Continuing Education Policy and Procedure

PURPOSE 

To provide Board staff, Board members, course sponsors, licensees, and general consumers with transparent information and guidance, the Louisiana Physical Therapy Board will establish and maintain a policy and procedure regarding the eligibility criteria and approval process for continuing education courses and activities that may be used by licensees for credit towards their biennial license renewal requirements as established by LAC 46:LIV.194(A)(2021). 

This policy is not intended to restrict or prohibit licensees from participating in any educational courses and/or activities they choose for their personal and professional development, but rather to provide guidance and establish eligibility criteria for continuing education courses and activities which may be approved by the board and used by licensees for credit towards their biennial renewal requirements as established by LAC 46:LIV.194(A)(2021). 

 

POLICY

Pursuant to La R.S. 37:2405(B)(7)(2019), the board may establish requirements for continuing education by licensees and continuing education course review and approval as the board deems appropriate.

Pursuant to La R.S. 37:2405(B)(14)(2019), the board may adopt by reference all or part of the codes, guides, and standards of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), except when such are in conflict with the Louisiana Physical Therapy Practice Act or the rules of the board.

Pursuant to LAC 46:LIV.191(A)(2021), to be approved by the board, a continuing education course or activity as defined in §123, must contribute directly to the professional competence of the licensee and must directly relate to the skills and knowledge required to implement the principles and methods of physical therapy.

Pursuant to LAC 46:LIV.195(A)(2021), to be approved by the board, program content must be easily recognizable as pertinent to the physical therapy profession. It shall contain evidence-led information related to the practice of physical therapy or clinical outcomes.

  1. The term evidence-led should be defined as including those articles published in a peer-reviewed journal. The strength of the evidence will be considered. Case reports, expert opinions, and editorials will not be considered evidence without additional supporting research. 
  2. Course or activity content shall address physical therapy competence and practice and shall be designed to meet one of the following goals:
    1. update knowledge and skills required for competent performance beyond entry level of the PT    or PTA at the time the licensee entered the profession;
    2. allow the licensee to enhance his knowledge and skills; and/or 
    3. facilitate personal contribution to the advancement of the profession.

Pursuant to La R.S. 37:2407(A)(5)(2019), the “practice of physical therapy” is the health care profession practiced by a physical therapist licensed under this Chapter and means the holding out of one's self to the public as a physical therapist and as being engaged in the business of, or the actual engagement in, the evaluation and treatment of any physical or medical condition to restore normal function of the neuromuscular and skeletal system, to relieve pain, or to prevent disability by use of physical or mechanical means, including therapeutic exercise, mobilization, passive manipulation, therapeutic modalities, and activities or devices for preventative, therapeutic, or medical purposes, and further shall include physical therapy evaluation, treatment planning, instruction, consultative services, and the supervision of physical therapy supportive personnel, including physical therapist assistants.

The Continuing Education (CE) Committee shall review continuing education courses by means of course sponsor applications as well as individual course applications for compliance with this policy.

The CE Committee may adopt by reference all or part of the American Physical Therapy Association Guide to Physical Therapy Practice to evaluate course content and activities.

Course applications that are deemed not in compliance with this policy will be denied by the CE Committee.

Course applications may be referred to the entire board for review, as determined by the CE Committee.

 

RESPONSIBILITIES

 

Staff Responsibilities

  1. Receive applications at the board office via the online application.
  2. Review applications to determine if the proper forms, documentation, and fees have been provided by the applicant.
  3. Notify applicant if additional information is needed. 
  4. Provide information to CEU committee for review within 7 days of receipt of complete application.
  5. Post the approved coursework to the LPTB website, including the amount of credit hours which may be earned.
  6. Review and approve CEU applications for all CAPTE accredited programs, clinical instructor requests, postgraduate coursework, and courses and activities sponsored by the APTA and the APTA Louisiana Chapter in accordance with LAC 46:LIV.193(D)(2021).
  7. Send approval or denial notice to applicant via email. 

CEU Committee Responsibilities

  1. Review course speaker/instructor qualifications for compliance with the CEU policy.
  2. Review content and activities for compliance with the CEU policy.
  3. Approve courses and assign credit hours in a timely manner, not to exceed 45 days.
  4. Deny courses in a timely manner, not to exceed 45 days.
  5. Review CEU policy annually.
  6. Refer course applications to the board for review and approval, as needed to address course eligibility and compliance with the CEU policy. 

