Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 345-4-.02 - Continuing Education Hours

(1) As a condition for renewing his or her license for each biennium, every massage therapist licensed pursuant to this chapter shall be required to complete a minimum of twenty-four (24) continuing education (CE) hours related to the practice of massage therapy through an approved provider; except as otherwise provided for in this chapter.

(a) Twelve (12) of the total twenty-four (24) CE Hours must include direct hands-on supervised instruction; and

(b) The remaining twelve (12) CE Hours may include direct hands-on supervised instruction or other massage therapy related CE hours.

(c) CE Hours for renewal must be obtained during the two year renewal cycle beginning November 1st through October 31st of the two year licensure period.

(d) For the purposes of this rule the course must include seventy percent (70 %) of hands-on experience/demonstration in order to qualify as direct hands-on supervised instruction.

(2) Approved providers for Continuing Education must have a current NCBTMB Continuing Education Provider Number and shall provide information on course attendance to CE Broker. Licensees may locate an approved provider on the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork website at www.ncbtmb.org. Licensees do not have to be board certified by NCBTMB to access the NCBTMB continuing education providers. The Board only accepts those Continuing Education Providers assigned a provider code number by NCBTMB.

(3) Beginning the November 1, 2014 through October 31, 2016 biennium and thereafter, persons licensed to practice as a massage therapist or who shall file an application to practice as such in this state are to maintain a record of completed continuing education courses and experiences by registering with an online recording and reporting system approved by the Board.

(A) For the purposes of this requirement, the Georgia Board of Massage Therapy adopts the utilization of CE Broker, Inc.

(B) Licensees and applicants shall incur no additional costs from CE Broker, Inc. for this service.

(C) Every licensee or applicant subject to the rules of the Georgia Board of Massage Therapy shall be deemed to have given such person's consent to the Board and its representatives to access their continuing competence record retained within the online database for the purposes of auditing and verifying completion of the Board's continuing competency requirements.

(4) The Board may consider a waiver or variance of the requirement of CE hours for licensees who can provide acceptable proof of a verifiable illness, disability or hardship that substantially affected their ability to obtain the required CE hours during the prior biennium renewal period through submission to the board of a completed, signed waiver/variance request form prior to the biennium renewal expiration date of October 31st of every even numbered year.

(5) An applicant who is licensed during the second year of the biennium renewal period shall only be required to provide 12 hours of continuing education (CE) hours through an approved provider for that renewal period.

(a) 6 of the total 12 CE Hours must include direct hands-on supervised instruction; and,

(b) The remaining 6 CE Hours may include direct hands on supervised instruction or other massage therapy related CE hours.

(6) An applicant having graduated from a Board recognized approved massage therapy education program within one year of their application date shall be exempt from continuing education requirements for their initial biennium renewal period only.

(7) An applicant for reinstatement of a lapsed or revoked license must show along with their completed application and fee payment that they have taken the required twenty-four (24) hours of continuing education, in accordance with this rule, within one (1) year of the date of their reinstatement application to the board.

(8) The continuing education hours used for the reinstatement of a license cannot be used to meet the continuing education hours required for the biennium during which the license was reinstated.

Notes

Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 345-4-.02

O.C.G.A. Secs. 43-1-10, 43-1-19, 43-1-24, 43-1-25, 43-24A-3, 43-24A-7, 43-24A-8, 43-24A-10, 43-24A-14, 43-24A-17, 43-24A-20, 50-13-343-24A-14, 43-34A-20, 50-13-3.

Original Rule entitled "Continuing Education Hours" adopted. F. July 5, 2007; eff. July 25, 2007. Repealed: New Rule of same title adopted. F. Mar. 9, 2009; eff. Mar. 29, 2009. Repealed: New Rule of same title adopted. F. Nov. 3, 2010; eff. Nov. 23, 2010. Amended: F. Feb. 27, 2012; eff. Mar. 18, 2012. Amended: F. Sep. 2, 2015; eff. Sept. 22, 2015.