Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) "Licensee," as
used in this section, means a chiropractor licensed and subject to regulation
by the Board of Chiropractic Examiners.
(b) A licensee applying for biennial license
renewal shall have completed, during the preceding biennial period, 30
continuing educational credits in order to qualify for the renewal of his or
her license. One credit is defined as 50 minutes of instruction. A minimum of
two credits shall be completed in the study of State laws and rules governing
chiropractic professional ethics or recordkeeping and documentation as it
pertains to the practice of chiropractic in this State, and a minimum of two
credits shall be completed in nutrition education.
(c) The continuing education courses may
include, but not be limited to, subject matter and content of study that is
taught by accredited chiropractic schools, colleges, institutions, and
universities, or in a subject matter tested for licensure, that has been
approved by Providers of Approved Continuing Education (PACE), and/or the
Board; except that the Board retains the right to reject any PACE-approved
program:
1. Whose focus is the subject matter
described in (i) below; or
2. That
does not have significant intellectual or practical content dealing primarily
with matters directly related to the practice of chiropractic or with
professional responsibilities or ethical obligations of licensees.
(d) The Board will not grant
continuing education credit for completion of basic courses required for
graduation from a chiropractic college or university and/or for initial
licensure. Continuing education credit shall be granted only for post-doctoral
courses designed to build upon basic knowledge and/or to bring licensees
up-to-date on new developments relating to the practice of
chiropractic.
(e) The Board may
accredit other educational programs offered by professional organizations or
societies, health care professions, schools, colleges, institutions,
universities or healthcare facilities as suitable for continuing education
credits, so long as such other educational programs have significant
intellectual or practical content, which deal primarily with matters directly
related to the practice of chiropractic or with the professional
responsibilities or ethical obligations of licensees and whose focus is not the
subject matter described in (i) below.
(f) The Board may accredit other equivalent
educational programs including, but not limited to, examinations, scientific
papers, professional publications, scientific presentations, residency
programs, teaching and/or research appointments, advanced degree or
certification program in related fields, scientific exhibits, independent study
or research, or self-study programs, or distance learning as suitable for
continuing education credits, so long as such other educational programs have
significant intellectual or practical content, which deal primarily with
matters directly related to the practice of chiropractic or with the
professional responsibilities or ethical obligations of licensees and whose
focus is not the subject matter described in (i) below.
(g) Continuing education credit shall be
calculated as follows:
1. Continuing
professional education programs of national or State professional
organizations: one credit hour for every 50 minutes of in-class
participation;
2. Accredited
university or college courses in the subjects set forth in (d) above:
i. Applicants shall receive 15 credit hours
of continuing education credit for each semester or trimester credit hour
earned; 10 credit hours of continuing education credit for each credit hour
earned in a quarter; and
ii.
Applicants attending noncredit courses shall be granted continuing education
credit at the rate of one credit hour for every 50 minutes of in-class
participation;
3.
Distance learning programs and other independent study programs: the amount of
credit to be allowed for approved distance and individual study programs,
including taped study programs, shall be one credit hour for every 50 minutes
of distance and individual self-study program participation;
4. Teaching or instruction of a course for
the first time or teaching a course previously taught if substantial time was
spent updating course material: instruction and preparation time: one
continuing education credit for each hour of instruction or preparation.
i. The total number of continuing education
credits that may be granted for service as a teacher or instructor shall not
exceed 12 credits per biennial period.
ii. Requests for credit shall be accompanied
by an outline of the instruction or course.
iii. A teacher or instructor that is employed
as a teacher or instructor on a full-time basis shall not be eligible to obtain
continuing education credits for such activities;
5. Scientific papers and professional
publications: credit shall be given for each 50-minute period of preparation
time on a self-declaration basis, not to exceed 12 credit-hours per biennial
period. A copy of the publication article shall be submitted to the Board with
a request for continuing education credit.
i.
Credit may be claimed for published articles and books by the authors of those
works. These publications must contribute to the professional competency of
chiropractors.
ii. In exceptional
circumstances, a licensee may request additional credit by submitting the
article or book to the Board with an explanation of the circumstances that he
or she believes justifies an award of greater credit. When licensees request
more than 12 continuing education credit hours during the biennial period,
credit hours awarded shall be determined by the Board on a case-by-case basis.
