§ 1658. Unprofessional conduct

(a) The following conduct and the conduct described in section 1354 of this title by a certified anesthesiologist assistant constitutes unprofessional conduct. When that conduct is by an applicant or person who later becomes an applicant, it may constitute grounds for denial of certification:

(1) fraud or misrepresentation in applying for or procuring an anesthesiologist assistant certificate or in connection with applying for or procuring a periodic renewal of an anesthesiologist assistant certificate;

(2) occupational advertising that is intended or has a tendency to deceive the public;

(3) exercising undue influence on, or taking improper advantage of, a person using the anesthesiologist assistant's services, or promoting the sale of professional goods or services in a manner that exploits a person for the financial gain of the anesthesiologist assistant or of a third party;

(4) failing to comply with provisions of federal or State statutes or rules governing the profession;

(5) conviction of a crime related to the profession or conviction of a felony, whether or not related to the practice of the profession;

(6) conduct that evidences unfitness to practice in the profession;

(7) making or filing false professional reports or records, impeding or obstructing the proper making or filing of professional reports or records, or failing to file the proper professional report or record;

(8) practicing the profession when mentally or physically unfit to do so;

(9) failure to practice competently by reason of any cause on a single occasion or on multiple occasions constitutes unprofessional conduct. Failure to practice competently includes as determined by the Board:

(A) performance of unsafe or unacceptable patient care; or

(B) failure to conform to the essential standards of acceptable and prevailing practice;

(10) accepting and performing responsibilities that the person knows or has reason to know that he or she is not competent to perform;

(11) making any material misrepresentation in the practice of the profession, whether by commission or omission;

(12) the act of holding one's self out as, or permitting one's self to be represented as, a licensed physician;

(13) performing otherwise than at the direction and under the supervision of an anesthesiologist licensed by the Board;

(14) accepting the delegation of, or performing or offering to perform, a task or tasks beyond the person's scope of practice as defined by the Board;

(15) administering, dispensing, or prescribing any controlled substance other than as authorized by law;

(16) failing to comply with an order of the Board or violating any term or condition of a certification restricted by the Board;

(17) delegating professional responsibilities to a person whom the certified professional knows, or has reason to know, is not qualified by training, experience, education, or licensing credentials to perform;

(18) in the course of practice, gross failure to use and exercise on a particular occasion or the failure to use and exercise on repeated occasions that degree of care, skill, and proficiency which is commonly exercised by the ordinary skillful, careful, and prudent professional engaged in similar practice under the same or similar conditions, whether or not actual injury to a patient has occurred;

(19) habitual or excessive use or abuse of drugs, alcohol, or other substances that impair the anesthesiologist assistant's ability to provide medical services; or

(20) revocation of certification to practice as an anesthesiologist assistant in another jurisdiction on one or more of the grounds specified in subdivisions (1)-(19) of this subsection.

(b) A person aggrieved by a final order of the Board may, within 30 days of the order, appeal that order to the Vermont Supreme Court on the basis of the record created before the Board. (Added 2003, No. 34, § 1, eff. May 23, 2003; amended 2011, No. 61, § 3, eff. June 2, 2011.)