Rules & Regulations of the State of Tennessee
Title 1045 - Optometry
Chapter 1045-02 - General Rules Governing the Practice of Optometry
Section 1045-02-.05 - CONTINUING EDUCATION
Universal Citation: TN Comp Rules and Regs 1045-02-.05
Current through September 24, 2024
(1) Effective January 1, 2020, an Optometrist with a renewal date in the year 2020 and beyond must complete forty (40) hours of Board approved continuing education during the twenty-four (24) months that precede the licensure renewal month.
(a) For those who are therapeutically
certified, a minimum of twenty five (25) of the forty (40) hours of continuing
education is required in courses pertaining to ocular disease and related
systemic disease, as described in subparagraph (2)(e). At least two (2) of
these twenty five (25) hours shall be a course or courses designed specifically
to address controlled substance prescribing practices. Any course related to
controlled substance prescribing practices must include instruction in the
Department's treatment guidelines on opioids, benzodiazepines, barbituates, and
carisoprodol and may include topics such as medicine addiction, risk management
tools, and other topics approved by the Board.
(b) Each licensee shall maintain current
certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Such certification shall
be obtained from a course approved or offered by the American Heart
Association, the American Red Cross, or any other entity approved by the
board.
(c) Each licensee must
retain proof of attendance and completion of all continuing education
requirements. This documentation must be retained for a period of four (4)
years from the end of the calendar year in which the continuing education was
required. This documentation must be produced for inspection and verification,
if requested in writing by the board during its verification process. The board
will not maintain continuing education files.
(d) The individual must, within thirty (30)
days of a request from the board, provide evidence of continuing education
activities. Certificates verifying the individual's attendance or original
letters from course providers are such evidence.
(2) Approval of Continuing Education
(a) For those courses requiring Board
approval, the information required by subparagraph (2)(d) must be submitted to
the Board at least thirty (30) days prior to the actual date of the course.
However, no prior approval is required for the following:
1. Educational courses approved by the
Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry's Council on Optometric
Practitioner Education.
2.
Educational courses sponsored by an organization listed on the Board's website
with the Tennessee Department of Health.
(b) Grand rounds of clinical optometric
education (grand clinical rounds) performed in clinical treatment facilities
shall be credited as follows:
1. One (1) hour
of credit is received for two (2) hours of attendance.
2. No more than six (6) hours of continuing
education credit during the two (2) year period described in paragraph (1)
shall be granted to a licensee for attending grand clinical rounds.
3. Grand clinical rounds must be submitted to
the Board for pre-approval.
(c) Any course designed specifically to
address controlled substance prescribing practices must be pre-approved by the
Board or by a vendor approved by the Board for offering such courses.
(d) All courses submitted for approval must
contain the following information:
1. A course
description or outline;
2. Names of
all lecturers;
3. Brief resume of
all lecturers;
4. Number of hours
of educational credit requested;
5.
Category of approval requested; and
6. Date of course.
(e) Courses will be classified by the Board
as one (1) of the following categories:
1.
Clinical Optometry - These courses shall pertain to general optometry,
functional vision/pediatrics, and contact lenses.
2. Ocular Disease - These courses shall
pertain to the treatment and management of ocular disease (anterior and
posterior), refractive surgery management, peri-operative management of
ophthalmic surgery, and glaucoma.
3. Related Systemic Disease - These courses
shall pertain to systemic/ocular disease, principles of diagnosis,
pharmacology, and neuro-optometry.
4. (Optometric) Business Management - These
courses shall pertain to practice management and/or ethics/jurisprudence. The
total number of (Optometric) Business Management hours that will be accepted is
eight (8) hours of the forty (40) hour requirement.
(f) Continuing education courses may include:
1. Lecture type courses;
2. Fifteen (15) hours of the forty (40) hour
requirement may be completed in any of the following multi-media formats:
(i) The Internet
(ii) Closed circuit television
(iii) Satellite broadcasts
(iv) Correspondence courses
(v) Videotapes
(vi) CD-ROM
(vii) DVD
(viii) Teleconferencing
(ix) Videoconferencing
(x) Distance learning
(g) Proof of attendance -
1. Proof of attendance must be given to each
optometrist attending an approved course by the providers of the
course;
2. It is the responsibility
of the optometrist attending the continuing education program to ascertain
whether the program is approved by the Board and the category of
approval.
3. The Board shall notify
all providers requiring course approval of its denial or approval. If a course
is denied credit for continuing education, the provider of the course may
petition the board for a hearing on the merits of the matter. The appeal may be
heard by the Board at a regularly scheduled meeting.
4. Waiver of continuing education
requirements or extension of the deadline to complete such requirements may be
made by the Board on an individual basis as provided in Rule
1045-02-.04(3).
(3) Continuing Education Tracking System
(a) Each licensee
shall submit to the Selected Contractor proof of completion for each continuing
education course taken. The proof of completion shall be submitted to the
Selected Contractor within thirty (30) days of receipt.
(b) Each licensee is responsible for
reviewing the information contained in the system to ensure its
accuracy.
(c) Continuing education
providers will submit to the Selected Contractor a roster of those Tennessee
licensed optometrists who attended the continuing education course. The roster
shall be submitted to the Selected Contractor within thirty (30) days after the
course date.
(4) A licensee is exempt from the Continuing Education requirements for the calendar year that he/she graduated from an accredited college or school of optometry.
(5) Continuing education course approval decisions pursuant to this rule may be preliminarily made upon review by any Board member or a Board designee.
(6) Violations
(a) Any licensee who falsely certifies
attendance and completion of the required hours of continuing education
requirements, or who does not or can not adequately substantiate completed
continuing education hours with the required documentation, may be subject to
disciplinary action.
(b) Prior to
the institution of any disciplinary proceedings, a letter shall be issued to
the last known address of the individual stating the facts or conduct which
warrant the intended action.
(c)
The licensee has thirty (30) days from the date of notification to show
compliance with all lawful requirements for the retention of the
license.
(d) Any licensee who fails
to show compliance with the required continuing education hours in response to
the notice contemplated by subparagraph (5)(b) above may be subject to
disciplinary action.
(e) Continuing
education hours obtained as a result of compliance with the terms of a Board
Order in any disciplinary action shall not be credited toward the continuing
education hours required to be obtained in any renewal period.
Authority: T.C.A. §§ 4-5-202, 4-5-204, 63-1-107, 63-8-112, 63-8-119, and 63-8-120.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Tennessee may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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