Factors such as complexity of the subject matter, length of publication, and
the amount of preparation time shall be considered;
6. Research and preparation of examinations
or acting as an examiner for a clinical examination: one continuing education
credit for each hour of research or time spent on the examination, not to
exceed six continuing education credits per biennial period; and
7. Scientific presentations or exhibits: one
continuing education credit for each hour of preparation or presentation, not
to exceed six continuing education credits per biennial period.
(h) A licensee shall complete no
more than 12 of the total continuing chiropractic education credits by
asynchronous distance learning courses where the instructor and the learner are
not in direct, live communication during the course, approved by the Board; the
remaining credits must be attained through live didactic learning experience,
including synchronous distance learning activities where the instructor and
learner are in direct live communication during the course. The Board shall not
award more than 10 hours of continuing education credit for any program that
takes place during the course of one calendar day.
(i) The Board shall not accept courses
involving practice building, practice management and/or practice marketing
toward the continuing chiropractic education requirements.
(j) A provider seeking Board approval to
sponsor programs for continuing education credit shall submit an application to
the Board, which shall include course and program descriptions, instructor
qualifications, locations, dates and times of courses, and other information as
required by the Board.
1. Qualified sponsors
shall offer courses that meet the following criteria:
i. Be a formal course of learning, which
contributes directly to the maintenance of professional competence of a
licensee;
ii. Be at least one
credit hour, 50-minute period, in length; however additional credits in excess
of one hour may be awarded in 1/2 hour increments;
iii. Be conducted by a qualified instructor
or discussion leader; and
iv. Offer
subjects enumerated in (c) above.
2. A continuing education sponsor may receive
prior approval, valid for the current biennial licensing period in which the
approval was issued, for a course of acceptable subject matter, as set forth in
(c) above, and be assigned a designated number of continuing education credits
by the Board if the program sponsor provides in writing information required by
the Board to document the elements of (j)1 above, and in addition, certifies
that the sponsor shall:
i. Maintain and retain
accurate records of attendance for a five-year period;
ii. Retain a written outline of course
materials for a five-year period; and
iii. Comply with the requirements of (j)4
below.
3. The Board will
post on its website at
http://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/chiro/chiro_licensee.htm
a list of all program sponsors that, pursuant to this section, have applied and
have been approved to sponsor courses for continuing education credit.
Continuing education sponsors shall comply with the following additional
requirements:
i. The program sponsor shall
disclose in advance to prospective participants the objective, prerequisites,
experience level, content, required advanced preparation, teaching method, and
number of continuing education credits involved in the program;
ii. The program sponsor shall provide
evidence to the Board that it has policies and procedures in place to verify
and adequately monitor the attendance of course participants;
iii. The program sponsor shall be responsible
for assuring that the number of participants and the physical facilities are
consistent with the teaching methods to be utilized;
iv. The program sponsor shall select and
assign qualified instructors for the continuing education program. Sponsors
shall provide to the Board the curriculum vitae of all course instructors and
certify to the Board that the sponsor has verified the credentials of all its
instructors. Sponsors must notify the Board of any instructor change within 20
days of making the change;
v. The
program sponsor shall evaluate the performance of its program instructors at
the conclusion of each program to determine the instructors' suitability to
continue to serve as instructors in the future;
vi. Program evaluation shall be in accordance
with the following:
(1) The sponsor shall
provide some means of program evaluation. Evaluations shall be solicited from
both the participants and instructors. Programs shall be evaluated to determine
whether:
(A) Objectives were met;
(B) Prerequisites were necessary or
desirable;
(C) Facilities were
satisfactory;
(D) The instructor
was effective;
(E) Advanced
preparation materials were satisfactory; and
(F) The program content was timely and
effective; and
(2)
Evaluations shall take the form of one or a combination of pre-tests for
advanced preparation, post-tests for effectiveness of the program,
questionnaires completed at the end of the program or later, or oral feedback
to the instructor or sponsor. Instructors shall be informed of their
performance and sponsors shall systematically review the evaluation process to
insure its effectiveness; and
vii. The program sponsor shall be responsible
for issuing certificates of satisfactory completion or other comparable
documentation to program participants. Such certificates or documentation shall
be printed with the following information:
(1)
Dates attended;
(2) Credit hours
earned;
(3) Course title and
description of content, including the method of course delivery and subject
area;
(4) Course sponsor
name;
(5) Instructor name;
and
(6) Course location.
