Originally posted on:2014-02-05
ALABAMA PHYSICAL THERAPY LICENSING BOARD RULE CHANGE REGARDING CONTINUING COMPETENCY
On Tuesday, January 14, 2014, The AL Board of PT passed a rule change offered by The Alabama Chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association.
The Chapter has been communicating with members in recent months regarding the Board of Physical Therapy rule change that took effect on Oct. 1, 2013. That rule change made ProCert the only approval entity for continuing education courses AL Licensees can use for licensure renewal. Since many providers of quality education, including APTA, use other avenues for accreditation, the Association felt strongly the rule should be modified. Over the last 3 months, many providers around the state have attempted to work through the ProCert application process and found it to be time-consuming and burdensome. Members of the Alabama Licensure Board heard our concerns, and the concerns of others from around the state, and worked with the ALAPTA to improve the language we originally submitted.
Below is the language that passed:
700-X-2-.09 Renewal Of License.
# 7. Practicing licensees who successfully complete a residency or fellowship program approved by the American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education (ABPTRFE) shall be awarded fifteen (15) CCU for each 1,000 hours completed.
# 8. Practicing licensees who successfully complete a college course offered by a CAPTE accredited PT or PTA program shall be awarded one(1) CCU for each semester hour completed.
#9. For the 2013-2018 compliance period, practicing licensees who complete continuing education courses provided by a University/College program that has a CAPTE-accredited PT/PTA program, or an IACET approved provider, FSBPT, or components of the APTA that meet the requirements described in 700-X-2.09(3)(a)(1)(i) through 700-X-2-.09(3)(a)(1)(v) shall be awarded one (1) CCU for each contact hour completed.
Please note that the Board has added ABPTRFE residencies and fellowships in #7, and college courses offered by a CAPTE accredited PT or PTA program in #8, and in #9 above, several options have been added:
* Courses provided by a university/college with an accredited PT/PTA program.
* APTA live courses and courses taken through the APTA Learning Center, such as the Jurisprudence Course which PTs must complete this year for licensure renewal. (APTA uses IACET as its accrediting body.)
* Courses sponsored by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy.
* Courses (live or online) sponsored by an APTA component, which includes the Alabama Physical Therapy Association, other state chapters, and sections (such as the Section on Geriatrics, the Orthopedic Section, the Home Heath Section, etc…)
Since the rule states “For the 2013-2018 compliance period…”, any course you may have completed by one of these providers since October 1, 2013 will count towards your licensure renewal in 2014.
The next step is for the rule change to be filed with the legislative committee in Montgomery. Once it is published, which we anticipate to be February 1, the 35 day comment period will begin. We will be asking licensees to contact the Board office in support of the rule change and thank the Board for listening to the concerns of licensees and modifying the rule.
Keep in mind: There is still the new requirement to log all your continuing education courses in aPTitude. We encourage everyone to begin the process of registering. Please click HERE to get started.
This is a prime example of your ALAPTA leaders working for our members and licensees in the state of Alabama! Your Membership counts!
