Except as otherwise provided in this article, an individual must obtain a license in accordance with this article before the individual may practice as an anesthesiologist’s assistant. The board shall grant a license as an anesthesiologist’s assistant to an applicant who has:

(1) submitted a completed application on forms provided by the board;

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 40-47-1240

  • Anesthesiologist: means a physician who has successfully completed an approved anesthesiology training program including, but not limited to, a program approved by the Accreditation Committee on Graduate Medical Education, American Osteopathic Association, or its equivalent or successor. See South Carolina Code 40-47-1210
  • Board: means the Board of Medical Examiners of South Carolina. See South Carolina Code 40-47-1210
  • Certification: means approval by an established body, other than the board, but recognized by the board, that recognizes the unique, minimal requirements of specialized areas of practice. See South Carolina Code 40-47-20
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • License: means a current document authorizing a person to practice. See South Carolina Code 40-47-20
  • Revocation: means the permanent cancellation or withdrawal of an authorization issued by the board. See South Carolina Code 40-47-20
  • Sponsoring anesthesiologist: means the physician specialist in anesthesiology who signs the anesthesiologist's assistant's application for licensure. See South Carolina Code 40-47-1210
  • Suspension: means the temporary withdrawal of authorization to practice for either a definite or indefinite period of time ordered by the board. See South Carolina Code 40-47-20

(2) paid the nonrefundable application fees established in this article;

(3) certified that he or she is mentally and physically able to engage safely in practice as an anesthesiologist’s assistant;

(4) submitted evidence to the board that the applicant has obtained a baccalaureate or higher degree from an institution of higher education accredited by an organization recognized by the Commission on Higher Education. This degree program must have included courses in these areas of study:

(a) general biology;

(b) general chemistry;

(c) organic chemistry;

(d) physics;

(e) calculus; and

(5) submitted evidence to the board that the applicant has obtained a graduate-level degree from a program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, or any of the commission’s successor organizations, and the graduate degree program must have included the following:

(a) courses in the basic sciences of anesthesia, including general pharmacology, physiology, pathophysiology, anatomy, and biochemistry, and these courses must be presented as a continuum of didactic courses designed to teach students the foundations of human biological existence on which clinical correlations to anesthesia practice are based;

(b) pharmacology for the anesthetic sciences which must include instruction in the anesthetic principles of pharmacology, pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, uptake and distribution, intravenous anesthetics and narcotics, and volatile anesthetics;

(c) physics in anesthesia; and

(d) fundamentals of anesthetic sciences, presented as a continuum of courses covering a series of topics in basic medical sciences with special emphasis on the effects of anesthetics on normal physiology and pathophysiology;

(6) submitted evidence satisfactory to the board that the applicant holds current certification from the National Commission for Certification of Anesthesiologist‘s Assistants and that the requirements for receiving the certification included passage of an examination to determine the individual’s competence to practice as an anesthesiologist’s assistant;

(7) no licensure, certificate, or registration as an anesthesiologist’s assistant under current discipline, revocation, suspension, probation, or investigation for cause resulting from the applicant’s practice as an anesthesiologist’s assistant in any jurisdiction;

(8) appeared before a board member or board designee with his or her sponsoring anesthesiologist, presenting all original diplomas and certificates and demonstrated knowledge of the contents of this article; and

(9) submitted to the board any other information the board considers necessary to evaluate the applicant’s qualifications.