Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 44, November 2, 2024
(a)
Contact
hour requirements. A certified physical therapist assistant shall
satisfy the following continuing education requirements:
(1) During each biennial renewal period, a
certified physical therapist assistant shall complete qualifying continuing
education equal to at least 30 contact hours of continuing physical therapy
education, including at least 4 contact hours in identifying and responding to
emergency health conditions, at least 2 contact hours in law or ethics
applicable to the practice of physical therapy and at least 2 contact hours in
child abuse recognition and reporting in accordance with §
40.208(b)
(relating to child abuse recognition and reporting-mandatory training
requirement).
(2) Except as
permitted in §
40.191(g)(1)
(relating to renewal of certification), paragraph (4) or as directed by the
Board, continuing education may satisfy the requirement of paragraph (1) only
for the biennium during which it was completed. A contact hour of continuing
education may not be used to satisfy the requirement of paragraph (1) for more
than 1 biennium.
(3) Unless
otherwise excused by the act or this subchapter, failure to complete the
minimum required amount of continuing education during the applicable renewal
period as required under section 9.1(j) of the act (63 P. S. §
1309.1(j)) and this section
will subject the certified physical therapist assistant to disciplinary action
under section
9.1(f) of the act
as provided in §
40.181(6)
(relating to refusal, suspension or revocation of certification).
(4) The Board may, in individual cases
involving physical disability or illness, or undue hardship, grant a waiver of
the continuing education requirements or grant an extension of time to complete
the requirements. A waiver or extension of time will not be granted unless a
written request is submitted by or on behalf of the certified physical
therapist assistant. In case of physical disability or illness, the request
must include supporting documentation provided by a physician licensed in this
Commonwealth or another state or territory of the United States or the District
of Columbia and whose license is in good standing. The necessary documentation
must be received by the Board no later than 90 days preceding the biennial
renewal. If the physical disability or illness or undue hardship for which the
waiver has been granted continues beyond the period of the waiver, the
certified physical therapist assistant shall reapply for an extension of the
waiver. The Board may, as a condition of a waiver granted, require the
certified physical therapist assistant to make up all or part of the continuing
education involved.
(5) A certified
physical therapist assistant is not required to complete continuing education
during the biennial renewal cycle in which the certified physical therapist
assistant was first certified.
(b)
Reporting completion of
continuing education. Continuing education shall be reported and
documented in the following manner:
(1) In
general, proof of completion of a course or program of continuing education
must consist of a certificate of completion or other documentation issued by
the course or program provider, including:
(i) The name of the participant.
(ii) The name of the provider.
(iii) The date or dates of the course or
program.
(iv) The name and any
Board issued approval number of the course or program.
(v) The number of contact hours of continuing
education or academic credit.
(2) A certified physical therapist assistant
shall retain proof of completion of continuing education for 5 years after
completion of the continuing education or after the completion of the renewal
period during which the continuing education was required or applied, whichever
is later.
(3) The Board will audit
certified physical therapist assistants to verify compliance with continuing
education requirements. A certified physical therapist assistant shall fully
respond to an audit notice within 30 days or other time period allowed in the
notice.
(c)
Credit for approved continuing education. Credit for
continuing education will be determined in accordance with the following:
(1) Credit for continuing education will be
granted only for courses or programs offered by providers preapproved under
subsection (d)(1) or approved by the Board under subsection (d)(2) or for
authoring publications as authorized under subsection (e).
(2) Unless limited by this section,
continuing education credit may be earned in a course or program or by
authoring a publication relating to any of the following:
(i) Subject matter falling within the
definition of "physical
therapy" in section 2 of the act (63 P. S. §
1302).
(ii) Law or ethics applicable to the practice
of physical therapy.
(iii) Subject
matter that otherwise keeps the certified physical therapist assistant apprised
of advancements and new developments in the practice of the profession of
physical therapy.
(3)
Continuing education credit may not be earned in a course in office management
or practice building.