Course Applicant Responsibilities

  1. Request a user account. Instructions on rquesting a user account may be found here.
  2. Submit a completed application in compliance with LAC 46:LIV.195)A)(2021).
  3. Maintain a record of attendance and completion of course activity in compliance with LAC 46:193(A)(G)(2021).
  4. For courses previously approved, any changes, including but not limited to changes in course speaker/instructor and/or content must be submitted in writing to the Board office.
  5. The application must include in either a PDF or Word doc:
    •     Course instructor(s)'s curriculum vitae/Resume;
    •     Course completion certificate which must include the name of the submitting course sponsor;
    •     Course survey form;
    •     Timed course schedule (or word count for readings and number of exam questions, and/or run time for course videos);
    •     Course objectives;
    •     Course citations/bibliography
      •  Course citations for clinical courses shall be no less than 3 references published in peer-reviewed journals related to the field of physical therapy that were published within the last 10 years. 
      •  Citations for administrative and ethics courses shall be no less than 3 relevant references published within the last 10 years. 

Program Criteria

 

Speaker Minimum Qualifications

  1. A curriculum vitae for the course instructor/speaker will be submitted with the application packet for course review by the CEU Committee. If a curriculum vitae is unavailable, a course instructor/speaker biography may be submitted so long as it includes a detailed account of the course instructor/speaker's education, training, and qualifications to teach the course subject matter and content to licensed physical therapists and physical therapist assistants. Information required from the course instructor/speaker may include, but is not limited to, the following:
    1. Evidence of post-secondary education in physical therapy or a field related to the practice of physical therapy including the name of the institution(s), dates attended, and degree(s) received;
    2. Evidence of a minimum of five (5) years of practice experience in physical therapy or a field related to the practice of physical therapy;
    3. Evidence of advanced education, training, expertise and/or proficiency in the subject matter and area of course content;
    4. Evidence of prior teaching experience in the subject matter and area of course content.
  2. The course instructor/speaker must hold a valid license to practice within their profession, if required by the regulatory body in their jurisdiction.
  3. The CEU Committee reserves the right to request additional information regarding the education, training, and qualificaitons of the course instructor/speaker prior to the course approval.

Course Goals (PT Rule §195A.)

Pursuant to LAC 46:LIV.191(A)(2021), to be approved by the board, a continuing education course or activity as defined in §123, must contribute directly to the professional competence of the licensee and must directly relate to the skills and knowledge required to implement the principles and methods of physical therapy.

Pursuant to LAC 46:LIV.195(A)(2021), to be approved by the board, program content must be easily recognizable as pertinent to the physical therapy profession. It shall contain evidence-led information related to the practice of physical therapy and clinical outcomes. 

  1. The term evidence-led should be defined as including those articles published in a peer-reviewed journal. The strength of the evidence will be considered. Case reports, expert opinions, and editorials will not be considered evidence without additional supporting research.
  2. Course or activity content shall address physical therapy competence and practice and shall be designed to meet one of the following goals.
    1. update knowledge and skills required for competent performance beyond entry-level of the PT and PTA at the time the licensee entered the profession;
    2. allow the licensee to enhance their knowledge and skills; and/or;
    3. facilitate personal contribution to the advancement of the profession.

 

Length of Course

All Courses must be at least one hour in length. Course approval time will be rounded down to the nearest quarter hour.

 

Criteria for Course Review, listed by course delivery method

  1. Text-based courses 
    •      The Mergener Formula will be used to calculate credit hours/units for all text-based independent study learning activities such a journal article, PDF documents, or text-based web-learning activity.
    •      Text-based courses must have a learning assessment to receive credit.
    •      Learning assessment is required to calculate the number of credit hours in the Mergener Formula. Course sponsor must provide number of words, number of assessment questions, and level of difficulty for the course content: beginner, intermediate, or advanced.
  2. Video-based courses
    •      Credit for video-based courses will be approved based on presentation time, excluding the introduction of the course/instructor.
    •      Video-based courses will have an interactive feature to allow dialogue, coursework assignments, and post-tests.
    •     Video-based courses must have a learning assessment.
  3. Symposium, Conference, and Traditional in-person lecture-type courses
    •      Credit for symposium, conference, and lectures will be approved on course time only.
      1. Registration times will be excluded.
      2. Breaks will be excluded.
      3. If the course or activity is over four (4) hours long, a fifteen-minute break will automatically be deducted from time.

