1. (a) Continuing education for the profession of physical therapy is a structured process of education designed or intended to support the continuous development of physical therapists and physical therapist assistants, and to maintain and enhance their professional competence. Continuing education is professional education that goes beyond their entry-level education and is applicable to the practice of physical therapy.

2. (b) Programs offered as continuing education (CE).

   1. (1) One CEU is defined as ten contact hours.

   2. (2) Program content and structure must be approved by the board-approved organization, or be offered by a provider accredited by that organization. Programs must meet the following criteria:

      1. (A) Program content must be easily recognizable as pertinent to the physical therapy profession and in the areas of ethics, professional responsibility, clinical application, clinical management, behavioral science, science, or risk management.
      2. (B) The content must be identified by instructional level, i.e., basic, intermediate, advanced. Program objectives must be clearly written to identify the knowledge and skills the participants should acquire and be consistent with the stated instructional level.
      3. (C) The instructional methods related to the objectives must be identified and be consistent with the stated objectives.
      4. (D) Programs must be presented by a licensed health care provider, or by a person with appropriate credentials and/or specialized training in the field.
      5. (E) Program providers are prohibited from self-promotion of programs, products, and/or services during the presentation of the program.
      6. (F) The participants must evaluate the program. A summary of these evaluations must be made available to the board-approved organization upon request.
      7. (G) Records of each licensee who participates in the program must be maintained for four years by the CE sponsor and must be made available to the board-approved organization upon request.

   3. (3) CE programs subject to this subsection include the following:

      1. (A) Traditional on-site CE programs.

         1. (i) Documentation for CE programs must include the name and license number of the licensee; the title, sponsor, date(s), and location of the course; the number of CEUs awarded, the signature of an authorized signer, and the accredited provider or the program approval number.
         2. (ii) If selected for audit, the licensee must submit the specified documentation.

      2. (B) Home study CE programs (hard copy or web-based).

         1. (i) Documentation must include the name and license number of the licensee; the title, sponsor, date(s), and instructional format of the course; the number of CEUs awarded, the signature of an authorized signer, and the accredited provider or the program approval number.
         2. (ii) If selected for audit, the licensee must submit the specified documentation.

      3. (C) Regular inservice-type CE programs over a one-year period where individual sessions are 2 hours or less.

         1. (i) Documentation must include the name and license number of the licensee; the title, sponsor, date(s), and location of the inservice; the signature of an authorized signer, and the accredited provider or the program approval number with the maximum CEUs granted and the CEU value of each session or group of sessions specified and justified.
         2. (ii) Additionally, proof of attendance to any or all inservice sessions must be provided so that individual CEUs earned can be calculated by the program sponsor for submission to the board-approved organization.
         3. (iii) If selected for audit, the licensee must submit the specified documentation.

      4. (D) Large conferences with concurrent CE programming.

         1. (i) Documentation must include the licensee's name and license number; title, sponsor, date(s); and location of the conference; the number of CE units awarded, the signature of an authorized signer, and the accredited provider or the course approval number.
         2. (ii) If selected for audit, the licensee must submit the specified documentation and proof of attendance.

3. (c) College or university courses.

   1. (1) College or university courses easily recognizable as pertinent to the physical therapy profession and in the areas of ethics, professional responsibility, clinical application, clinical management, behavioral science, science, or risk management may be submitted by licensees for consideration of their CE requirement.

      1. (A) Documentation required for submission includes the course syllabus for each course and an official transcript. To be considered, the course must be at the appropriate educational level for the physical therapist or physical therapist assistant.
      2. (B) The licensee should submit the request to the board-approved organization at least 60 days prior to the license expiration date.
   2. (2) One (1.0) CEU is credited for each satisfactorily (grade of C or higher) completed credit hour. If course contact hours are specified in the syllabus, 1.0 CEU is credited for every 10 contact hours in courses where the licensee earned a grade of C or higher.
   3. (3) Documentation must include the approval letter from the board-approved organization. If selected for an audit, the licensee must submit the specified documentation.
   4. (4) College or university sponsored CE programs (no grade, no official transcript) must comply with subsection (b) of this section.

4. (d) Self-directed study.

   1. (1) Publications.

      1. (A) Publication(s) pertinent to physical therapy and in the areas of ethics, professional responsibility, clinical application, clinical management, behavioral science, science, or risk management written for the professional or lay audience published within the 24 months prior to the license expiration date may be submitted by the author(s) for consideration of their CE requirement. The author(s) are prohibited from self-promotion of programs, products, and/or services in the publication.
      2. (B) Publication(s) must be approved and CEU value determined by the board-approved organization.

      3. (C) Maximum CEU values for types of original publications are as follows:

         1. (i) A newspaper article may be worth up to 0.3 CEU.
         2. (ii) A regional/national magazine article may be worth up to 1.0 CEU.
         3. (iii) A case study in a peer reviewed publication, monograph, or book chapter(s) may be worth up to 2 CEUs.
         4. (iv) A research article in a peer reviewed publication or an entire book may be worth up to 3.0 CEUs.
      4. (D) The request and final publication(s) should be sent to the board-approved organization at least 60 days prior to the license expiration date. In the event that the publication's release will occur in the 60 days prior to the license expiration date, the author(s) may submit the request, publication in revision form, and letter from the publisher or editor which includes the expected publication release date. In the event that the publication is an entire book or book chapter(s), the author must submit the following: title page, copyright page, entire table of contents, preface or forward if present, and one book chapter authored by the licensee.

