Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 13, September 23, 2024
Subpart 1.
Continuing education required.
Commencing with license renewal for 1997, no license renewal
may be issued to a veterinarian, pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section
156.07, until the
veterinarian has certified to the board that the veterinarian has completed at
least 40 hours of approved continuing education during the previous two years.
Thereafter, each veterinarian possessing a license to practice veterinary
medicine shall certify compliance at the time of each subsequent biennial
license renewal. Licensees with odd-numbered licenses renewed in 1997 are
required to have completed 20 credit hours and thereafter 40 credit hours for
subsequent biennial license renewal periods. Licensees with even-numbered
licenses are required to have completed 40 credit hours at time of 1998
renewal.
Subp. 2.
Purpose.
The primary purpose of continuing veterinary education is to
assure the consumer of an optimal quality of veterinary care by requiring
veterinarians to attend educational or training programs designed to advance
their professional skills, knowledge, and obligations.
Subp. 3.
Approved continuing education
programs.
A. Courses, seminars, wet
labs, and lectures sponsored by accredited colleges of veterinary medicine; the
AVMA and CVMA; state, regional, and local VMAs; AVMA recognized specialty
boards; academic or specialty groups; international veterinary organizations;
the Minnesota Academy of Veterinary Practice; the U.S. Animal Health
Association; training programs of the U.S.D.A. and Minnesota Board of Animal
Health; and the AAHA are automatically approved and do not require advance
approval on an individual program basis.
B. Sponsors of programs not automatically
approved in item A must apply to the board for course approval at least 90 days
prior to the anticipated presentation date.
Applications for approval of a continuing education program
must be submitted on a form provided by the board containing the following
information:
(1) the name and address
of the organization sponsoring the course for which approval is
requested;
(2) a detailed
description of the course content, including a time schedule for the
course;
(3) the name and
credentials of each person making a presentation;
(4) the mechanism of monitoring and
certifying attendance;
(5) the
dates and location, including the name and address of the facility at which the
course will be conducted; and
(6)
the tuition fee.
C.
Program approval criteria:
(1) The criteria in
units (a) to (d) must be used to determine approval of a continuing education
program.
(a) The educational activities must
have significant intellectual or practical content dealing primarily with
information on skills directly related to the practice of veterinary medicine,
to the professional responsibility or ethical and legal obligations of the
participants, or to practice management concepts.
(b) Presenters must be qualified by practical
or academic experience to teach the subject covered.
(c) The program must be conducted in a
suitable setting conducive to the learning process.
(d) Except for limitations due to space
availability or instructor/pupil ratio or academic or experience prerequisites,
courses must be open to all licensed veterinarians.
(2) Licensees, within 30 days of attending a
nonpreapproved course, may apply to the board for credit by completing and
submitting an individual continuing education course approval form. The board
is the final determinator of credit to be allowed.
(3) Courses not directly related to the
practice of veterinary medicine, such as estate planning, investments, and
marketing of ancillary products, must not be approved for continuing education
credit.
(4) Providers, in
advertisements for approved programs, must use the following phrase: "This
program has been approved by the Minnesota Board of Veterinary Medicine for
............ (insert appropriate number) continuing education credit
hours."
(5) Providers must maintain
records of attendance for a minimum of three years and must verify individual
attendance to the board upon request.
Subp. 4.
Continuing education advisory
committee.
A. A six-member continuing
education advisory committee is established to assist and advise the board in
continuing education matters. Two members of the committee must be designated
by the Minnesota Academy of Veterinary Practice; two must be members of the
board; one member must be designated by the College of Veterinary Medicine,
University of Minnesota; and one member must be designated by the Minnesota
Veterinary Medical Association. The executive director of the board shall serve
as secretary of the committee.
B.
Responsibilities of the continuing education advisory committee include:
(1) reviewing proposed continuing education
programs for approval and recommending the number of continuing education
credit hours that will be awarded;
(2) reviewing individual licensee requests
for continuing education credit approval and recommending the number of credit
hours to be awarded;
(3) reviewing
the validity of individual requests for a waiver of continuing education
requirements; and
(4) assisting and
advising the board staff in administering the continuing education
program.
C. All
recommendations of the continuing education advisory committee must be approved
by the board.
Subp. 5.
Requirements for relicensure.
