§ 6704-A — Mandatory continuing education for veterinarians

§ 6704-a. Mandatory continuing education for veterinarians. 1. (a)\nEach veterinarian, licensed pursuant to this article, required to\nregister triennially with the department to practice in this state shall\ncomply with the provisions of the mandatory continuing education\nrequirements, except as set forth in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this\nsubdivision. Veterinarians 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) Veterinarians 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 a\nphysician, for extended active duty with the armed forces of the United\nStates, or for other good cause acceptable to the department which may\nprevent compliance. Veterinarians engaged on a full-time basis in the\nteaching of veterinary medicine at a veterinary education program\nregistered by the department or accredited or approved by an acceptable\naccrediting organization shall be exempt from the requirements of this\nsection.\n (c) A licensed veterinarian not engaged in professional practice shall\nbe exempt from the mandatory continuing education requirement upon the\nfiling of a statement with the department declaring such status. Any\nlicensee who returns to the practice of veterinary medicine shall notify\nthe department prior to reentering the profession and shall meet such\nmandatory continuing education requirements as shall be prescribed by\nregulation of the commissioner.\n 2. (a) During each triennial registration period an applicant for\nregistration shall complete a minimum of forty-five hours of acceptable\nformal continuing education, a maximum of twenty-two and one-half hours\nof which may be self-instructional coursework acceptable to the\ndepartment.\n (i) Self-instructional coursework may include free spaying and\nneutering and other veterinary services in conjunction with a\nmunicipality, duly incorporated not-for-profit society for the\nprevention of cruelty to animals, duly incorporated humane society, or\nduly incorporated animal protection association or persons who would\notherwise be eligible under paragraph (a) of subdivision three of\nsection one hundred seventeen-a of the agriculture and markets law,\nprovided that such services be administered at practices, facilities and\nproperties that are appropriately equipped and staffed to provide such\nservices.\n (ii) The department may offset up to three hours of the requisite\nnumber of hours of continuing education required pursuant to this\nparagraph by the number of free spaying and neutering services rendered\nby an applicant, at a rate of one-half of one hour of continuing\neducation for each hour of free spaying and neutering services, provided\nthat a veterinarian shall be required to provide follow-up service for\nany post-operative complications related to the surgery that arise\nwithin twenty-four hours of performing the surgery, and shall also be\nrequired to complete the core requirements established by the\ndepartment.\n (b) Any veterinarian whose first registration date following the\neffective date of this section occurs less than three years from such\neffective date, but on or after January first, two thousand twelve,\nshall complete continuing education hours on a prorated basis at the\nrate of one and one-quarter hours per month for the period beginning\nJanuary first, two thousand twelve up to the first registration date\nthereafter. A licensee who has not satisfied the mandatory continuing\neducation requirements shall not be issued a triennial registration\ncertificate by the department and shall not practice unless and until a\nconditional registration certificate is issued as provided in\nsubdivision three of this section, or until he or she has otherwise met\nthe requirements of this section. The individual licensee shall\ndetermine the selection of courses or programs of study pursuant to\nsubdivision four of this section.\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. Any licensee who is notified of\nthe denial of registration for failure to submit evidence, satisfactory\nto the department, of completion of required continuing education and\nwho practices veterinary medicine without such registration, may be\nsubject to disciplinary proceedings pursuant to section sixty-five\nhundred ten of this title.\n 4. As used in this section, "acceptable formal continuing education"\nshall mean formal programs of learning which contribute to professional\npractice of veterinary medicine which are offered by sponsors of\nveterinary continuing education approved by the department, in\nconsultation with the state board for veterinary medicine, to fulfill\nthe mandatory continuing education requirement. Sponsors of veterinary\ncontinuing education shall include state or national professional\nassociations established to further the veterinary professions, and\nshall include any affiliates of such associations including local\nveterinary medical societies and generally recognized state, national\nand international veterinary conferences at which professional\ncontinuing education is a major component of such conferences, as well\nas universities and colleges offering programs leading to licensure in\nthe veterinary medical professions. Sponsors of veterinary medicine\ncontinuing education shall file an application with the department and\npay a fee of nine hundred dollars.\n 5. The mandatory continuing education fee shall be established by the\ndepartment, and shall be payable on or before the first day of each\ntriennial registration period, and shall be paid in addition to the\ntriennial registration fee required by section sixty-seven hundred four\nof this article.\n