Rule 700-7-.04 - Veterinary Technician Continuing EducationEffective January 1, 2010, the Georgia State Board of Veterinary Medicine in accordance with the provisions of State Law and for the purpose of establishing certain minimum standards for continuing education in the best interest of and for the protection of the public health, safety and welfare hereby adopts the following rule:
(a) General Requirements: 1. Each veterinary technician licensed to practice in the State of Georgia must obtain ten (10) hours of Board approved continuing education per biennium for license renewal. Of the ten (10) hours required, one (1) per renewal period must be acquired in Georgia laws, rules and professionalism. Georgia licensees who do not practice in the State of Georgia are not required to meet the one (1) hour requirement in Georgia laws, rules and professionalism.2. At the time of license renewal, each veterinary technician shall certify to the Georgia State Board of Veterinary Medicine that he/she has completed the continuing education required for license renewal.3. A veterinary technician licensed during the first year of a biennium must obtain five (5) hours of continuing education and is not required to meet the one (1) hour requirement in Georgia laws, rules and professionalism. A veterinary technician licensed during the second year of a biennium is exempt from obtaining continuing education for that renewal period. After this time period, the entire ten (10) hours is required for each renewal.4. In the event that a veterinary technician fails to verify or submit documentation of continuing education credits at the same time of renewal of his/her license, the Board will not process his/her renewal until continuing education requirements have been met and proof of such has been received and approved by the Board. If documentation of continuing education is requested and not received by the Board prior to the expiration date, the license will expire.5. A veterinary technician may not carry over continuing education credits from one biennium license renewal period to the next.6. Each veterinary technician must maintain a record of credit hours earned and proof of attendance of such hours for a period of three years from the date of the preceding renewal period and must provide the Board with said documentation upon request.7. Veterinary technicians who attend programs where more than one course is taught must maintain proof of the courses attended and the number of hours awarded for each course.(b) Approved Continuing Education Programs and Hours:1. Blanket approval is awarded to any National, State and International veterinary association meetings, United States Department of Agriculture and Georgia Department of Agriculture sponsored meeting, Board Certified Specialties programs recognized by the American Veterinary Medical Association, all AVMA accredited veterinary college or school sponsored classes and programs, all AAVSB RACE approved programs, any GVMA constituent organization programs, AAHA programs, programs sponsored by the United State or Southern Animal Health Association and any course approved by another state board. Blanket approval does not apply to any continuing education programs on Georgia laws, rules and professionalism.2. All continuing education courses on Georgia laws, rules and professionalism (LEAP) or any continuing education course which is not offered by a blanket approved organization must be awarded Board approval. Providers may be awarded Board approval for a continuing education course by submitting the following: (i) A continuing education application form;(ii) A detailed course outline or syllabus;(iii) A current curriculum must be provided for each speaker or lecturer;(iv) The procedure to be used for recording attendance;(v) The number of continuing education hours for which the course sponsor requests approval.3. In addition to the LEAP hour requirement for resident veterinary technicians, the remaining credit hours may be earned as follows:(i) One (1) hour may be given for each 50 minutes of contact time. Seminars are composed of lectures or labs; welcoming remarks, business sessions, unstructured demonstrations or degree programs are not considered seminars.(ii) Not more than four (4) hours can be obtained from veterinary journal studies or interactive computer generated courses where follow-up testing is required.(iii) A maximum of three (3) hours for veterinary technicians can be acquired through in house training at the licensees' place of employment.(iv) A maximum of five (5) hours can be acquired through in house training for veterinary technicians at AVMA accredited institutions.(c) Continuing Education Audit: 1. During the renewal period, the Board staff will randomly select up to 25% of its licensees to audit for continuing education compliance. If selected for continuing education audit, each licensee must submit continuing education records to meet the renewal requirements for that license renewal period.(d) Provider and Sponsor Criteria: All providers and sponsors must provide the following information to the Board if they have not been awarded blanket approval: 1. Each sponsor or provider shall have an administrator whose responsibility is to maintain the criteria for quality in programming.2. Providers shall use qualified personnel to develop and present the programs, which shall utilize appropriate instructional materials and resources.3. Providers shall provide to the Board adequate advanced promotional information, material about target audiences, program content, faculty credentials and fees.4. Providers shall provide a means of registration of the participants at each program and maintain a record of attendance for a period of three years from the date of the program.5. Providers shall develop policies and procedures for the management of grievances.6. Providers shall provide each participant with adequate documentation of his/her successful completion of the program. The documentation shall include:
(i) Name and license number of participant;(iii) Name and title of program;(iv) Hours/CEU's completed;(v) Date of completion; and(vi) Authorizing signature.7. All continuing education providers seeking approval of the continuing education program by the Georgia State Board of Veterinary shall submit a Program Approval Form for each program presented. These forms should be submitted 60 days in advance.Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 700-7-.04
O.C.G.A. §§ 43-1-25, 43-50-2, 43-50-21, 43-50-40, 43-50-52.
Original Rule entitled "Veterinary Technician Continuing Education" adopted. F. Sept. 2, 2008; eff. Sept. 22, 2008.Repealed: New Rule of the same title adopted. F. Aug. 12, 2010; eff. Sept. 1, 2010.Repealed: New Rule of the same title adopted. F. Jun. 19, 2012; eff. July 9, 2012.Amended: F. Nov. 5, 2014; eff. Nov. 25, 2014.Amended: F. Apr. 13, 2017; eff. May 3, 2017.Amended: F. Mar. 16, 2018; eff. Apr. 5, 2018.