Guidance for Instructional Levels

  1. Beginner Level
    1. Foundation/fundamental learning of a given service.
    2. Covers basic concepts and terminology and general use.
    3. Primary focus on what the service "is".
    4. Learner is new to a specific service.
  2. Intermediate Level
    1. Requires prerequisite  and fundamental knowledge as well as the basic understanding of how a given service functions.
    2. Primary focus on the user's understanding of "how" to use the service.
    3. Learner understands how the service works, and has familiarity with services, but are expanding their knowledge to new areas.
  3. Advanced Level
    1. Knowledge that comes with extensive experience with how a service or related service works, as well as how to use the service to achieve specific tasks.
    2. Primary focus is on complex concepts, often providing scenarios with multiple (sometimes competing) variables that require the user to think critically.
    3. Learner focuses on analysis, synthesis, and application of complex concepts. 

Individual Course Approval Submitted by Licensees (PT Rule §193.F.)

Pursant to LAC 46:LIV.193(F)(2021), course activities not approved by the board may generate acceptable continuing education credits for licensees under these circumstances:

  1. The licensee submits for approval of the course or activity using the online form located on the licensee dashboard (§193.F(1));
  2. The course or activity submitted for approval shall only be considered for the licensee who submits for approval (§193.F(2)); 
  3. In no case will such application for course or activity approval be considered during the last 60 days of the requestor's license term (§193.F(3)).

The application must include in either PDF or Word document:

    • Course instructor(s)'s curriculum vitae/resume;
    • Timed course schedule (or word count for readings and number of exam questions, and/or run time for videos);
    • Course objectives;
    • Course citations/bibliography
      • Course citations for clinical courses shall be no less than 3 references published in peer-reviewed journals related to the field of physical therapy that were published within the last 10 years.
      • Citations for administrative and ethics courses shall be no less than 3 releavant references published within the last 10 years. 

 

Types of approved courses or activities

  1. Jurisprudence
  2. Ethics
  3. Clinical and/or Administrative

Verification/Certificate of Attendance

  1. Attendance certificate must include actual hours attended by participant.
  2. Attendance certificate must include actual hours approved in Louisiana.
  3. Attendance certificate must include participant’s name and license number.

Fees (LAC 46:LIV.501(A)(2021)

  1. Pursuant to LAC 46:LIV.193(E)(2021), review charge for APTA, APTA-LA, and Louisiana CAPTE accredited program sponsors will be waived.
  2. Other course sponsors
    1. Review for courses of less than 8 hours in legnth = $100
    2. Review for courses of 9 hours or more in length = $150
  3. Licensee fee for course approval = $20.00

Refund of Fees

The application review fee is non-refundable. Denied courses do not qualify for a review fee refund. 

The following may qualify for a refund:

  1. Individual course review fee paid for a course that was previously submitted by a course sponsor in the same calendar year.
  2. Course sponsor review fee for a course that was cancelled due to natural disaster and will not be available for Louisiana licensees to complete.
    1. If the course is rescheduled in a different calendar year, the course fee and approval will be transferred to the calendar year that the course is offered and a refund will not be issued.

Approval Period Timeframe

Courses submitted by course sponsors may be submitted for approval at any time. Courses offered multiple times in a calendar year are approved for the entire calendar year that the approval is granted.

Courses or activities submitted by licensees in accordance with Rule §193.F. may be submitted for approval during the licensee's renewal period until the last 60 days of the requestor's license term.

 

Licensee CE Reporting Period

Licensees may report CE courses completed between February 1st of their last renewal period to April 30th of their current renewal period. Licensees may not report the same course completion in multiple renewal periods, known as “double dipping”.

"Course completion" is identified by the course certificate with the date completed. Licensees may retake a course on a different date to be used in their next renewal period.

 

Revised: March 19, 2025