(4) A
certified physical therapist assistant may not receive credit more than once in
a given renewal period for repetition of courses or programs with substantially
similar content and objectives.
(5)
A certified physical therapist assistant teaching a course or conducting a
program of continuing education may receive the same credit that a certified
physical therapist assistant attending the course or program would receive and
may also receive credit for time spent in preparation. Credit for time spent in
preparation may not exceed the credit available for a certified physical
therapist assistant attending the course or program.
(6) If a course or program extends beyond a
single biennial renewal period, credit will be awarded in the period in which
the course or program is finally completed.
(d)
Approval of continuing education
courses. Continuing education courses or programs may be approved in
accordance with this subsection.
(1) Provided
that the course or program otherwise meets the requirements in subsection
(c)(2) and the course or program provider issues to each attending certified
physical therapist assistant a certificate of completion record in accordance
with subsection (b)(1), a course or program of continuing education from a
provider preapproved under this paragraph is approved by the Board.
(i) The following providers are preapproved:
(A) APTA or its components.
(B) FSBPT and its jurisdictions.
(C) A physical therapist or physical
therapist assistant educational program accredited by CAPTE.
(D) The American Heart Association and the
American Red Cross and their component organizations, only for purposes of
providing continuing education in identifying and responding to emergency
health conditions as required under subsection (a)(1).
(E) Any provider whose course or program is
certified by FSBPT's ProCert, approved by FSBPT or its jurisdictions, or
approved by APTA or its components, for those courses or programs so certified
or approved.
(ii) Any
other provider seeking preapproved provider status shall:
(A) Apply to the Board on forms supplied by
the Board.
(B) Pay the required
fee.
(C) Demonstrate that the
provider is competent to provide continuing education to physical therapist
assistants without direct review by the Board.
(iii) The Board may terminate its prior
approval of a course or program of continuing education when the applicant made
one or more false or misleading material statements on the application. The
Board may also terminate in part or in whole its prior approval of a course or
program when it is later determined that the Board has grounds to deny approval
in accordance with this section. Termination of approval will not forfeit
credit for a course or program completed prior to termination of
approval.
(iv) The Board will
maintain a list of preapproved providers and make the list publicly
available.
(2) A
continuing education course or program offered by a provider not preapproved
under paragraph (1) may be approved as provided in this paragraph.
(i) The provider shall apply at least 60 days
prior to the date the continuing education course or program is scheduled to
take place on forms provided by the Board and fully provide the information
required on the application forms for the Board to fulfill its duties under
this section. The application shall be submitted to the Board with payment of
the fee as required under § 40.5 (related to fees).
(ii) The provider shall apply for approval of
each course or program of continuing education, which may include multiple
presentations of the course or program at one or more locations. Unless
approved by the Board, a significant change in content or use of an instructor
or instructors other than those described in the application for approval is a
separate course or program for which Board approval is required.
(iii) The Board may deny approval of a course
or program of continuing education when the provider has previously failed or
is not currently able to comply with the provider responsibilities of paragraph
(3) or the course or program does not qualify under subsection (c)(1). The
Board may approve in part and deny in part an application for approval of a
course or program. The Board may deny an application for approval that does not
comply with the act or this chapter.
(iv) The Board may terminate its prior
approval of a course or program of continuing education when the applicant made
one or more false or misleading material statements on the application. The
Board may also terminate in part or in whole its prior approval of a course or
program when it is later determined that the Board has grounds to deny approval
in accordance with this section. Termination of approval will not forfeit
credit for a course or program completed prior to termination of
approval.
(v) The Board will
maintain a list of approved courses and programs in a form accessible to
certified physical therapist assistants and the public.
(vi) If the provider has not separately
sought approval under this paragraph, a certified physical therapist assistant
attending the course or program may apply for approval of a course or program
of continuing education in accordance with this paragraph. The certified
physical therapist assistant shall apply for approval prior to attending the
course or program. The Board may waive the requirements in paragraph (3) when a
certified physical therapist assistant attending a course or program applies
for approval.
