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L
D N Examiner
VOL.
4, NO.1 NOVEMBER 2001
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Janet
F. Pope, LDN, RD
Chairperson
Ruston,
LA |
Cecelia
E. Enault, LDN, RD
Vice-Chairperson
Kenner,
LA |
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Patricia
L. Lewis, RN
Secretary-Treasurer
Bossier
City, LA |
Jacinda
Bonvillain, Ph.D., LDN, RD
Board
Member
Thibodaux,
LA |
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Elizabeth
L. Guinn, LDN, RD
Board
Member
Woodworth,
LA |
Online
Editor
Onesimus
Internet Solutions, Inc. |
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Inside
This Issue:
We've
Moved Again
Chairperson's
Message
License
Count
Meet
the Board
Revised
Supervision Requirements
Our
Website
Vacancies
on the Board
FAQs
Complaints
Received
Open
Book Examinations |
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 We've
Moved ... Again
The Board's office moved to a new location on May 4
2001. Since 1996, the office has resided on Perkins Road in Baton Rouge,
Louisiana. The Board shares staff, space, some consultants and equipment
with two other professional boards, the Louisiana State Board of Social
Work Examiners and the Louisiana Board of Examiners for Speech-Language
Pathology and Audiology.
Due to an amendment in the Louisiana Social Work
Practice Act and an increase in the number of licensees across the
professions, the Boards were forced to move to a larger facility. The new
office is located at 18550 Highland Road in Baton Rouge and contains 3,000
square feet of space.
The new office is easily accessed from I-10 at the
Highland Road/Perkins Road exit. If you are traveling east on I-10, take
Exit 166, Highland Road/Perkins Road exit, turn left, once you cross the
railroad track, turn right on Petroleum Drive and left into our parking
lot. If you are traveling west on I-10, take Exit 166, Highland
Road/Perkins Road exit, turn right, once you cross the railroad track,
turn right on Petroleum Drive and left into our parking lot. |
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MESSAGE
FROM THE CHAIRPERSON
It's hard to believe that the Louisiana
Dietetic/Nutrition Act is almost 15 years old. It seems like only
yesterday that we were all writing letters and visiting our legislators
encouraging them to support the creation of this law. Believe it or not,
Louisiana was one of the leaders in the fight for dietetic licensure, and
we all owe a debt of gratitude to the Louisiana Dietetic Association Board
of Directors and other leaders in our profession for their vision.
Most of us probably don't think too much
about licensure, except for once a year when we make out our checks to
renew our licenses. And, there are probably some who wonder if licensure
is really necessary. I have just completed my first year as a member of
the Louisiana Board of Examiners in Dietetics and Nutrition, and have come
to appreciate licensure more than ever before.
The purpose of the licensure act is not to
protect us as dietitians, but instead to protect the health, safety, and
welfare of the public. Protecting consumers is especially important in
today's environment where wellness, prevention, nutrition, and health are
buzzwords. Consumers are crying out for information, and they deserve to
receive accurate information from qualified individuals. It is confusing
enough for consumers when nutritional advice from the experts changes over
time based on science. It is even more confusing when they hear one thing
from us and something else entirely from others. Consumers need the
protection from misinformation that the law provides.
Since serving on the Board, I have seen
firsthand some of advertisements and materials provided to consumers by
unlicensed individuals. We should all be concerned. I applaud those of you
who have reported violations of the Law to the Board. By doing so, you are
protecting consumers. It is important to recognize that the Board cannot
act until someone comes forward and makes a formal complaint.
As a licensed dietitian/nutritionist, your
responsibilities include: (1) maintaining your own licensure and ensuring
that dietitians working for you maintain their licenses as well; (2) being
familiar with the law - what it includes and what it doesn't include; and
(3) reporting violations to the Board.
LBEDN now has a web site http://www.lbedn.org.
