Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0880-03-.12 - CONTINUING EDUCATION
All persons licensed as a P.A. must comply with the following continuing education rules as a prerequisite to licensure renewal.
(1) Continuing Education - Hours Required
(a) All physician assistants must, within a
two (2) year period prior to the application for license renewal, complete one
hundred (100) hours of continuing medical education satisfactory to the
Committee. At least fifty (50) hours shall be obtained in certified medical
education Category I and at least two (2) Category I hours of the required
continuing education hours shall address education related to controlled
substance prescribing, which must include instruction in the Department's
treatment guidelines on opioids, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and
carisoprodol and may include topics such as medicine addiction, risk management
tools, and other topics approved by the Committee.
(b) The Committee approves a course for only
the number of hours contained in the course. The approved hours of any
individual course will not be counted more than once in a calendar year toward
the required hourly total regardless of the number of times the course is
attended or completed by any individual.
(c) The committee may waive or otherwise
modify the requirements of this rule in cases where there is retirement or an
illness, disability or other undue hardship which prevents a physician
assistant from obtaining the requisite number of continuing education hours
required for renewal. Requests for waivers or modification must be sent in
writing to the Committee prior to the expiration of the renewal period in which
the continuing education is due.
(2) Continuing Education - Proof of
Compliance
(a) All physician assistants must
indicate, by their signature on the license renewal form, that they have
completed the required number of continuing medical education hours, during
whichever of the following two (2) year periods applies to the applicant:
1. For those certified by the N.C.C.P.A.; the
most recent two (2) year period (depending upon the year of initial
certification of the applicant by the N.C.C.P.A.) utilized by N.C.C.P.A. to
determine whether that person has obtained sufficient continuing medical
education hours to maintain his or her professional certification.
2. For those not certified by the N.C.C.P.A.;
the most recent two (2) year period (depending upon the year of birth of the
licensee rather than the year of initial certification by the N.C.C.P.A.),
which if utilized by the N.C.C.P.A. would determine whether that person would
have (had he or she been nationally certified) obtained sufficient continuing
medical education hours to maintain his or her professional
certification.
(b) All
physician assistants must retain independent documentation of completion of all
continuing education hours. This documentation must be retained for a period of
four (4) years from the end of the renewal period in which the continuing
education was acquired. This documentation must be produced for inspection and
verification, if requested in writing by the Committee during its verification
process.
1. Certificates verifying the
licensed individual's completion of the continuing education program(s) consist
of any one or more of the following:
(i) The
National Commission on the Certification of Physician Assistants' "Continuing
Medical Education Logging Certificate";
(ii) Certificates must include the following:
Continuing education program's sponsor, date, length in minutes awarded
(continuing education units must be converted to clock hours), program title,
licensed individual's name, license number and social security
number.
(iii) An original letter on
official stationery from the continuing education program's sponsor indicating
date, length in minutes awarded (continuing education units must be converted
to clock hours), program title, licensed individual's name, license number and
social security number.
(c) If a person submits documentation for
training that is not clearly identifiable as appropriate continuing education,
the Committee will request a written description of the training and how it
applies to the practice as a physician assistant. If the Committee determines
that the training cannot be considered appropriate continuing education, the
individual will be given 90 days to replace the hours not allowed. Those hours
will be considered replacement hours and cannot be counted during the next
renewal period.
(3)
Acceptable continuing education - To be utilized for satisfaction of the
continuing education requirements of this rule, the continuing education
program must be approved in content, structure and format by the A.M.A., the
A.A.P.A., or the N.C.C.P.A.
(4)
Violations
(a) Any physician assistant who
falsely attests to completion of the required hours of continuing education may
be subject to disciplinary action pursuant to Rule
0880-03-.15.
(b) Any physician assistant who fails to
obtain the required continuing education hours may be subject to disciplinary
action pursuant to Rule
0880-03-.15 and may not be
allowed to renew licensure.
(c)
Education hours obtained as a result of compliance with the terms of a
Committee or Board order in any disciplinary action shall not be credited
toward the continuing education hours required to be obtained in any renewal
period.
Notes
Authority: T.C.A. ยงยง 4-5-202, 4-5-204, 63-6-101, 63-19-104, and 63-19-105.
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