Each licensee must obtain 40 hours of approved continuing
education credit in the two years immediately preceding the biennial license
renewal deadline.
A. Thirty of the 40
required hours of continuing education credit must be obtained from interactive
sources, such as lectures, seminars, wet labs, interactive television, or as a
presenter of a continuing education topic or author of a referred journal
article or contributing author for a recognized textbook.
B. For self study, such as journal reading,
audio/visual tape instruction, or other noninteractive study, three hours of
study must be awarded one hour of continuing education credit. Not more than
ten hours of continuing education credit from noninteractive sources must be
accepted toward the 40-hour continuing education credit requirement for
licensure renewal.
C. Not more than
ten hours of continuing education credit must be accepted for courses,
seminars, or training sessions focused on practice management.
Subp. 6.
Credit
determination.
A. Ten hours of
continuing education credit must be granted for authoring a scientific paper or
book chapter published in a scholarly journal or book.
B. Up to ten hours of continuing education
credit must be granted on a one-time basis for a paper or exhibit presented
before a professional veterinary or allied health audience. Two hours of credit
must be given for each hour of presentation, to a maximum of ten credit
hours.
C. One hour of continuing
education credit must be given for each period of not less than 50 minutes of
attendance at an approved continuing education program. Credit for attendance
at combined scientific, business, and social conventions must be given only for
the actual number of hours spent participating in continuing education
programs.
Subp. 7.
Extension and waivers of continuing education requirements.
A. For good cause, a licensee may apply to
the board for a six-month extension of the deadline for obtaining the required
number of continuing education credits. No more than two consecutive extensions
may be granted. Extensions may be granted for unforeseen hardships such as
illness, family emergency, and military call-up.
B. Waiver of continuing education
requirements must be granted to licensees enrolled in a graduate or residency
program leading to an advanced degree or certification in a specialty or
academic field related to veterinary medicine.
C. Waiver of continuing education
requirements must be granted to licensees who are members in current good
standing of academies and specialty boards that have continuing education
requirements equal to or higher than board requirements.
D. Waiver of continuing education
requirements must be granted to licensees who practice and maintain licensure
in another United States or Canadian jurisdiction that has continuing education
requirements equal to or higher than board requirements.
E. Continuing education requirements are
waived for the time period immediately preceding the first license renewal
date.
Subp. 8.
Certification procedure.
A. The
board, at the time of license renewal, must furnish each licensee a form upon
which the licensee must certify fulfillment of the required number of
continuing education hours for the two-year period preceding the license
renewal date or that they qualify for waiver of requirements as specified in
items B to E.
B. Licensees are
responsible for maintaining documentation of continuing education attendance
for a minimum of four years. The board may, at its discretion, require
licensees to furnish additional evidence as is necessary to verify compliance
with board continuing education requirements. Upon board request, whether as
part of a routine audit or as part of an individual complaint investigation, a
licensee must furnish, within 30 days, proof to the board of satisfactorily
meeting the required number of continuing education hours established by the
board or of qualifying for a waiver.
(1) Proof
in the form of attendance certificates, diplomas, canceled checks, or class
rosters accompanied with a course program, or other documentation acceptable to
the board must be submitted.
(2)
The board is the final determining authority as to the acceptability of
specific continuing education documentation or waiver qualification.
C. The following acts are
unprofessional conduct and are subject to disciplinary action under Minnesota
Statutes, section
156.081,
subdivision 2, clause (11):
(1) failure to
meet minimum continuing education credit hour requirements for biennial license
renewal;
(2) failure to submit
adequate proof of continuing education attendance within 30 days of a board
request; and
(3) falsification of
attendance documentation.
D. Excess continuing education credit hours
may not be banked or carried forward into the next license renewal
cycle.
E. For disciplinary
purposes, the board may direct a licensee to take additional continuing
education, in specific disciplines, over and above the general continuing
education requirements for relicensure.
Subp. 9.
Reinstatement of expired
license.
A person wishing to reinstate an expired license under
Minnesota Statutes, section
156.071,
shall furnish proof that the person meets continuing education requirements of
their current state of residency and that those requirements are equal to
Minnesota requirements, or otherwise provide documentation to the board of
having met Minnesota continuing education requirements for each year the
license was expired, up to five years maximum, or provide proof of enrollment
in a qualified graduate or residency program during the period the license was
expired.
Statutory Authority: MS s
214.12
