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24.177.2105    CONTINUING EDUCATION

(1) Continuing education is required to ensure continued competence throughout a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant career. Training for entry into the physical therapy field is not considered adequate assurance of continued competence.

(2) Continuing education credits shall be reported as follows:

(a) Licensees with even-numbered licenses shall submit at least 20 continuing education hours earned within the 24 months prior to the renewal date set by the department in each even-numbered year. Licensees in this category will not report continuing education on the odd-numbered years, but must renew their license each year;

(b) Licensees with odd-numbered licenses shall submit at least 20 continuing education hours earned within the 24 months prior to the renewal date set by the department in each odd-numbered year. Licensees in this category will not report continuing education on the even-numbered years, but must renew their license each year;

(c) Continuing education is not required for licensees renewing their license for the first time;

(d) It is the responsibility of the licensee to establish and maintain detailed records of continuing education compliance in the form of programs and certificates of attendance and make them available upon board request; and

(e) The board will randomly audit continuing education credits.

(3) Continuing education programs must meet the following criteria:

(a) the activity must have significant intellectual or practical content. The activity must deal primarily with substantive physical therapy issues as physical therapy is defined in Montana. The board may accept continuing education activities from other professional groups or academic disciplines if the licensee demonstrates that the activity is substantially related to the licensee's practice as a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant;

(b) a continuing education program may be a class, lecture, conference, workshop, cassette or videotape, correspondence or online course, or peer-reviewed publication of a journal article(s), or textbook(s);

(c) the activity must be conducted by an individual or group qualified by practical or academic experience;

(d) all acceptable continuing education courses must issue a program and a certificate of completion. The program must contain the following information: full name and qualifications of the presenter; title of the presentations; number of hours date and location of each presentation; name of sponsor; and description of the presentation format. The certificate must bear an official signature or verification of the program sponsor and list the course name, number of hours of continuing education obtained by the licensee, and date and location of the presentation;

(e) programs that promote a company, individual, or product, and programs whose subject is practice economics cannot be credited for continuing education, except those programs specifically dealing with workers' compensation, public health, medicare, or insurance coverage issues; and

(f) a maximum of four hours of continuing education credit are allowed for presenting a continuing education course in each two-year cycle. The course must be presented to a group that includes physical therapists and physical therapist assistants for continuing education credit.

(4) Implementation for continuing education shall be as follows:

(a) one continuing education credit shall be granted for each hour of participation in a lab or lecture of the continuing education program, excluding breaks and meals;

(b) a maximum of two credits for cassette or videotape lectures;

(c) a maximum of four credits from online or correspondence courses;

(d) a maximum of ten credits is allowed per reporting period for peer-reviewed publication(s); and

(e) licensees whose regular occupation is teaching of physical therapy related courses will not be allowed continuing education credit for these regular teaching duties.

(5) The board/staff will not preapprove continuing education programs or sponsors. It is the responsibility of the licensee to select quality programs that contribute to their knowledge and competence in the physical therapy field and which meet qualifications specified in these rules.

(6) Failure to comply with the continuing education requirement may be grounds for disciplinary action.

History: 37-1-319, 37-11-201, MCA; IMP, 37-1-306, MCA; NEW, 1997 MAR p. 38, Eff. 1/17/97; AMD, 1998 MAR p. 460, Eff. 2/13/98; AMD, 2001 MAR p. 344, Eff. 2/23/01; AMD, 2004 MAR p. 75, Eff. 10/17/03; TRANS, from Commerce, 2005 MAR p. 380; AMD, 2009 MAR p. 2153, Eff. 11/13/09.

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