(a) Purpose. This section is promulgated to promote
the health, safety, and welfare of the people of Texas through the
establishment of minimum requirements for continuing acupuncture education
(CAE) for licensed Texas acupuncturists so as to further enhance their
professional skills and knowledge.
(b) Minimum Continuing Acupuncture Education. As a
prerequisite to the biennial registration of the license of an acupuncturist,
the acupuncturist shall complete 34 hours of CAE every 24 months.
(1) The required hours shall be from courses that meet
one of the following criteria at the time the hours are taken:
(A) are designated or otherwise approved for credit
by the Texas State Board of Acupuncture Examiners based on a review
and recommendation of the course content by the Education Committee
of the board as described in subsection (n) of this section;
(B) are offered by providers approved by the Texas
State Board of Acupuncture Examiners;
(C) have been approved for CAE credit for a minimum
of three years by another state acupuncture board, having first gone
through a formal approval process in such state;
(D) approved by the NCCAOM (National Certification
Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine) for professional
development activity credit; or
(E) are provided outside of the United States by a
provider of continuing acupuncture education that is acceptable to
the Board.
(2) The required CAE hours shall include the following
core hours:
(A) at least eight hours shall be in general acupuncture
therapies;
(B) at least two of the required hours shall be from
a course in ethics and safety;
(C) at least six of the required hours shall be in
herbology; and
(D) at least four hours of biomedicine.
(3) The remaining CAE hours may be from other courses
approved under paragraph (1) of this subsection, subject to the limitations
under paragraphs (5) through (7) of this subsection.
(4) Courses may be taught through live lecture, distance
learning, or the Internet.
(5) No more than four hours in courses that relate
to business practices or office administration may be applied to the
total hours required for each registration period.
(6) No more than a total of 16 hours completed under
paragraph (1)(D) or (E) of this subsection may be applied to the total
hours required each registration period.
(7) At least 18 hours applied to the total hours required
each registration period must be approved under paragraph (1)(A) -
(C) of this subsection.
(8) The required CAE shall include the completion of
a course in human trafficking prevention approved by the executive
commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. The
course may be counted as part of the minimum 18 hours approved under
paragraph (1)(A)-(C) of this subsection.
(c) Reporting Continuing Acupuncture Education. An
acupuncturist must report on the licensee's registration form whether
the licensee has completed the required acupuncture education during
the previous two years.
(d) Grounds for Exemption from Continuing Acupuncture
Education. An acupuncturist may request in writing and may be exempt
from the biennial minimum continuing acupuncture education requirements
for one or more of the following reasons:
(1) the licensee's catastrophic illness;
(2) the licensee's military service of longer than
one year in duration;
(3) the licensee's acupuncture practice and residence
of longer than one year in duration outside the United States; and/or
(4) good cause shown on written application of the
licensee which gives satisfactory evidence to the board that the licensee
is unable to comply with the requirements of continuing acupuncture
education.
(e) Exemption Requests. Exemption requests shall be
subject to the approval of the executive director of the board, and
shall be submitted in writing at least 30 days prior to the expiration
of the license.
(f) Exemption Duration and Renewal. An exemption granted
under subsections (d) and (e) of this section may not exceed one year,
but may be renewed biennially upon written request submitted at least
30 days prior to the expiration of the current exemption.
(g) Verification of Credits. The board may require
written verification of continuing acupuncture education hours from
any licensee and the licensee shall provide the requested verification
within 30 calendar days of the date of the request. Failure to timely
provide the requested verification may result in disciplinary action
by the board.
(h) Nonrenewal for Insufficient Continuing Acupuncture
Education. Unless exempted under the terms of this section, the apparent
failure of an acupuncturist to obtain and timely report the 34 hours
of continuing education hours as required and provided for in this
section shall result in nonrenewal of the license until such time
as the acupuncturist obtains and reports the required hours; however,
the executive director of the board may issue to such an acupuncturist
a temporary license numbered so as to correspond to the non-renewed
license. Such a temporary license issued pursuant to this subsection
may be issued to allow the board to verify the accuracy of information
related to the continuing acupuncture education hours of the acupuncturist
and to allow the acupuncturist who has not obtained or timely reported
the required number of hours an opportunity to correct any deficiency
so as not to require termination of ongoing patient care.
(i) Fee for Issuance of Temporary License. The fee
for issuance of a temporary license pursuant to the provisions of
this section shall be in the amount specified under §175.1 of
this title (relating to Application Fees); however, the fee need not
be paid prior to the issuance of the temporary license, but shall
be paid prior to the renewal of a permanent license.
(j) Application of Additional Hours. Continuing acupuncture
education hours that are obtained to comply with the requirements
for the preceding registration period, as a prerequisite for licensure
renewal, shall first be credited to meet the requirements for that
previous registration period. Once the requirements of the previous
registration period are satisfied, any additional hours obtained shall
be credited to meet the continuing acupuncture education requirements
of the current registration period. A licensee may carry forward CAE
hours earned prior to a biennial registration report, which are in
excess of the 34-hour biennial requirement and such excess hours may
be applied to the following registration periods' requirements, except
for the required course under subsection (b)(8) of this section. A
maximum of 34 total excess hours may be carried forward. Excess CAE
hours may not be carried forward or applied to a biennial report of
CAE more than two years beyond the date of the registration following
the period during which the hours were earned.
(k) False Reports/Statements. An intentionally false
report or statement to the board by a licensee regarding continuing
acupuncture education hours reportedly obtained shall be a basis for
disciplinary action by the board pursuant to the Act, §205.351(a)(2)
and (6).
(l) Monetary Penalty. Failure to obtain and timely
report the continuing acupuncture education hours for renewal of a
license shall subject the licensee to a monetary penalty for late
registration in the amount set forth in §175.2 and §175.3
of this title (relating to Registration and Renewal Fees and Penalties).
(m) Disciplinary Action, Conditional Licensure, and
Construction. This section shall be construed to allow the board to
impose requirements for completion of additional continuing acupuncture
education hours for purposes of disciplinary action and conditional
licensure.
(n) Required Content for Continuing Acupuncture Education
Courses. Continuing Acupuncture Education courses must meet the following
requirements:
(1) the content of the course, program, or activity
is related to the practice of acupuncture or oriental medicine, and
shall:
(A) be related to the knowledge and/or technical skills
required to practice acupuncture; or
(B) be related to direct and/or indirect patient care;
(2) the method of instruction is adequate to teach
the content of the course, program, or activity;
(3) the credentials of the instructor(s) indicate competency
and sufficient training, education, and experience to teach the specific
course, program, or activity;
(4) the education provider maintains an accurate attendance/participation
record on individuals completing the course, program, or activity;
(5) each credit hour for the course, program, or activity
is equal to no less than 50 minutes of actual instruction or training;
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