Continuing Education
Questions and Answers for Pharmacists
Education Law requires pharmacists renewing registration of a license
to take continuing education. A minimum of 45 contact hours (at least 23
live) is required in each three-year registration period. With each new
registration period starting September 1, 2003 and for each registration
period thereafter, at least 3 of the required hours must be formal
continuing education on strategies and techniques to reduce medication
and prescription errors.
The laws that apply to the continuing education requirements for
pharmacists are found in Article
137 of New York's Education Law. They are also available by
contacting the Forms Management Unit by telephone at (518) 474-3817,
extension 320 or email at opforms@mail.nysed.gov.
- Who is required to take continuing education?
Every pharmacist wishing to practice in New York State
must take continuing education. The Education Department
assumes that you intend to practice if you are registered.
Therefore, if you are registered and are beyond your initial term of
registration, you must comply with these requirements. Failure
to complete the required continuing education prior to the
expiration of a registration period may subject you to prosecution
for professional misconduct.
- I just graduated and received my license, and am in my
first registration period. Do I need to begin taking continuing
education immediately?
No. Practitioners do not need to take continuing
education during their first three-year registration period
following initial licensure. After that, 45 hours (23 live) are
required over each three-year registration period.
- I am seeking licensure or I am newly licensed in New York
after practicing in another state. What is my requirement?
If you received your original (out-of-state) license less than
three years ago, you do not need any continuing education for New
York yet. If you have been licensed for three years or more in
another state before your New York license was issued, then you must
meet New York's continuing education requirement of 45 contact hours
(at least 23 live) of acceptable continuing education courses. The
45 credits must include at least 3 credits (home study or live) on
techniques to reduce medication and prescription errors. You may
count courses meeting New York's requirements taken within the 36
months prior to your New York application or licensure.
- I am licensed in New York State but not registered and am
practicing in another jurisdiction. Do I need to complete continuing
education before I can reactivate my registration in New York?
Yes. To reactivate your registration in New
York, you will need 45 contact hours (at least 23 live) of
acceptable continuing education courses. The 45 credits must include
at least 3 credits (home study or live) on techniques to reduce
medication and prescription errors. The continuing education must be
in appropriate subject areas and offered by approved sponsors. Since
you are actively practicing, you will be able to count continuing
education credits earned up to 36 months prior to
the month in which you reactivate your registration.
- I am licensed in New York State but not registered and
have not been practicing my profession. Do I need to complete
continuing education before I can reactivate my registration in New
York?
Yes. To reactivate your registration in New
York, you will need 45 contact hours (at least 23 live) of
acceptable continuing education courses. The 45 credits must include
at least 3 credits (home study or live) on techniques to reduce
medication and prescription errors. The continuing education must be
in appropriate subject areas and offered by approved sponsors. Since
you are not actively practicing, you will only be able to count
continuing education credits earned up to 12 months
prior to the month in which you reactivate your registration.
- How many hours are required? May I take more than the
specified number?
A minimum of 45 hours is required for every three-year
registration period. The majority (at least 23) of the hours must be
from live courses. With each new registration period starting
September 1, 2003 and for each registration period thereafter, as
part of the 45 hours you will be required to complete at least 3
hours (home study or live) of formal continuing education on
strategies and techniques to reduce medication and prescription
errors.
If your registration period is for less than 3 years (36 months),
your continuing education requirement is calculated at 1.25 hours
for every month of the registration period. In all cases, more than
half of the hours must be live credits. The 3 credits (home study or
live) on techniques to reduce medication and prescription errors are
required for every registration period.
You can take additional courses beyond the 45 hours required
during a three-year renewal, but the additional hours cannot
be stored, carried forward or applied to a future registration
period. There is no minimum annual requirement.
- What is an hour of continuing education?
An hour is one contact hour of at least 50 minutes
duration. Some course providers may express continuing
education hours in different units of measurement: One continuing
education unit (CEU) equals 10 contact hours. To convert CEU's to
contact hours, multiply the CEU's by 10. To convert contact hours to
CEU's, divide the contact hours by ten.
