§ 6554-A — Mandatory continuing education for chiropractors

§ 6554-a. Mandatory continuing education for chiropractors. 1. (a)\nEach chiropractor licensed pursuant to this article, required to\nregister triennially with the department to practice in this state,\nshall comply with the provisions of the mandatory continuing education\nrequirements, except as set forth in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this\nsubdivision. Chiropractors who do not satisfy the mandatory continuing\neducation requirements shall not practice until they have met such\nrequirements and have been issued a registration or conditional\nregistration certificate.\n (b) Chiropractors shall be exempt from the mandatory continuing\neducation requirement for the triennial registration period during which\nthey are first licensed. In accordance with the intent of this section,\nadjustments to the mandatory continuing education requirement may be\ngranted by the department for reasons of health, certified by an\nappropriate health care professional, for extended active duty with the\narmed forces of the United States, or for other good cause acceptable to\nthe department which may prevent compliance.\n (c) A licensed chiropractor not engaged in chiropractic practice as an\nindividual practitioner, a partner or a partnership, a shareholder of a\nprofessional service corporation, as an employee of such practice units,\nor as an employee of a facility operating pursuant to article\ntwenty-eight of the public health law, or as otherwise determined by the\ndepartment, shall be exempt from the mandatory continuing education\nrequirement upon the filing of a statement with the department declaring\nsuch status. Any licensee who returns to the public practice of\nchiropractic during the triennial registration period shall notify the\ndepartment prior to reentering the profession and shall meet such\nmandatory continuing education requirements as shall be promulgated by\nregulation of the commissioner in consultation with the board.\n (d) Nothing in this section shall be construed as enabling or\nauthorizing the department or state board for chiropractic to require or\nimplement continuing competency testing or continued competency\ncertification for chiropractors.\n 2. During each triennial registration period an applicant for\nregistration shall complete thirty-six hours of acceptable formal\ncontinuing education, a maximum of twelve hours of which may be\nself-instructional coursework as approved by the department in\nconsultation with the board. Any chiropractor whose first registration\ndate following the effective date of this section occurs less than three\nyears from such effective date, but on or after January first, two\nthousand four, shall complete continuing education hours on a prorated\nbasis at the rate of one hour per month for the period beginning January\nfirst, two thousand four up to the first registration date thereafter. A\nlicensee who has not satisfied the mandatory continuing education\nrequirements shall not be issued a triennial registration certificate by\nthe department and shall not practice unless and until a conditional\nregistration certificate is issued as provided in subdivision three of\nthis section. The individual licensee shall determine the selection of\ncourses or programs of study pursuant to subdivision four of this\nsection. Continuing education hours taken during one triennium may not\nbe carried over or otherwise credited or transferred to a subsequent\ntriennium.\n 3. The department, in its discretion, may issue a conditional\nregistration to a licensee who fails to meet the continuing education\nrequirements established in subdivision two of this section but who\nagrees to make up any deficiencies and take any additional education\nwhich the department may require. The fee for such a conditional\nregistration shall be the same as, and in addition to, the fee for the\ntriennial registration. The duration of such conditional registration\nshall be determined by the department but shall not exceed one year. Any\nlicensee who is notified of the denial of registration for failure to\ncomplete the required continued education and who continues to practice\nchiropractic without such registration may be subject to disciplinary\nproceedings pursuant to section sixty-five hundred ten of this title.\n 4. As used in this section, "acceptable formal continuing education"\nshall mean formal programs of learning which are sponsored or presented\nby a New York state chiropractic professional organization, national\nchiropractic professional organization or higher educational\ninstitution, and which meet the following requirements: contain subject\nmatter which contributes to the enhancement of professional and clinical\nskills of the chiropractor and is approved as acceptable continuing\neducation by a chiropractic college recognized by the Commission on\nAccreditation of the Council of Chiropractic Education to fulfill the\nmandatory continuing education requirements, and which meets the\nstandards prescribed by regulations of the commissioner in consultation\nwith the board to fulfill the mandatory continuing education\nrequirement.\n 5. Chiropractors shall certify at each triennial registration as to\nhaving satisfied the mandatory continuing education requirements of this\nsection, shall maintain adequate documentation of completion of\nacceptable formal continuing education to support such certification and\nshall provide such documentation to the department upon request. Failure\nto provide such documentation upon request of the department shall be an\nact of misconduct subject to disciplinary proceedings pursuant to\nsection sixty-five hundred ten of this title.\n 6. The mandatory continuing education fee shall be forty-five dollars,\nshall be payable on or before the first day of each triennial\nregistration period, and shall be in addition to the triennial\nregistration fee required by section sixty-five hundred fifty-four of\nthis article.\n