Current through Rules and Regulations filed through March 20, 2024
(1) A license
issued by the Board shall expire on March 31st of even numbered years. The
license may be renewed upon submission of the renewal application and payment
of the required fee, provided all requirements have been met. Refer to fee
schedule.
(2) A license that is not
renewed on or before March 31st of the renewal year shall be deemed lapsed. An
application for reinstatement shall be required as provided for in Rule
671-3-.09 in order to seek
reinstatement of a lapsed license to practice in this State. Practicing with an
expired license is prohibited by law and practice during this period may result
in disciplinary action for unlicensed practice.
(3) Before or on March 31, 2014 and for
renewal cycles after that date, the continuing education requirements contained
in this rule will be required for the renewal or reinstatement of a license.
Except as otherwise provided, each licensee is required is required to complete
during each two (2) year renewal period a minimum of twenty-four (24)
continuing education hours prior to the expiration date of the license. Failure
to complete continuing education prior to expiration date can result in
disciplinary action. Acceptable professional continuing education activities
shall include activities relevant to occupational therapy practice that can be
deemed to update or enhance knowledge and skills required for competent
performance beyond entry level occupational therapy. A cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (CPR) course may not be submitted to satisfy any of the
continuing education requirements or employer sponsored compliance coursework.
A continuing education hour is defined as actual time spent in instruction or
organized learning experiences excluding meals, breaks, welcome/introductions,
and business meetings.
(a) At least twelve
(12) hours of the required twenty-four (24) continuing education hours must be
on a topic related to direct patient care. This includes occupational therapy
assessment, treatment planning, occupational therapy implementation and
diagnostic related information. This must include attendance at live
presentations such as workshops, seminars, conferences, or formal academic
coursework, or real-time, interactive webinars. To qualify as a real-time,
interactive webinar, the licensee must have the ability to ask questions,
receive an answer, and interact with other attendees at the time the session is
taking place. It may not be a pre-recorded session.
(b) Each licensee must complete a minimum of
two (2) hours of the required twenty-four (24) continuing education hours in
the ethics of occupational therapy practice. These hours may be obtained
online.
(c) A maximum of ten (10)
of the required twenty-four (24) can be in "General" continuing education hours
may be obtained by Level II fieldwork supervision, published professional
writing and instructional presentations, pre-recorded electronic or web based
courses, formal self-study courses, satellite broadcasts, computer learning
activities, webinars, or viewing videotapes in a professional setting. These
hours may also be related to administration, supervision, documentation,
quality assurance and research.
(4) An individual who is applying for
licensure in Georgia for the first time (never having held a Georgia OT or OTA
license) and who is licensed during the second year of the biennium renewal
period is not required to meet continuing education requirements for that
initial renewal period only.
(5)
Prior approval of continuing education courses is not required. Each licensee
randomly selected for a CE audit must submit to the Board supporting
documentation as specified in this rule.
(6) Beginning the licensure renewal biennium
of April 1, 2018 through March 31, 2020, persons licensed to practice as an
occupational therapist or an occupational therapy assistant, or persons who
file an application for reinstatement of licensure, must submit documentation
of completed continuing education courses and experiences for renewal or
issuance of a license. Licensees and applicants for reinstatement may register
earned CE credits for courses and experiences with an online recording and
reporting system approved by the Board. Licensees and applicants may register
with a Board approved online system prior to April 1, 2018 to document CE
credits for license renewal and reinstatement.
(a) The Georgia State Board of Occupational
Therapy has approved the online recording and reporting system of CE Broker,
Inc. for the purpose of this rule.
(b) Licensees and applicants shall incur no
additional costs from CE Broker, Inc. for using this service.
(c) Every licensee or applicant subject to
the rules of the Georgia State Board of Occupational Therapy shall be deemed to
have given such person's consent to the Board and it's representatives to
access their continuing competence record retained within the online database
for the purposes of auditing and verifying completion of the Board's continuing
competency requirements.
(d) If a
licensee or applicant has not registered earned CE credits with the Board
approved online recording and reporting system, the licensee or applicant
must include all CE certificates of completion with the license
renewal application or application for reinstatement.
(7) Procedures for verifying to the Board
that the continuing education requirements for licensure renewal have been met:
(a) Respond appropriately to questions on
renewal of license application;
(b)
Retain original continuing education documentation in personal files to submit
to the Board if requested for a continuing education audit;
(c) Documentation as specified in this rule
must be maintained by the licensee for no less than four (4) years from the
beginning date of the licensure period.
(8) Documentation of continuing education
which the Board deems as acceptable proof of completion includes the following:
(a) For continuing education courses that
include attendance and participation at a live presentation such as a workshop,
seminar, conference or in-service educational program:
1. A certificate of completion or similar
documentation signed by program official, and
2. A program description including sponsor,
course title, date(s), program objectives/learning outcomes, content
description, and agenda or schedule. A shortened description may be accepted
for programs specifically exempted by the Board such as AOTA and GOTA
Conferences;
(b) For
"General" continuing education as referenced in this rule, if obtained at a
conference, workshop or live presentation, required documentation is as noted
above. All other must include:
1. Explanation
of the relationship of the activity to occupational therapy and your
professional growth.
2. Date(s)
and clock hours of the activity;
3. Other information as may be requested.
(c) For Level II
Fieldwork Supervision involving serving as the primary clinical fieldwork
educator for Level II occupational therapy or occupational therapy assistant
fieldwork students:
1. A description of the
fieldwork including name and type of facility, name of the fieldwork educator
and times spent in direct supervision of the student; and,
2. Verification provided by the school to the
fieldwork educator with the name of the student, school and dates of fieldwork
or the signature page of the completed student evaluation form with evaluation
scores and comments blocked out;
(d) For published professional writing,
applied research, and instructional presentations, as referenced in this rule,
including first time or significantly revised presentations or an academic
class session, workshop, seminar, in-service or professional meeting program
session:
1. Description of the presentation or
research including location, title, date, hours of presentation, general
content description, and type of audience; and,
2. Verification of the presentation, research
or formal thank you note signed by the sponsor or program official.
(e) Documentation of pre-recorded
electronic or web based course, formal self-study courses, satellite
broadcasts, computer learning activities or viewing of videotapes in a
professional setting must include:
1. Verified
instructional time by the course sponsor, a certificate of completion or
similar documentation signed by the program official; and,
2. A program description including sponsor,
course title, date(s), program objectives/learning outcomes, and content
description.
(f)
Continuing education should be documented on the appropriate board form,
available on the Board website, upon request by the Board.
O.C.G.A.
§§
43-1-4, 43-1-19, 43-1-25, 43-28-7, 43-28-8, 43-28-13, 43-28-14.
