N.J. Admin. Code § 13:38-7.4

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

Section 13:38-7.4 - Approved course offerings

(a) The Board shall grant continuing professional optometric education credit only for courses or programs that have significant educational or practical content which deal with matters related to the practice of optometry or with the professional responsibilities or ethical obligations of licensees, such as the following:

1. Clinical Optometry: general optometry; contact lenses; ophthalmic lens design; low vision; functional vision; principals of diagnosis; HIV control; infection control;

2. Ocular Disease and Management: treatment and management of ocular disease: anterior segment; treatment and management of ocular disease: posterior segment; glaucoma; refractive surgery management; peri-operative management of ophthalmic surgery;

3. Related Systemic Disease: ocular/systemic disease; pharmacology; and

4. Optometric Practice Management: jurisprudence; practice management; managed care courses or programs related to the practice of optometry, except that estate planning, financial or investment/tax planning, personal health, the selling of ophthalmic materials, or other similar subjects shall not be acceptable for credit.

(b) All courses or programs offered by the following sources and providers shall be deemed to be automatically approved and a licensee may obtain all 50 continuing professional optometric education credits from the following:

1. Post-graduate courses or programs in the professional skills of optometric practice and scientific courses or programs, which are accredited by the United States Department of Education or the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation;

2. Continuing professional optometric education courses or programs that consist of educational and scientific courses, which are approved by the Council on Optometric Practitioner Education (COPE); or

3. A residency, which is a one year post-OD training program at an accredited college of optometry or accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE) of the American Optometric Association, or a fellowship, which is a one year post-residency training program at an accredited college of optometry or accredited by the ACOE of the American Optometric Association in a specialty area.

(c) Sponsors submitting applications for pre-approval of continuing professional optometric education programs or courses which award three credits or less shall submit to the Board, on a form provided by the Board, no less than 45 days prior to the date the program or course is to be offered. Such courses or programs shall be in compliance with 13:38-7.8 and cover topics outlined at (a) above.

(d) A continuing professional optometric education program or course pre-approved by the Board pursuant to (c) above shall only be acceptable for the biennial period in which it was approved. In order to continue to offer a pre-approved continuing professional optometric education program or course, the sponsor shall re-apply and receive an approval by the Board. If a pre-approved continuing professional optometric education program or course is given in multiple locations during the then current biennial period, the course or program shall be identical in course titles speaker and content as that pre-approved by the Board. The sponsor shall notify the Board, in writing, of any change in course or program venue.

(e) The Board shall grant a maximum of 20 of the mandatory 50 continuing professional optometric education credits, including a maximum of 10 of the mandatory 30 TPA credits required, from any or all of the following:

1. Videotape, audiotape, computer media, Internet, journal, or correspondence courses or programs. The course or program shall include an examination at the end of the course or program. Credit for correspondence and other individual study courses or programs will be given only in the renewal period in which the course is completed with a successful final examination. TPA credits may be obtained from participating in any of these courses that are primarily devoted to the diagnosis, treatment and management of ocular disease, ocular pathology or the ocular manifestation of systemic disease;

2. Structured grand rounds, which is a presentation, with a formal outline of course or program material, of clinical cases involving actual patient encounters and the lecture and discussion of the diagnosis and treatment of the particular patient condition. Non-structured grand rounds that consist of observation of individual patient care shall not be accepted for credit. TPA credits may be obtained from participating in structured grand rounds that are primarily devoted to the diagnosis, treatment and management of ocular disease, ocular pathology or the ocular manifestation of systemic disease;

3. Hands-on demonstrations of instrumentation when accompanied by didactic lectures. TPA credits may be obtained from participating in hands-on demonstrations of instrumentation that are primarily devoted to the diagnosis, treatment and management of ocular disease, ocular pathology or the ocular manifestation of systemic disease;

4. Interactive workshops which include demonstrations and applications of hands-on techniques and skills in optometric procedures and instrumentations accompanied by didactic lectures. TPA credits may be obtained from participating in interactive workshops that are primarily devoted to the diagnosis, treatment and management of ocular disease, ocular pathology or the ocular manifestation of systemic disease;

5. Preparation and presentation of a continuing professional optometric education lecture. TPA credits may be obtained from preparing and presenting continuing professional optometric education lectures that are primarily devoted to the diagnosis, treatment and management of ocular disease, ocular pathology or the ocular manifestation of systemic disease;

6. Preparation of an educational or scientific article authored and published in a professional refereed journal. TPA credits may be obtained from preparing an educational or scientific article authored and published in a professional refereed journal that is primarily devoted to the diagnosis, treatment and management of ocular disease, ocular pathology or the ocular manifestation of systemic disease;

7. The Board shall grant a maximum of 10 continuing professional optometric education credits per biennial renewal period for optometric practice management or managed care courses or programs relating to the practice of optometry. Continuing professional optometric education credit shall not be granted in courses or programs taken in the following subjects: estate planning, financial or investment/tax planning, personal health, the selling of ophthalmic materials, or other similar subjects; or

8. The Board shall grant a maximum of six continuing professional optometric education credits per biennial renewal period for CPR certification.

N.J. Admin. Code § 13:38-7.4

Amended by R.2006 d.450, effective 12/18/2006.
See: 38 N.J.R. 2788(a), 38 N.J.R. 5390(a).
Added (d); recodified former (d) as (e); in the introductory paragraph of (e), substituted "30" for "25"; in (e)6, deleted "or" at the end; in (e)7, substituted "; or" for the period at the end; and added (e)8.