N.J. Admin. Code § 13:35-13.16

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 13:35-13.16 - Continuing education

(a) A licensee applying for biennial license renewal shall complete, during the preceding biennial period, 30 continuing education (CE) credits as specified under this section. Applicants for initial licensure are exempt from the continuing education requirements of this section for the initial biennial period of licensure.

(b) Each licensee shall confirm on the application for biennial licensure renewal that he or she has completed 30 continuing education credits. The Committee may conduct random audits to determine licensee compliance with continuing education requirements.

(c) A licensee who completes credit hours in excess of the 30 credits required may apply no more than 15 of those credits to the continuing education requirement for the following biennial period only.

(d) A licensee who is required to complete remedial continuing education pursuant to Board or Committee action shall not receive credit for such imposed continuing education toward the mandatory 30 credits of biennial licensure period.

(e) The Committee may direct a licensee to complete continuing education credits to correct a deficiency in the licensee's continuing education requirement.

(f) A licensee may obtain continuing education credits from the following:

1. Successful completion of programs, courses or seminars approved by the Committee, pursuant to (j) below. The Committee shall approve only such continuing education programs as are available to all perfusionists in this State on a reasonable, non-discriminatory basis. The Committee shall maintain a list of all approved programs, courses and lectures at the Committee office and shall furnish this information to licensees upon request;

2. Courses approved by the American Board of Cardiovascular Perfusion (ABCP);

3. Post-graduate courses at Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) approved perfusion schools;

4. Courses offered in Pediatric Advanced Cardiac Life Support (PALS) and/or Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and courses offered by the American Heart Association (AHA), the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, the American College of Cardiology (ACC), the American Academy of Cardiovascular Perfusion (AACP), the American Society of Extracorporeal Technology (AmSect), the American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA), the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists (SCA), the American Society of Blood Banks, the American College of Chest Physicians, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the New England Journal of Medicine, the New Jersey State Perfusion Society and the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the Cardiovascular Research Education Foundation (CREF);

5. Medical science courses relevant to the scope of practice of perfusion, as defined in 13:35-13.2;

6. Professional presentations consisting of new courses specifically related to perfusion. For purposes of this paragraph, "new" means a course which the licensee has never taught before in an educational setting;

7. Authorship of peer reviewed textbooks, articles or manuals specifically related to perfusion; and

8. Videotaped, teleconference and Internet courses related to the practice of perfusion, with verification by the course provider that the course was monitored and successfully completed by the licensee.

(g) Credit for continuing education shall be granted for each biennial licensure period as follows:

1. A licensee shall receive one continuing education credit for each hour of attendance at programs, courses or seminars approved by the Committee pursuant to (j) below. Credit shall not be granted for courses that are less than one instructional hour long. For purposes of this subchapter, an "instructional hour" represents a 60-minute clock hour with no less than 50 minutes of content within the hour. Programs may include one 10-minute break for each instructional hour;

2. Successful completion of courses approved by the ABCP pursuant to (f)2 above: one continuing education credit for each course credit awarded;

3. Successful completion of post-graduate courses pursuant to (f)3 above: one continuing education credit for each course credit awarded;

4. Successful completion of perfusion related courses pursuant to (f)4 and/or (f)5 above: one continuing education credit for each course credit awarded and a maximum of 15 credits per biennial licensure period;

5. Professional presentations pursuant to (f)6 above: three credits per new course presentation with a maximum of six credits per biennial licensure period;

6. Publication in a peer-reviewed professional journal of an article related to the practice of perfusion pursuant to (f)7 above: three credits per article with a maximum of six credits per biennial licensure period;

7. Authorship of a peer-reviewed textbook or manual related to the practice of perfusion pursuant to (f)7 above: five credits for each textbook or manual with a maximum of 10 credits per biennial licensure period; and

8. Videotaped, teleconference and Internet courses related to the practice of perfusion pursuant to (f)8 above: one credit for each course with a maximum of 10 credits per biennial licensure period.

(h) To report continuing education credit hours, a licensee shall:

1. Certify on the application for biennial renewal, completion of the required number of continuing education credits. Falsification of any information submitted on the renewal application shall provide cause for penalties and/or license suspension;

2. Maintain all evidence of verification of continuing education requirements for a period of four years after completion of the credits and submit such documentation to the Committee upon request; and

3. Provide to the Committee upon request, documentation of continuing education requirements as follows:

i. For programs, courses, seminars and conferences approved by the Committee: the course provider's written verification of attendance;

ii. For post-graduate courses: an official transcript;

iii. For articles published in a peer-reviewed professional journal: the published article;

iv. For professional presentations: brochure, announcement or written evidence of presentation;

v. For authored textbooks or manuals: the textbook or manual; and

vi. Videotaped, teleconference and Internet courses: written verification from the course provider.

(i) The Committee may extend and/or waive the time period for completion of continuing education requirements on an individual basis for reasons of hardship, such as severe illness, disability or military service.

1. A licensee seeking an extension and/or waiver of the continuing education requirements shall apply to the Committee in writing and set forth in specific detail the reasons for requesting the extension and/or waiver. The licensee shall submit to the Committee all documentation in support of the request for extension and/or waiver.

2. A licensee shall apply for an extension and/or waiver within 60 days of the expiration of the biennial renewal period. All requests shall be sent to the Office of the Committee, as defined in 13:35-13.3, by certified mail, return receipt requested.

(j) All sponsors of continuing education seeking approval under (f)1 above shall:

1. Submit for each course, program or seminar offered, for evaluation by the Committee:

i. A detailed description of course content and estimated hours of instruction;

ii. The curriculum vitae of each lecturer, including the specific background which qualifies the individual as a lecturer in the area of instruction; and

iii. A form of verification of attendance that will be provided to attendees.

2. Obtain Committee approval prior to representing that any course, seminar or program fulfills the requirements of this section;

3. Monitor the attendance at each approved course, program or seminar and furnish to each enrollee a verification of attendance, which shall include at least the following information:

i. The title, date and location of the course, program or seminar;

ii. The name of the attendee;

iii. The number of credits awarded; and

iv. The name and signature of the sponsor and the official documentation of the organization.

4. Submit course evaluations. The sponsor shall conduct post-course evaluations. Evaluations shall be solicited from both the participants and instructors. Courses shall be evaluated to determine whether:

i. Objectives have been met;

ii. Prerequisites were necessary or desirable;

iii. Facilities were satisfactory;

iv. The instructor was effective;

v. Advanced preparation materials were satisfactory; and

vi. The course content was timely and effective; and

5. Submit a fee pursuant to 13:35-13.17 for each new course, program or seminar reviewed by the Committee.

(k) Failure of a sponsor to comply with the content requirements for continuing education courses and the responsibilities of course sponsors as specified in (j) above may result in the suspension of the pre-approved status for courses offered by the sponsor. The Committee may rescind course approval based on the content of the post-course evaluations.

N.J. Admin. Code § 13:35-13.16