(3) For
each course or program of continuing education, the provider shall:
(i) Disclose in advance to prospective
attendees the objectives, content, teaching method and the number of hours of
continuing education credit approved by the Board.
(ii) Provide physical facilities adequate for
the number of anticipated participants and the teaching methods to be
used.
(iii) Provide accurate
instructional materials.
(iv)
Utilize qualified instructors who are knowledgeable in the subject
matter.
(v) Evaluate the course or
program through the use of questionnaires of the participants and
instructors.
(vi) Issue a
certificate of completion to each participant.
(vii) Retain attendance records, written
outlines and a summary of evaluations for 5 years.
(e)
Authoring
publications. A certified physical therapist assistant may earn
continuing education credit for authoring publications as provided in this
subsection.
(1) Prior to the end of the
biennial renewal period for which credit is sought, the certified physical
therapist assistant shall apply to the Board on forms provided by the Board and
submit the documentation necessary to establish entitlement to
credit.
(2) Subject to the
limitations of paragraph (3), 1 contact hour of continuing education credit
will be awarded for each hour spent in research or writing. Credit will not be
awarded if the total research and writing time was less than 1 hour.
(3) Within the subject matter limitations of
subsection (c), a certified physical therapist assistant may earn credit for
authoring a publication as follows:
(i)
Authoring or editing a book, not to exceed 15 contact hours.
(ii) Authoring or editing a chapter of a
book, not to exceed 10 contact hours.
(iii) Authoring or reviewing a published
peer-reviewed article, not to exceed 10 contact hours.
(iv) Authoring a non-peer-reviewed article
published in a physical therapy publication, not to exceed 5 contact
hours.
(4) Credit for
authoring a publication will be awarded only for the biennial renewal period in
which it was published.
(f)
Disciplinary action
authorized. Unless otherwise excused by the act or this chapter,
failure to complete the minimum required amount of continuing education during
the applicable renewal period will subject the certified physical therapist
assistant to discipline under section 12(c) of the act (63 P.S. §
1312(c)) in accordance with
the schedule of civil penalties in §
43b.26 (relating to schedule of
civil penalties-physical therapists and physical therapist assistants). Within
6 months after the issuance of a citation under §
43b.26 for failure to complete the
required amount of continuing education, the physical therapist assistant shall
make up the deficiency and provide proof, in accordance with subsection (b), of
completion of the entire amount of continuing education required under
subsection (a). In addition to a civil penalty assessed under this subsection,
failure to complete the required amount of continuing education and to provide
the Board with proof of completion of the required amount of continuing
education within 6 months after the issuance of a citation under §
43b.26 will subject the certified
physical therapist assistant to disciplinary action under section
9.1(f) of the act
for committing unprofessional conduct as provided in §
40.181(a)(6).
This subsection does not apply to a certified physical therapist assistant who
permitted the physical therapist assistant's certificate to expire at the
conclusion of a biennial renewal period for which the physical therapist
assistant did not complete the required amount of continuing education and did
not provide patient services prior to reactivating that certificate under
§
40.191(g) upon a
demonstration that the physical therapist assistant subsequently completed the
required deficient continuing education.
The provisions of this §40.192 issued under
section 3(a) of the Physical Therapy Practice Act (63 P.S. §
1303(a)); section 16 of the
act of July 4, 2008 (P.L. 293, No. 38); amended under sections 3(a), 4(a), 6,
7.2, 9.1 and 11(a) of the Physical Therapy Practice Act (63 P.S.
§§
1303(a),
1304(a), 1306, 1307.2, 1309.1
and 1311(a)); and
23 Pa.C.S. §
6383(b)(2).
This section cited in 49 Pa. Code §
40.191 (relating to renewal of
certification); and 49 Pa. Code §
43b.26 (relating to schedule of
civil penalties-physical therapists and physical therapist
assistants).
