Section 12 AAC 54.710 - Occupational therapy continuing education requirements(a) Except as provided in 12 AAC 54.725, an applicant for renewal of an occupational therapist or an occupational therapy assistant license who has been licensed for 12 months or more of the concluding licensing period shall have (1) completed, during that period, 24 contact hours of continuing education; or(2) evidence of current certification by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT),(b) An applicant for renewal of an occupational therapist or an occupational therapy assistant license who has been licensed for less than 12 months of the concluding licensing period shall have (1) completed, during that period, 12 contact hours of continuing education; (2) passed the national occupational therapy examination during the 12 months immediately before the date that the applicant's license is due to lapse; or(3) evidence of current certification by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT).(c) An applicant shall complete at least one-half of the required contact hours in courses or programs offered by an accredited academic institution or a professional organization approved by the board under 12 AAC 54.715(a). (d) For the purposes of this section, (1) one "contact hour" equals a minimum of 50 minutes of instruction;(2) one continuing education unit awarded by a professional health care association equals 10 contact hours;(3) one academic semester credit hour equals 15 contact hours; and(4) one academic quarter credit hour equals 10 contact hours.(e) An applicant for renewal is responsible for maintaining adequate and detailed records of all continuing education contact hours claimed and shall make the records available to the board upon request under 12 AAC 54.720. Records must be retained for three years from the date the contact hours were obtained.(f) The following activities will not be accepted for continuing education contact hours under this section: (1) routine staff meetings attended by the applicant;(2) rounds conducted by the applicant;(3) routine courses required for employment, including courses on cardiopulmonary resuscitating, first aid, and training related to Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements.(g) The board recognizes the maintenance of NBCOT certification as fulfilling the requirements of (a) and (b) of this section.(h) To document current certification with the NBCOT, the applicant shall submit a photocopy of the front and back of the applicant's NBCOT certificate.Eff. 9/26/91, Register 119; am 5/21/97, Register 142; am 10/3/2002, Register 163; am 7/21/2006, Register 179; am 4/24/2009, Register 190; am 8/18/2013, Register 207; am 9/29/2019, Register 231, October 2019Authority:AS 08.84.010
AS 08.84.100