Ala. Admin. Code r. 700-X-2-.10

Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 1, October 31, 2024

Section 700-X-2-.10 - Renewal Of License

(1) Annual Renewal Required. Each license expires on October 1 of the year following its issuance.

(2) Renewal Fee Required. A renewal fee shall be required for annual renewal of license.

(3) Expired Renewal Fee. Anyone wishing to renew an expired license after November 1st of the license issuance year shall pay an Expired Renewal Fee. This Fee is in addition to the restoration fee set by Administrative Regulation 700-X-2-.09. After the five-year period, a license shall only be obtained by complying with the provisions relating to the issuance of an original license.

(4) Continuing Education Required. Continuing education activities are required to assure continued competency of licensees and thereby public protection. Successful completion of continuing education activities shall be a requirement for the renewal of licenses and for initial licensure without examination.

(5) Effective October 1, 2014, the Board does not pre-approve continuing education providers, sponsors or individual programs. It is the licensee's responsibility, using her/his professional judgment, to determine if the continuing education activities they complete are applicable, appropriate, and meet the requirements of the Board. All continuing education offerings, regardless of source will be accepted provided that it is directly related to the licensee's practice of physical therapy and meets the following general guidelines.

(a) General Guidelines

1. Maintain, improve or expand skills or knowledge of the practice of physical therapy

2. Contribute to the professional competency of the licensee by means of an organized activity with clearly described or outlined course content, dates or timelines for completion, and times of instruction or activity engagement expectations

3. Pertain to common subjects related to the practice of physical therapy and are based upon referenced scientific evidence; practice-based evidence; case studies; clearly identified anecdotal experience; current or proposed regulation of practice; accepted professional guidelines; policy documents; or best practices

4. Conducted by experts in the subject matter -individuals with special education, training, and experience,

5. Include stated program goals/objectives.

6. Identify target audience or describes prerequisite levels of experience

7. Describe requirements for successful progression or completion when using self-directed methods of learning (i.e., self-study, online, video, audio, teleconference, etc.). Self-directed methods of instruction may utilize a post-test but cannot result in a pass/fail grade

8. Include a certificate or other sufficient proof of completion -For a concurrent session conference that does not provide documentation of individual session(s) completed, each individual course attended must be verified by having a conference official or course instructor sign or stamp the session description in the conference program if the conference does not use an automated format that allows for individual course verification

(b) Non-traditional continuing education activities shall have the following credit values:

1. Completion of physical therapy related academic coursework - awarded fifteen (15) hours of credit per semester hour completed

2. Participation in a physical therapy related clinical residency or fellowship program - awarded fifteen (15) hours of credit for each 1,000 hours completed

3. Completion of a physical therapy related specialty certification or recognition of advanced proficiency - awarded three (3) hours of credit for the initial certification or recognition and one (1) hour of credit for recertification or subsequent recognition

4. Publication in a peer-reviewed publication - awarded five (5) hours of credit for a book, three (3) hours of credit for a chapter or single author publication, or two (2) hours of credit for a multi-author publication

5. Teaching or lecturing in a physical therapy related continuing education activity - awarded two (2) hours per hour taught. Teaching or lecturing in the academic setting is also included, if teaching is not the licensee's primary occupation

6. Once every five (5) years, a formal internal or external peer review of practice, with verification of acceptable practice - awarded three (3) hours of credit

(c) Limited non-traditional continuing education activities are also permitted by the Board but shall not exceed forty percent (40%) of a licensee's total annual continuing education requirement and shall have the following credit values:

1. Publication in a peer-reviewed publication of an abstract, scientific review of a research paper, or book review - awarded one (1) hour of credit

2. Participation as a book or manuscript reviewer - awarded one (1) hour of credit

3. Database publication of a clinical practice guideline - awarded one (1) hour of credit

4. Authorship of a presented scientific poster or platform presentation - awarded one (1) hour of credit

5. Acting as the primary clinical instructor for CAPTE accredited PT or PTA program students - awarded one (1) hour for each 200 hours completed

6. Developing alternative media materials, including computer software, programs, and digital instructional materials - awarded one (1) hour for each project released for public access.