   2. (2) Program/Course development, consultation, or teaching.

      1. (A) First time development or presentation of, and teaching or consultation in, programs such as institutes, seminars, workshops, conferences, and college or university courses which are designed to increase professional knowledge in the field of physical therapy or other related fields may be submitted for consideration of the CE requirement. CEUs are not available for subsequent development, consultation, or teaching of the same CE program or college or university course.
      2. (B) Program/Course development, consultation, or teaching must be approved and CEU value determined by the board-approved organization.
      3. (C) Maximum CEU value cannot exceed twice the value of the CE program or college or university course.
      4. (D) The licensee should submit the request with explanation and evidence of the licensee's roles and responsibilities, along with the CE program approval number, to the board-approved organization at least 60 days prior to the license expiration date. In the event that the licensee is requesting approval for activities not associated with an approved CE program, the licensee must submit the request along with the program/course objectives, outline, date(s), and location(s).

   3. (3) Residencies, Fellowships, Examinations, and Practice Review Tools.

      1. (A) The successful completion of a specialty examination may be submitted for consideration for the CE requirement. A list of the specialty examinations that qualify for CE will be maintained by the board.
      2. (B) The successful completion of an American Physical Therapy Association credentialed residency or fellowship program may be submitted for consideration for the CE requirement.
      3. (C) The completion of a Practice Review Tool of the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy may be submitted for consideration for the CE requirement unless the activity is required as a part of a disciplinary action.

      4. (D) Maximum CEU values for Residencies, Fellowships, Examinations, and Practice Review Tools shall be as follows but shall not meet the Ethics CEU requirement for license renewal:

         1. (i) Successful completion of a specialty examination shall be worth up to 3.0 CEUs.
         2. (ii) Successful completion of an American Physical Therapy Association credentialed residency or fellowship program shall be worth up to 3.0 CEUs.
         3. (iii) Completion of a Practice Review Tool of the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy shall be worth up to 1.5 CEUs.
      5. (E) The licensee should submit the request to the board-approved organization with explanation and evidence designated by the Board to verify successful completion of the residency, fellowship, or examination.
   4. (4) Documentation for self-study CE must include supporting evidence for application to the board-approved organization and the resulting approval letter. If selected for audit, the licensee must submit the specified documentation.

5. (e) Accreditation of providers or approval of continuing education programs, college or university courses, or self-study by the board-approved organization.

   1. (1) Pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the board, the Texas Physical Therapy Association (TPTA) shall act as the board-approved organization and shall be authorized to accredit providers and to evaluate and approve continuing education programs, college or university courses, or self-study for purposes of compliance with mandatory CE requirements as set by the board. This authority shall include authority to give, deny, withdraw and limit accreditation of providers and approval of programs, college or university courses, or self-study, and to charge and collect fees as set forth in the MOU and in the statute and rules governing the board and the practice of physical therapy in Texas.
   2. (2) To be recognized as qualifying continuing education, a program, college or university course, or self-study must be evaluated and approved by the TPTA, or be offered by a provider accredited by the TPTA. A program may be approved before or after the licensee attends it.
   3. (3) To apply for program approval, the licensee or program sponsor must submit a fee as approved by the board with the CE approval application and any additional documentation as specified in this section to the TPTA. Interested parties may contact the TPTA in Austin, Texas, (512) 477-1818, www.tpta.org. College or university courses are exempt from fees.

   4. (4) Use of statements for publicity.

      1. (A) Sponsors of approved programs may use the following statement in publicity: "This course has been approved by the Texas Board of Physical Therapy Examiners as meeting continuing education requirements for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants."
      2. (B) Sponsors of programs receiving a supplemental ethics approval may use the following statement in publicity: "This course has been approved by the Texas Board of Physical Therapy Examiners as fulfilling ____ hour(s) of the ethics and professional responsibility requirement for license renewal purposes for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants."
      3. (C) Accredited providers may use the following statement in publicity: "This course is provided by the Texas Board of Physical Therapy Examiners Accredited Provider #______ and meets continuing education requirements for physical therapist and physical therapist assistant licensure renewal in Texas."
   5. (5) Interested parties may contact the TPTA to inquire if a particular program is approved. A list of approved programs is available on the TPTA web site.
   6. (6) Pursuant to the MOU, the TPTA shall provide quarterly reports to the board of its activities. Additionally, the TPTA shall report to the board the results of periodic quality assurance follow-up or review of a representative sample of approved continuing education programs. In the event of sponsor noncompliance, results will be reported to the board in writing for further investigation and direction.

Source Note:The provisions of this §341.3 adopted to be effective November 11, 1993, 18 TexReg 7552; amended to be effective April 12, 1995, 20 TexReg 2386; amended to be effective May 8, 1996, 21 TexReg 3797; amended to be effective February 13, 2000, 25 TexReg 779; amended to be effective November 16, 2000, 25 TexReg 11288; amended to be effective February 17, 2005, 30 TexReg 717; amended to be effective March 5, 2007, 32 TexReg 1074; amended to be effective June 7, 2009, 34 TexReg 3516.