Check it out! The Law and the Rules/Regulations are available there, as is
an updated list of all dietitians who have ever held a Louisiana license
and their current licensure status. You can check the web to determine the
status of anyone who is practicing dietetics in the state of Louisiana.
We encourage you to attend meetings of the
Board, if you're interested. The meeting dates and times are also listed
on the web page. Please feel free to contact Board members or the staff if
you have questions. Suzanne Pevey and other members of the administrative
staff are excellent resources. Remember, we represent you and we are here
to serve you. |
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LICENSE
COUNT
Licensed Dietitian/Nutritionists (LDN) 913
Provisional Licensed
Dietitian/Nutritionists 38 |
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Meet
The Board |
 Janet
F. Pope, Ph.D., LDN, RD, Chairperson, is currently the Director and
Associate Professor of the School of Human Ecology at Louisiana Tech
University. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from LA Tech
University where she completed the coordinated Undergraduate Program in
Dietetics. She obtained her Master of Science from LA Tech University, and
her Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee. She also serves on the
Governor’s Women’s Policy and Research Commission and is
President-elect of LAFCS. |
 Cecelia
E. Enault, LDN, RD, Vice Chairperson, is the Vice President of
Marketing for CONCO Food Service in Harahan, New Orleans. She obtained her
BS degree from Louisiana State University in 1974. Besides involvement in
many professional organizations, she has been employed as a Corporate
Dietitian for CONCO, and Supervisor of the New Orleans Public Schools
Child Nutrition Program. |
 Patricia
L. Lewis, RN, Secretary/Treasurer, is the
Coordinator of Diabetes Education at the Louisiana State University Health
Sciences Center in Shreveport. She received her BSN degree at the
University of Nebraska, and her MSN at Northwestern State University in
Shreveport. She has experience as a pediatric, industrial and public
health nurse, and has received many honors in her field. |
 Elizabeth
L. Guinn, LDN, RD, is the Clinical Dietitian for Dubuis Memorial
Hospital in Alexandria. Previously, she has been employed as the Director
of Food and Nutritional Services at Lane Memorial Hospital in Zachary,
Louisiana, and at Natchitoches Parish Hospital, after serving as the
Assistant Manager of Food Production at Massachusetts General Hospital in
Boston, MA. Liz is a past chairperson and has served on the Board since
1998. |
 Jacinda
Bonvillain, LDN, RD has been an Instructor at
Nicholls State University since 1995. She received her Bachelor of Science
degree from Nicholls State University in 1992, her Master of Science from
the University of Southern Mississippi in 1994 and her Doctor of
Philosophy in Nutrition and Food Systems from USM in December 2000. Dr.
Bonvillain also worked as a Clinical Dietitian at Mercy-Baptist Medical
Center from 1994 until 1995 and has been an active member of the Louisiana
Dietetic Association. She is in her fourth year on the Board and is a past
chairperson. |
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Vacancies
on the Board
The terms of Albert Barrocas, M.D., New Orleans, and
Evelyn Fairbanks, Public Member, Vidalia, Louisiana, expired in 1997,
thereby creating two vacancies on the Board.
The licensed physician representative's name is
submitted by the Louisiana State Medical Society and the public member's
name is submitted by the Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and
Forestry. If you know of someone who is interested in serving on the Board
in these positions, please contact their appointing authority:
Jeanette Harmon, Executive Director, Louisiana State
Medical Society, 6767 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, 225-763-8500
Bob Odom, Commissioner, Dept. Agriculture and Forestry,
5825 Florida Boulevard, Baton Rouge, LA, 225-922-1234 |
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REVISED
SUPERVISION REQUIREMENTS
On October 27, 2000 the Louisiana Board of Examiners in
Dietetics and Nutrition officially adopted an amendment to the supervision
requirements for Provisional Licensed Dietitian/Nutritionists. This
pertains to Rule 111. C-2 as listed in the Rules and Regulations published
in 1999. The rule formerly stated that "to meet initial licensure and
license renewal requirements, a provisional licensed
dietitian/nutritionist shall be under the direct supervision of a licensed
dietitian/nutritionist for at least 80% of the hours employed".
