Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 6, September 16, 2024
(a)
Unless otherwise indicated, one CEU, as used in this Rule, shall be equal to
one contact hour or 50 minutes of instruction.
(b) All licensees shall complete 40
Continuing Education Units (CEU) every two years as follows:
(1) 25 CEUs shall be obtained from courses
that have content relating to the scope of the practice of acupuncture. Fifteen
of these 25 hours shall contain course content related to the insertion of
acupuncture needles and the application of moxibustion to the human body. The
remaining 10 hours of CEUs may be obtained from course content related to
adjunctive therapies including massage, mechanical, thermal, electrical, and
electromagnetic treatment and the recommendation of herbs, dietary guidelines,
and therapeutic exercise; and
(2)
the remaining 15 CEUs may be comprised of any combination of the following:
(A) 15 CEUs related to any of the content
contained in Subparagraph (b)(1) of this Rule;
(B) up to 10 CEUs for acupuncture or Chinese
medicine research studies in hospitals or institutions as set forth in
Paragraph (e) of this Rule;
(C) up
to 10 CEUs for teaching of Chinese medicine in a formally organized course as
set forth in Paragraph (c)(2) of this Rule;
(D) up to 10 CEUs for published work in
peer-reviewed journals as set forth in Paragraph (g) of this Rule; or
(E) two CEUs for obtaining or maintaining CPR
certification.
(c) All courses completed for purposes of
CEUs shall meet the following requirements:
(1) be approved by one or more of the
following organizations or their successor organizations:
(A) Acupuncture schools in candidacy status
or accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental
Medicine.(ACAOM);
(B) National
Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine;
(C) The Society for Acupuncture
Research;
(D) National Acupuncture
Detoxification Association;
(E)
American Academy of Medical Acupuncture (AAMA); or
(F) North Carolina Acupuncture Licensing
Board (NCALB); and
(2)
be formally organized. A formally organized course shall meet the following
requirements:
(A) the sponsor shall maintain
a record of attendance for four years. Records shall be made available to the
Board upon request;
(B) the
instructor shall hold credentials to practice in the field that is the subject
of the course or the instructor shall be competent to teach the designated
course and be permitted to perform acupuncture needling techniques for the
purposes of demonstration, as determined by the Board based upon the
instructor's educations, training, and experience;
(C) the course shall have stated objectives
and a syllabus or a description of the content of the course with a class
outline;
(D) the course shall be
evaluated by each participant on an evaluation form provided by the instructor;
and
(E) upon completion of each
course, the provider shall issue a certificate of completion to each
participant to include the following information:
(i) the title of the course;
(ii) the name of the participant;
(iii) the name of the instructors;
(iv) the name of the provider;
(v) the date and location of the
course;
(vi) the number of CEUs
completed.
(d) Licensees may obtain up to 28 hours of
CEUs by completing online courses approved by an organization set forth in
Subparagraph (c)(1) of this Rule.
(e) 10CEUs may be obtained in each renewal
period by licensees who are involved in acupuncture or Chinese medicine
research studies in accredited hospitals or educational institutions. A
research project may only be submitted once for the purpose of obtaining CEU
credit. In order to obtain Research approved CEUs the following must be
submitted to the Board for review and approval:
(1) The Institutional Review Board (IRB)
approval;
(2) A summary of the
study; and
(3) The names and
credentials of researchers involved.
(f) A maximum of 10 CEUs may be obtained in
each renewal period by teaching acupuncture education in an educational
institution accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and
Oriental Medicine (ACAOM) or a CEU course approved by the NCALB. One hour of
CEU credit shall be awarded for every three hours of teaching up to 30 hours.
All CEUs for teaching shall be approved in advance by the Board prior to the
date of the class. For approval the licensee shall submit the following
information:
(1) the title of the
course;
(2) a summary of course
content or class syllabus;
(3) the
location of the course;
(4) the
dates of the course;
(5) the total
number of classroom hours taught;
(6) a copy of course evaluation to be
provided students; and
(7) the
course fees and refund policy.
(g) 10 CEUs may be obtained by authoring an
article in a peer-reviewed journal of acupuncture or Chinese medicine. Examples
of journals that shall be considered by the Board include:
(1) The Journal of Traditional Chinese
Medicine;
(2) The American Journal
of Chinese Medicine; and
(3) The
World Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
(h) CEUs from any given course may be used to
satisfy the requirements of only one renewal period.
(i) Each licensee shall retain for four years
records of all continuing education programs attended, indicating:
(1) the title of the course or
program;
(2) the name of the
participant;
(3) the name of all
instructors;
(4) the name of the
provider;
(5) the date and location
of the course; and
(6) the number
of CEUs completed.
(j)
Pursuant to
G.S.
90-457.1(b), the Board may
audit the records of any licensee to ensure compliance with the continuing
education requirements of this Rule. No licensee shall be subject to audit more
than once every two years.
(k) All
applications for pre-approval for CEU courses must be submitted 60 days prior
to the date of the course.
(l) A
licensee may apply to the Board for an extension of time to complete continuing
education requirements in accordance with
G.S.
90-457.1(f).
Authority
G.S.
90-451;
90-454;
90-455(b)(3);
90-457.1;
Eff. July 1,
1995;
Temporary Amendment Eff. January 26, 1996;
Temporary Amendment Expired November 11, 1996;
Amended Eff. August
1, 2007; August 1, 2002;
Readopted eff. April 1,
2018.
