02-371-28 Me. Code R. § 3

Current through 2024-51, December 18, 2024

Section 371-28-3 - Continuing Education Requirement

Continuing education is required as a prerequisite to license renewal. An administrator must certify on the renewal application to completion of the requisite number of hours of continuing education during the preceding license term, as set forth in this section.

1. Required hours

A. Nursing Home Administrators and Multi-Level Long Term Care Administrators must obtain twenty-four (24) hours of continuing education between July 1 and June 30 of each year.

B. Residential Care Facility Administrators must obtain sixteen (16) hours of continuing education between July 1 and June 30 of each year.

C. Continuing education units shall be based on a fifty-five (55) minute hour allowing for a fifteen (15) minute break for each three hour segment.

2. First Renewal

The continuing education requirement does not apply to an administrator's first license renewal.

3. Approved Continuing Education Activities

A. Content

Continuing education activities shall be relevant to the profession and relate to the domains of practice set by NAB or other nationally recognized organizations providing continuing education to nursing home administrators.

B. Type

Continuing education may consist of any of the following types of activities:

(1) Live attendance at seminars, workshops, and training sessions. Continuing education credit may not be claimed more than once in a license cycle for the same seminar, workshop, or training session. Attendance must be documented by a certificate of completion or other reliable written evidence that is acceptable to the board. Licensees must also be able to provide course descriptions and/or agendas to substantiate the content to the board upon request.

(2) Distance learning activities, such as online courses, workshops, and training, and home study courses. Continuing education credit may not be claimed more than once in a license cycle for the same online course, webinar, workshop, or training, home study course, or any other distance learning activity. Completion must be documented by a certificate of completion or other reliable written evidence that is acceptable to the board. Licensees must also be able to provide course descriptions and/or agendas to substantiate the content upon request.

(3) Completion of a course that consists of three (3) semester hours, or the quarter-hour equivalent (quarter-hour equivalent means 2/3 of a semester hour), in a related field at an accredited college or university for one academic semester, which will be considered twelve (12) hours of continuing education. Completion of the course must be documented by an official academic transcript.

(4) An administrator may be credited for the following:

(a) Publication of an article related to long term care or health care in a professional journal. Publication is considered the equivalent of three (3) hours of continuing education.

(b) Publication of a contributed chapter in a book related to long term care or health care. Publication is considered the equivalent of three (3) hours of continuing education.

(c) Publication of a book related to long term care or health care. Publication is considered the equivalent of eight (8) hours of continuing education.

Continuing education hours under this subparagraph will be recognized only for the license cycle during which the article or book was accepted for publication. Publication and date of acceptance must be documented by a copy of the article or title page of the book and a letter of acceptance or letter from the publisher.

4. Recognized Continuing Education Sponsors and Providers

The board may pre-approve upon request continuing professional education activities offered by sponsors and providers whose past offerings, in the judgment of the board, have consistently conformed to the approval criteria set forth in Section 3(3) of this chapter. The board shall publish a current list of pre-approved sponsors and providers from time to time and may update the list as necessary. All sponsors and providers must distribute an evaluation form for participants to comment on the quality of programs and the relevance of content to the profession and certificates of completion to attendees at the conclusion of the program. The sponsor and provider must retain completed evaluations for two (2) years following conclusion of the program and must promptly provide the evaluations to the board upon request.

5. Waiver or Deferment

In the event that an administrator is unable to satisfy the continuing education requirement due to health reasons or other unforeseeable circumstances of genuine hardship, the administrator may request, in writing, that the board waive or defer the continuing education requirement. The request shall be made prior to, or at the time of, license renewal. Waiver or deferment may be granted or denied at the discretion of the board.

6. Documentation and Audit

An administrator is responsible for maintaining records, certificates, or other written evidence of compliance with the continuing education requirement. Reporting, verification, and audit of continuing education is governed by Chapter 13 of the rules of the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation, entitled "Uniform Rule for the Substantiation of Continuing Education Requirements."

7. Transition Period

An administrator renewing before one year after the effective date of this rule change may satisfy the continuing education obligation by either (a) meeting the requirements of this chapter, or (b) meeting the requirements of former Chapter 8 of the board's rules as that chapter existed immediately prior to its repeal.

02-371 C.M.R. ch. 28, § 3