Okla. Admin. Code § 310:679-9-4

Current through Vol. 41, No. 19, June 17, 2024

Section 310:679-9-4 - [Effective 9/14/2024] Continuing education requirements

(a) Each licensee shall be responsible for identifying his own continuing education needs, taking the initiative in seeking continuing professional education activities to meet those needs, and integrating new knowledge and skills into his duties.

(b) Individuals who are newly licensed as a nursing home or ICF/MR administrators or certified as Assistant Administrators are required to successfully complete continuing education hours equivalent to a rate of two (2) hours per month, beginning with the month following the month his license/certificate is issued, for each month he holds the license/certificate during the current licensing year. For certified assistant administrators, this is a condition of employment.

(1) Individuals who are newly licensed as RC/AL administrators are required to successfully complete continuing education hours equivalent to a rate of one and one-half (1.5) hours per month, beginning with the month following the month their license is issued, for each month they hold the license during the current licensing year.

(2) Individuals who are newly licensed as RC only administrators are required to successfully complete continuing education hours equivalent to a rate of 1.3 hours per month, rounded up to the next half hour increment (e.g., 1.3 = 1.5; 2.6 = 3), beginning with the month following the month their license is issued, for each month they hold the license during the current licensing year.

(3) Individuals who are newly licensed as Adult Day Care administrators are required to successfully complete continuing education hours equivalent to a rate of one (1) hour per month, beginning with the month following the month their license is issued, for each month they hold the license during the current licensing year.

(c) Licensees holding a nursing home administrator license and Certified Assistant Administrators shall successfully complete twenty-four (24) clock hours of continuing education (commonly referred to as CEUs or continuing education units) during each licensing year. For Certified Assistant Administrators this shall be a condition of employment.

(1) RC/AL administrators shall successfully complete eighteen (18) clock hours of continuing education during each licensing year.

(2) Residential Care administrators shall successfully complete sixteen (16) clock hours of continuing education during each licensing year.

(3) Licensed Adult Day Care Administrators shall successfully complete twelve (12) clock hours of continuing education during each licensing year.

(d) Licensees/certificate holders are responsible for maintaining their own continuing education records.

(e) Carry-over of continuing education hours earned in one licensing year that were in excess of the hours required for that year to a subsequent licensing year is not permitted.

(f) Licensed administrators who have attended and received credit for previously approved program content shall be denied credit for attending subsequent duplicate programs in the same calendar year.

(g) A licensee/certificate holder who cannot meet the continuing education requirement due to illness, emergency or hardship may petition the Board, in writing, requesting a waiver of the clock hour requirement. Any such waiver request must be received and acted- upon by the Board prior to the end of the licensing period in which the CE requirement will not be met. The waiver request shall explain why compliance is not possible, and include appropriate documentation. Waiver requests will be evaluated and acted upon by the Board on a case-by-case basis. In the event of more broadly scaled events that, in the judgment of the Board, affect large groups or the whole of the profession, the Board may take action to temporarily alter or waive CE requirements for those larger groups or all licensees for a specified time period.

(h) In the event a licensee fails to provide the Board, upon request, with documentation that the continuing education requirements have been met, the licensee will be subject to sanction by the Board, which may include suspension or revocation of his license. This is considered a reportable offense on the first offense and will appear as a violation in the Registry and NPDB.

(i) A licensee whose license is suspended by the Board for disciplinary reasons is not exempt from the continuing education requirements, and must, therefore, successfully complete the required number of continuing education hours commensurate with his license/certificate type during any licensing year(s) in which his license is under suspension. Licensee shall, upon Board request, furnish documentation that the continuing education requirements have been met. Failure to provide such requested documentation shall subject licensee to sanction by the Board, including further suspension or revocation of his license.

(j) All CE hours earned for programs approved by the NCERS/NAB or approved by the Board may be utilized by a licensee for purposes of meeting the annual CE requirement in the licensing period in which the hours were earned.

Okla. Admin. Code § 310:679-9-4

Transferred from 490:1-9-4 by HB 2824 (2023), eff. 11/1/2023

Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 41, Issue 4, November 1, 2023, eff. 11/1/2023, exp. 9/14/2024 (Emergency)