This rule was amended in order to more realistically
define the scope of supervision required by supervisors. The new amendment
is stated as such: "A provisionally licensed dietitian/nutritionist
shall practice under the direct supervision of a licensed
dietitian/nutritionist. Direct supervision is defined as a licensed
dietitian/nutritionist providing sufficient guidance and direction to
enable a provisional licensed dietitian/nutritionist to perform
competently. The supervising licensee needs to be readily available by
telecommunications or in person and will review the provisionally licensed
dietitian/nutritionist's work quarterly and submit a written report
annually to the board that the applicant is in the process of meeting the
experience requirements in anticipation of taking the examination".
It was the intention of the Louisiana State Board of
Examiners in Dietetics and Nutrition to implement the new requirements
immediately. LBEDN believes that the amendment provides a better and more
specific definition of the requirements of supervision. We also hope to
promote clearer understanding of the rule to provisionally licensed
dietitians/nutritionists. |
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Our
Website
Check out www.lbedn.org. It is your portal
to the Board office, available even after-hours. Here’s what you can
find: |
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*The
Practice Act
*The
Rules and Regulations
*Mission
Statement
*Board
Members and Staff
*LBEDN’s
entire database updated monthly with your own license information
*Consumer’s
Guide to Dietetics and Nutrition |
*Documents
and Forms
*Applications
Renewal Forms
*Provisional
Supervision Form
*Continuing
Education Summary
*Form
Board Meeting Dates
*
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) |
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A free version of Adobe Reader
is available on the website, "Licensing Page," to use for
downloading documents and forms. In addition you can link to other
professional sites through the LBEDN website. "Links" available
are:
American Dietetic Association (ADA)
Louisiana Dietetic Association (LDA)
Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR)
Erica & Tim Dyeson, webservants
"extraordinaire", constructed and maintain the website on a
daily basis. The Board's email address is admin@lbedn.org
for sending comments, suggestions, questions and requests. |
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Complaints
Received
Breakdown
of Complaints for Fiscal Year July 1, 2000 - June 30, 2001
Number
of Complaints received 10
Investigations
completed in fiscal year 9
Pending
- under investigation 1
Nature
of Complaints:
Dietitian/Nutritionist
(with education & training) working without proper license 5
Individual
(no education & training practicing or using title
dietitian/nutritionist 2
Unfounded,
no action taken 2 |
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Frequently
asked questions . . .
Do
board members receive a salary for serving on the Board?
No.
Board members serve in their capacity as board members without
compensation but are reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred while
engaged on board business.
I'm
an LDN, do I have to submit my CE hours to the Board for renewal?
The
Commission on Dietetic Registration requires the equivalent of 15 hours of
certified continuing education per year. If you hold a Registered
Dietitian (RD) credential, you may submit a copy of your current CDR card
with your renewal application.
The
Board office welcomes suggestions for "Frequently Asked
Questions." |
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Open
Book Examinations
The
individuals listed below practiced more than thirty (30) days in the State
of Louisiana without applying for a license in accordance with LA. R. S.
37:3091. By Board rule, these individuals were required to take and pass
an Open Book Examination on the Practice Act and Rules and Regulations to
include the Rules for Professional Conduct in order to receive their
license:
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Cheryl
Atkinson |
Amanda
Perron |
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Shelley
Benoit |
Leslie
Petross |
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Michelle
Burton |
Stephanie
Piacun |
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Stacey
Cantrelle |
Amy
Roberts |
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Barbara
Cerniauskas |
Naomi
Seldess |
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Virginia
Cullop |
Toni
Smilow |
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Jodi
Elliott |
Stephanie
Stanfield |
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Elesha
Kelleher |
Britlyn
Trahan |
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Paula
Leach |
Marcy
Wall |
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Jamie
Ott |
Kay
Womack |
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