State boards of optometry requirements of CPR certification for optometric licensure

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certification requirements for optometric licensure were obtained from 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. It was found that 17 percent of the states required CPR certification for optometric licensure while 11 percent required certification to maintain licensure. For initial Diagnostic Pharmaceutical Agents (DPA) licensing 44 percent of the boards required CPR certification while less than 25 percent required maintaining that certification to sustain DPA licensure. Of those states having Therapeutic Pharmaceutical Agents (TPA) legislation, 36 percent required CPR certification for initial licensure but only 8 percent of them required maintenance of certification for license renewal. Optometry can take the lead in health care by requiring CPR certification for all forms of licensure and license renewal.