Delaware General Assembly

CHAPTER 66

STATE BOARD OF CHIROPODY

AN ACT to regulate the practice of chiropody in the State of Delaware, to provide for the establishment of State Board of Chiropody Examiners, to define the duties and powers of said Board, to provide for examining and registering of Chiropodists in this State, and to provide penalties for the violation of this Act.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met:

Section 1. That on and after the first day of July in the Chiropody created year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and twenty- three, it shall be unlawful for any person to practice or at- tempt to practice Chiropody in this State, or to hold himself or herself out as a Chiropodist or to designate himself or her- self, or describe his or her occupation by the use of any words or letters calculated to lead others to believe that he or she is a Chiropodist, unless he or she is duly registered as provided for in this Act.. Chiropody

Section 2. Chiropody as defined by this Act, is the surgical, medical and mechanical treatment of all ailments of the human foot, except the correction of deformities requiring the use of the knife, amputation of the foot or toes, or the use of an anaesthetic other than local.

Section 3. There shall be established a Board of Chiropody Examiners for the State of Delaware. This Board shall consist of four members, three of the said four members to be selected from among the members of the Chiropodist Society of Delaware, and the fourth member to be appointed from the State Board of Medical Examiners of Delaware. The said members shall be appointed by the Governor for terms of four years respectively and may be removed at any time for good and sufficient cause. Vacancies in said Board shall be filled by the Governor for the unexpired term.

Section 4. Within thirty days after the approval of this Board to make Act, the Board of Chiropody Examiners shall give notice of the provisions of this Act by publishing the same or an abstract thereof, in two or more newspapers published in this State. The Board shall hold at least two examinations annually for the purpose of examining applicants under this Act. The examination shall be held at such time and place as the Board may see fit, and notices of same shall be published in one or Notice of more newspapers in this State. The Board may make such rules and regulations as it may deem necessary to conduct its examinations and meetings, it shall provide such books, blanks and forms as may be necessary to conduct said examinations, and shall preserve and keep a complete record of all its trans- actions; examinations for registration under this Act shall be in the English language, written, oral or clinical or both as the Board may determine, and shall be in the following subjects wholly or in part: Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, Bacteriology, Chemistry, Diagnosis and Treatment, Therapeutics, Clinical Chiropody, and Asepsis, limited in their scope to the treatment of the foot. No applicant shall be granted a certificate unless he obtains a general average of seventy-five or over, and not less than fifty per cent in any one subject. After such examinations, the Board shall, without unnecessary delay, act on same and issue certificates to the successful candidates, signed by each member of the Board, The Board of Board of Chiropody Examiners shall report annually to the State Board of Health, in detail, all of its transactions.

Section 5. Every person who is engaged in the practice of Chiropody in this State prior to the passage of this Act shall file with the Board of Chiropody Examiners on or before July 1, A. D. 1923, a written application for a certificate to practice Chiropody, together with proof satisfactory to the Board that the applicant is more than twenty-one years of age, and has been practicing Chiropody in this State, prior to the passage of this Act, and upon the payment of a fee of Ten Dollars the said Board of Chiropody Examiners shall issue such applicant a certificate to practice Chiropody in this State.

Section 6. An applicant failing to pass the examination to pass examined within one year be entitled to re-examination upon the payment of Two Dollars, but not more than two re-examinations shall be allowed any one applicant; should he or she fail to pass the third examination, he or she shall file a new application before he or she can again be examined.

Section 7. Every person receiving a certificate from the Board shall file the same with the Clerk of the Peace of the County in which he or she resides. It shall be the duty of Register to be said Clerk of the Peace to register the name and address of kept each person and date of each certificate in a book kept for such purpose as a part of his office, and the number of the book and the page therein containing said recorded copy shall appear on the face of the certificate, over the name of said Clerk of the Peace recording same; the person thus registered shall Fee pay to said Clerk of the Peace a fee of One Dollar.

Section 8. Applicants registered or certified by Examiners of other States, whose requirements are equal to those of this State, may, upon the payment of a fee of Twenty-five Fee Dollars, be granted a certificate without an examination; provided, however, that the provisions of this section shall be extended only to those States who extend to this State the same privilege.

Section 9. From and after the passage of this Act, any person not heretofore authorized to practice Chiropody in the State shall file with the Board of Chiropody Examiners an application for examination, accompanied by a fee of Twenty- five Dollars, together with proof that the applicant is more than Twenty-one years of age, is of good moral character and has obtained a preliminary education which is equivalent to a two year instruction in a High School. Such applicant, before presenting himself or herself for examination, must be a graduate of a legally incorporated school of Chiropody, acceptable to the Board.

Section 10. Any person who shall practice or attempt to practice Chiropody in this State without having complied with the provisions of this Act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not less than Fifty Penalty nor more than Two Hundred Dollars, or shall be imprisoned for not less than thirty nor more than ninety days. Nothing proviso in this Act shall be construed to interfere with regularly licensed physicians in the discharge of their professional duties.

Section 11. It shall be the duty of the Police Department of the cities and the sheriff of each County in the State to see that all practitioners of Chiropody in the State are legally registered according to the provisions of this Act, and to report to the Attorney General of the State all cases of violations of this Act, whereupon the said Attorney General or his deputies shall promptly prosecute those violating the provisions of this Act.

Section 12. The Board of Chiropody Examiners may revoke by a majority vote of its members any certificate it has issued, and cause the name of the holder to be stricken from the book of registration by the Clerk of the Peace in the County in which the name of the person whose certificate is revoked is registered for any of the following causes.

A - The wilful betrayal of a professional secret.

B - Any person who in any affidavit required of the applicant for certificate registration or examination under this Act shall make a false statement.

C - Any person convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude.

D - Any person habitually indulging in the use of narcotics, ardent spirits, stimulants or any other substance which impairs intellect and judgment to such an extent as in the opinion of the Board to incapacitate such person from the performance of their professional duties.

Any person against whom charges have been made shall be notified of the fact and a copy of the charges shall be sent to him or her by the Board and such shall be given a fair and impartial trial by the Board whose decision shall be made by a majority vote of its members.

Section 13. The Board may suspend any certificate granted under this Act for a period not exceeding six months, on account of any misconduct on the part of the person registered which would not in the judgment of the Board justify the revocation of his certificate.

Section 14. To provide a fund in order to carry out the nation and certificate provisions of this Act, the Board shall charge Ten Dollars for each certificate issued and Fifteen Dollars for each examination. From such funds all expenses and salaries not exceeding Ten Dollars per diem for each day actually spent and Expenses and railroad expenses shall be paid by the Board; provided, however, that at no time shall the expenses exceed the balance of Per diem receipts.

Approved March 30, A. D. 1923.