32-1525. Examinations

A. The board shall use the naturopathic physicians licensing examination conducted by the North American board of naturopathic examiners, or its successor agency, for the national examinations required under sections 32-1522, 32-1523 and 32-1523.01. The board may administer its own examination only for those areas that are determined by the board to be necessary for the safe practice of naturopathic medicine and not covered on the naturopathic physicians licensing examination. The board must accept the grade issued by the North American board of naturopathic examiners without adjustment. A board member or staff member shall not have any financial interest in the North American board of naturopathic examiners or the naturopathic physicians licensing examination.

B. An individual who is applying for licensure under section 32-1522 or 32-1523.01 shall take and pass the following portions of the naturopathic physicians licensing examinations or other examinations:

1. Part I basic biomedical science examination.

2. Part II core science and core clinical science examinations.

3. Clinical elective examinations of minor surgery and acupuncture.

C. An individual who is applying for licensure under section 32-1523:

1. Shall take and pass both:

(a) Part I basic biomedical science examination.

(b) Part II core science and core clinical science examinations.

2. Shall take and pass the clinical elective examinations of minor surgery and acupuncture if the person is applying for a license that includes those elective practice areas.

D. An individual who is applying for a license by endorsement pursuant to section 32-1523 and who was licensed in another state or a Canadian province before January 1, 2005, in addition to meeting the requirements of subsection C of this section, shall take and pass an additional sixty-hour course and examination in pharmacotherapeutics.

E. The examinations required for a license under section 32-1522, 32-1523 or 32-1523.01 shall include an examination in Arizona naturopathic jurisprudence that is administered by the board.

F. Examinations for licensure under this chapter shall:

1. Be practical in character and consist of multiple choice and true and false questions.

2. Be designed to ascertain the applicant's knowledge of naturopathic medicine and the applicant's ability to practice naturopathic medicine.

3. Include examination questions that are generally accepted as necessary for a competent knowledge of the practice of naturopathic medicine.

G. The board by rule shall prescribe any subjects on which the applicant must be tested in addition to those required by this section. The board may prescribe rules for conducting its own examinations.

H. An applicant shall obtain a passing score on the national examination and shall obtain a grade of seventy-five percent or more in each subject administered by the board that is not covered on the national examination.

I. An applicant may challenge the applicant's grade on an examination conducted by the board by submitting a written request to the board within sixty days of receiving the grade. If the board upholds the applicant's challenge, it may change, within one hundred twenty days of the challenge, the grade on the examination on the vote of a majority of the full board.

J. An individual applying for licensure under section 32-1522 or 32-1523.01 shall take and complete all of the examinations required by this section within a five-year period immediately preceding the submission of an application for licensure. Each time an applicant files a request with the board to retake any part of an examination, the applicant shall pay the examination fee pursuant to section 32-1527.

K. All examination materials and records of examination grading are confidential and are not public records.