(d) Requirements

1. Each physical therapist and physical therapist assistant licensed to practice by this Board shall complete for each compliance period, a minimum of ten (10) hours of continuing education activities. One hour of continuing education is defined as 50 minutes of engagement in the continuing education activity. October 1 through September 30 of the next year shall constitute a compliance period.

(i) For the applicant who holds a license in another state for more than one year, they must demonstrate a total of ten (10) hours of acceptable continuing education in the twelve (12) months prior to application.

(ii) With the exception of jurisprudence individuals licensed within one year of graduation from a CAPTE approved program will not be required to meet the continuing education requirements for initial licensure or the first renewal.

2. Beginning with the compliance period starting October 1, 2015, licensees shall begin retaining a record of completed courses for five (5) years, including an agenda, brochure or other documentation that substantiate how the activities meet the accepted general guidelines, as well as documentation to establish the completion of those activities Licensees shall provide the Board a copy of their records, or grant access to any online recording and reporting system the licensee elects to use for purposes of the Board verifying completion of the continuing education requirements.

3. Continuing education hours earned by a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant in excess of ten (10) hours during a compliance period, may be carried forward into the next compliance period; but, no more than ten (10) hours may be carried forward.

4. Beginning with the compliance period starting October 1, 2015, licensees complete at least two (2) hours of continuing education every fifth year on the topic of Alabama physical therapy jurisprudence, covering both the Practice Act and the Administrative Code. Both PTs and PTAs will be required to fulfill this requirement when renewing their license in years ending in zero (0) or five (5) (i.e., 2020, 2025, 2030, etc.).

(e) Unacceptable activities for continuing education:

1. Regularly scheduled education opportunities provided within the employment setting such as orientations, inservices, staff meetings, informal rounds, case conferences, equipment or procedural updates, CPR, bloodborne pathogens, etc.

2. Meetings for purposes of policy decisions

3. Non-educational meetings at annual conferences, chapter or organizational meetings

4. Entertainment or recreational meetings or activities

5. Committee meetings, holding office, serving as an organizational delegate

6. Visiting exhibits, poster presentations

7. Entry-1evel coursework, activities, or presentations made by the lay public or non-medical professionals

8. Activities of less than fifty (50) minutes duration

(f) Failure to Meet Requirement

1. No license will be renewed in the absence of satisfactory evidence that the required hours have been earned. The Board may consider exceptions in extenuating circumstances

2. Upon audit, the licensee is responsible for demonstrating that the completed continuing education activities were of an acceptable nature. Should an audited activity prove to be unacceptable the licensee will have sixty (60) days to successfully meet the continuing education expectations. Failure to meet the continuing education requirements within that timeframe will result in disciplinary action.

Ala. Admin. Code r. 700-X-2-.10

Filed September 30, 1982. Amended: Filed July 14, 1998; effective August 18, 1998. Amended: Filed February 4, 2005; effective March 11, 2005. Amended: Filed March 7, 2007.

Renumbered form 700-X-2-.11 Alabama Administrative Monthly Volume XXXV, Issue No. 08, May 31, 2017, eff. 6/26/2017.

Amended by Alabama Administrative Monthly Volume XXXVII, Issue No. 03, December 28, 2018, eff. 2/1/2019.

Adopted by Alabama Administrative Monthly Volume XXXVIII, Issue No. 08, May 29, 2020, eff. 7/13/2020.

Amended by Alabama Administrative Monthly Volume XLII, Issue No. 07, April 30, 2024, eff. 6/14/2024.

Previous Rule .11 was renumbered .10 per certification filed May 12, 2017; effective June 26, 2017.

Author: Alina Adams, Wiley Christian, Matt Bledsoe, Kathy Miller

Statutory Authority:Code of Ala. 1975, § 34-24-193(a).