4. A continuing
education sponsor who has qualified as a sponsor pursuant to (j)1 above, or has
obtained prior Board approval for a course pursuant to (j)2 above, shall not
alter, amend, update, or reconfigure the approved courses for continuing
education credit without the permission of the Board. If a continuing education
sponsor alters, amends, updates, or reconfigures a course, the continuing
education sponsor must resubmit the course to the Board for approval.
(k) A licensee seeking Board
approval of a program for continuing education credit, which has not been
approved pursuant to (j) above, may submit an application on a form prescribed
by the Board, which shall include course and program descriptions, instructor
qualifications, locations, dates and times of courses, number of continuing
education credits, and other information as required by the Board. The Board
shall notify the licensee, in writing, of its determination, which is based
upon (d), (e), and (f) above.
(l)
All coursework required for certification to perform specialized examinations
or electrodiagnostic tests referred to in
13:44E-3.5(a)2
must be preapproved by the Board at least 90 days prior to the date the course
begins.
1. A program provider seeking
preapproval of a course shall follow the approval process set forth at (j)
above.
2. A licensee seeking
preapproval of a course shall follow the approval process set forth at (k)
above.
(m) A new
licensee who completed an accredited graduate chiropractic education program
within 12 months of the commencement of the biennial registration period is not
required to complete the continuing education requirements for the biennial
period.
(n) A licensee shall
certify on the application for biennial licensure renewal that he or she has
completed the required number of continuing education credits. The Board may
conduct random audits to determine licensee compliance with the continuing
education requirements of this section.
(o) A licensee who completes more than 30
continuing chiropractic education credits required pursuant to this section may
apply no more than seven of the excess credits to the continuing chiropractic
education requirements for the following biennial period only. Excess credits
approved for a biennial period may be applied to the continuing education
requirements for the next period whether or not approved for that
period.
(p) Licensees holding an
inactive or retired license shall be exempt from continuing education
requirements, except that any licensee holding an inactive or retired license,
or whose license is suspended or revoked, who applies to resume practice shall
provide proof of having completed the continuing chiropractic education
requirements for each biennial licensure period for which the licensee was on
inactive or retired status. If the total credits required to become current
exceeds 30, then 30 shall be the maximum number required. Any applicant seeking
to resume practice shall submit to the Board a detailed list of all continuing
education courses that the licensee has completed in order to become current.
If the Board determines that there is a deficiency in a particular area of
study, the Board may require the applicant to complete additional continuing
education courses in the area of the deficiency before reinstating the license
to active status.
(q) To report
continuing chiropractic education credits, a licensee shall:
1. Certify, on the application for biennial
renewal, completion of the required number of continuing education credits;
and
2. Maintain all evidence of
completion of continuing education requirements for a period of not less than
five years after satisfaction of the credits and submit such documentation to
the Board upon request.
(r) The board may extend the time period for
completion of continuing chiropractic education requirements or may waive
continuing chiropractic education requirements on an individual basis for
reasons of hardship, such as severe illness, disability or military service,
consistent with the following:
1. A licensee
seeking an extension or waiver of the continuing education requirements shall
apply to the Board in writing setting forth the specific details for the
reasons why an extension or a waiver is requested. The licensee shall submit
all of the documentation that supports the request for the extension and/or
waiver;
2. A licensee shall apply
for an extension and/or a waiver prior to the expiration of the biennial
renewal period. All requests shall be sent to the Board office, by certified
mail, return receipt requested; and
3. An extension or waiver granted pursuant to
this section shall become effective for the biennial licensure period in which
the extension or waiver is granted. If the condition that necessitated the
extension or waiver continues into the next biennial period, the licensee shall
apply to the Board for the renewal of such extension or waiver for the new
biennial period.
(s) A
licensee shall provide verification and proof of compliance with continuing
chiropractic education requirements. Non-compliance of with the continuing
education requirements shall provide cause for civil penalties pursuant to
N.J.S.A. 45:9-41.3 2.
(t) A second
or subsequent offense by a licensee for failure to comply with the continuing
education requirements may be considered professional misconduct and would
provide grounds for additional discipline including license suspension or
revocation.
