22 Tex. Admin. Code § 104.1 - Continuing Education Requirements
As a prerequisite to the biennial renewal of a dental or dental hygiene license, proof of completion of 24 hours of acceptable continuing education is required.
(1)
Each licensee shall select and participate in the continuing education courses
endorsed by the providers identified in §
104.2 of this title (relating to
Providers). A licensee, other than a licensee who resides outside of the United
States, who is unable to meet education course requirements may request that
alternative courses or procedures be approved by the Licensing Committee.
(A) Such requests must be in writing and
submitted to and approved by the Licensing Committee prior to the expiration of
the biennial period for which the alternative is being requested.
(B) A licensee must provide supporting
documentation detailing the reason why the continuing education requirements
set forth in this section cannot be met and must submit a proposal for
alternative education procedures.
(C) Acceptable causes may include
unanticipated financial or medical hardships or other extraordinary
circumstances that are documented.
(D) A licensee who resides outside of the
United States may, without prior approval of the Licensing Committee, complete
all required hours of coursework by self-study.
(i) These self-study hours must be provided
by those entities cited in §
104.2 of this title. Examples of
self-study courses include correspondence courses, video courses, audio
courses, and reading courses.
(ii)
Upon being audited for continuing education compliance, a licensee who submits
self-study hours under this subsection must be able to demonstrate residence
outside of the United States for all periods of time for which self-study hours
were submitted.
(E)
Should a request to the Licensing Committee be denied, the licensee must
complete the requirements of this section.
(2) Effective September 1, 2018, the
following conditions and restrictions shall apply to coursework submitted for
renewal purposes:
(A) At least 16 hours of
coursework must be either technical or scientific as related to clinical care.
The terms "technical" and "scientific" as applied to continuing education shall
mean that courses have significant intellectual or practical content and are
designed to directly enhance the practitioner's knowledge and skill in
providing clinical care to the individual patient.
(B) Effective January 1, 2021, a licensed
dentist whose practice includes direct patient care must complete not less than
2 hours of continuing education annually, and not less than 4 hours for each
biennial renewal, regarding safe and effective pain management related to the
prescription of opioids and other controlled substances. These 4 hours may be
used to satisfy the 16-hour technical and scientific requirement. The courses
taken to satisfy the safe and effective pain management requirement must
include education regarding:
(i) reasonable
standards of care;
(ii) the
identification of drug-seeking behavior in patients; and
(iii) effectively communicating with patients
regarding the prescription of an opioid or other controlled
substance.
(C) Up to 8
hours of coursework may be in risk-management courses. Acceptable "risk
management" courses include courses in risk management, record-keeping, and
ethics. Dentists may complete continuing education courses described by §
111.1 of this title (relating to
Additional Continuing Education Required) to satisfy a portion of the
risk-management requirement.
(D) Up
to 8 hours of coursework may be self-study. These self-study hours must be
provided by those entities cited in §
104.2 of this title. Examples of
self-study courses include correspondence courses, video courses, audio
courses, and reading courses.
(E)
Hours of coursework in the standards of the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) annual update course or in cardiopulmonary resuscitation
(CPR) basic life support training may not be considered in the 24-hour
requirement.
(F) Hours of
coursework in practice finance may not be considered in the 24-hour
requirement.
(3) As part
of the 24-hour requirement, a course in human trafficking prevention approved
by the executive commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission
must be completed.
(4) Each
licensee shall complete the jurisprudence assessment every four (4) years. This
requirement is in addition to the twenty-four (24) hours of continuing
education required biennially for the renewal of a license.
(5) A licensee may carry forward continuing
education hours earned prior to a renewal period which are in excess of the
24-hour requirement and such excess hours may be applied to subsequent years'
requirements. Excess hours to be carried forward must have been earned in a
classroom setting and within the one year immediately preceding the renewal
period. A maximum of 24 total excess credit hours may be carried
forward.
(6) Examiners for The
Commission on Dental Competency Assessments-The Western Regional Examining
Board-The Council of Interstate Testing Agencies (CDCA-WREB-CITA), States
Resources for Testing and Assessments (SRTA), and Central Regional Dental
Testing Services Inc. (CRDTS) will be allowed credit for no more than 12 hours
biennially, obtained from calibration and standardization exercises associated
with the examinations.
(7) Any
individual or entity may petition one of the providers listed in §
104.2 of this title to offer
continuing education.
(8) Providers
cited in §
104.2 of this title will approve
individual courses and/or instructors.
(9) A consultant for the SBDE who is also a
licensee of the SBDE is eligible to receive up to 12 hours of continuing
education credit biennially to apply towards the biennial renewal continuing
education requirement under this section.
(A)
Continuing education credit hours shall be awarded for the issuance of an
expert opinion based upon the review of SBDE cases and for providing assistance
to the SBDE in the investigation and prosecution of cases involving violations
of the Dental Practice Act and/or the Rules of the SBDE.
(B) The amount of continuing education credit
hours to be granted for each consultant task performed shall be determined by
the Executive Director, Division Director, or manager that authorizes the
consultant task to be performed. The award of continuing education credit shall
be confirmed in writing and based upon a reasonable assessment of the time
required to complete the task.
(10) A course instructor who offers
continuing education through a provider listed in §
104.2 of this title is eligible to
receive 2 hours of continuing education credit for every 1 hour of instruction
provided. This credit applies per course, per renewal period.
Notes
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