "one-on-one"
• can supervise only one intern at a time
• must be on the same premises and immediately available for supervision at all times
• must review the patient evaluations before the patient leaves the office.

These are examples of situations that are not acceptable direct supervision:

• The supervising doctor has two offices. He/she works in office 1, and the intern works in office 2.
• Three doctors work in the supervising doctor's office. The intern's Board-approved supervisor leaves and assigns a doctor whom the Board has not approved to supervise the intern.

Requirements for Approval of Internship

The following are required for pre-approval of the internship. Auxiliary forms mentioned are included with the application.

• Submit completed, signed and notarized Application for Licensure as a Therapeutic Optometrist by Internship to the Board office.

• Enclose processing fee by check or money order made payable to “State of Delaware.”

• Arrange for the Board office to receive an official transcript from the college(s) of optometry where you received a degree, sent directly from the college to the Board office. The transcript must show that you have received a degree of "Doctor of Optometry" from a legally incorporated and accredited optometric college or school accredited by the American Optometric Association.

• Submit a copy of front and back of your current cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certification for adults and children.

• If you have ever held a license in another jurisdiction (state, U.S. territory or District of Columbia), arrange for the Board office to receive verification of licensure from each jurisdiction where you have ever held a license, sent directly from the jurisdiction to the Board office.

• Request a self-query from the National Practitioner and Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Banks (NPDB/HIPDB) website at www.npdb-hipdb.hrsa.gov. The self-query report will be mailed to your address. When you receive the report, mail (do not fax) the original report to the Board office.

• Arrange for the Board office to receive a notarized Statement of Supervising Doctor form completed and signed by each doctor who will supervise you during your internship, sent directly from the supervising doctor to the Board office. If more than one doctor will supervise you, each must submit a separate statement.

• If you have never been issued a U.S. Social Security Number (SSN), submit a Request for Exemption from Social Security Number Requirement.

In addition to the requirements above, the Board office must also receive an official report of your passing scores on the National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO) examination Parts I - III and TMOD. Since NBEO sends each candidate’s score report to all jurisdictions, the Board office will generally have received your score reports before you file your application. For information about the exam, see the NBEO website at www.optometry.org

Requirement for Approval of License Following Internship

When the internship period is complete, each supervising doctor must verify that you successfully completed your internship. Generally, the Board will review these verifications at the scheduled Board meetings closest to the end of your internship. This is to assure that you receive your permanent license as soon as possible after your internship ends.

• Arrange for the Board office to receive verification that you have successfully completed your internship, preferably on the Verification of Internship form, from each supervising doctor.
• If the internship end date falls after the closest Board meeting, the supervising doctor(s) should submit a preliminary Verification of Internship form for the Board’s review at its meeting and a second, final Verification of Internship form on or after the internship end date.
• If the internship end date falls before the closest Board meeting, the supervising doctor(s) should submit the final Verification of Internship form before the meeting. In this situation, the Board office may extend the internship period to cover the days leading up to the meeting.

The Board will review the verifications at its meeting and, if you have successfully completed the internship and met all requirements, the Board will approve your Therapeutic Optometrist licensure. The Board office will then issue your Therapeutic Optometrist license.