One semester hour of college-level course work
equals 15 contact hours; one quarter hour of
college-level course work equals 10 contact hours.
- Must I spread continuing education courses evenly over my
registration period?
No. You may take all courses in one year, if you
wish.
- What types of continuing education are acceptable?
Formal courses in appropriate subjects offered by
approved sponsors (providers). Both formal self-study
courses and formal courses in which you interact
with an instructor are acceptable. Self-study courses must
constitute less than one-half of the total hours (a maximum of 22
contact hours out of 45).
- What are "appropriate subjects" for continuing
education?
Courses must contribute to the professional practice of
pharmacy. Acceptable subjects include:
- techniques to reduce medication and prescription errors (mandatory
3 credits)
- pharmacology of new or developing drugs,
- drug interactions,
- public health issues,
- infection control,
- child abuse reporting,
- sterile procedures,
- legal and regulatory issues,
- patient counseling,
- other topics that contribute to the professional practice of
pharmacy, and
- other matters of health care, law, and ethics that contribute
to the public's health and welfare.
The key is the subject matter's relationship to
professional practice. Therefore, courses in such subjects
as HIV/AIDS management are acceptable. Continuing Medical
Education courses relevant to pharmacy practice, such as
courses in the pharmacology of new drugs, are acceptable; courses
not related to pharmacy practice (e.g., surgery) are not. Similarly,
epidemiology courses in graduate degree programs for pharmacists are
acceptable; courses in those programs that are not so related (e.g.,
accounting, finance, statistics) are not acceptable.
- Who are approved providers?
There are three types of approved sponsors (providers):
- Sponsors approved by the American Council on Pharmaceutical
Education (ACPE) or by an equivalent organization that the State
Board of Pharmacy determines to have equivalent standards (e.g.,
sponsors of continuing medical education). ACPE
publishes an annual directory of "Approved Providers of
Continuing Pharmaceutical Education." It is
available from the Council at 311 West Superior Street, Suite
512, Chicago, IL 60610; telephone: (312) 664-3575; fax: (312)
664-4652; web listing: www.acpe-accredit.org, click on
"Provider Approval Program," then "Accredited
Providers."
- Colleges, universities, and other degree-granting institutions
offering degree (e.g., A.A.S., B.S., M.S., Pharm.D., Ph.D.) and
certificate and diploma programs bearing degree credit that are
registered by the Education Department or that are accredited by
an equivalent accrediting agency, for courses in those
registered or accredited programs. The State Education
Department has an "Institutional Directory" listing
all degree-granting institutions in the State. Contact
the Office of Higher Education, State Education Department,
Education Building, Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234; phone:
(518) 474-5851, or find it at SED's World Wide Web site at http://www.nysed.gov.
- Sponsors approved directly by the Department. For information
on sponsors approved directly by the Department,
call (518) 474-3817, extension 130 or fax (518) 473-6995, or see
the list below.
- May I simply study on my own rather than take a formal
live or self-study course?
No. Only formal courses offered by approved
sponsors may be counted toward the continuing education requirement.
Similarly, informal group "study clubs" of pharmacists
that are not approved sponsors cannot be accepted. Formal courses
offered by approved sponsors assure course content, effective
evaluation, and recordkeeping by the provider.
- Am I required to take self-study courses?
No. All of the courses may be "live"
courses in which you interact with an instructor, if you wish.
- Are "live" courses limited to those in which I'm
in the same room with the instructor?
No. We consider a telecourse or teleconference
in which you and the instructor can speak directly with each other
to be a "live" course. Similarly, a course in which you
and other practitioners discuss a taped presentation with a
facilitator's assistance is a live course. A course offered by
computer in which you interact directly with the instructor in
"real time" is a "live" course. On the other
hand, a televised lecture with no means of direct interaction would
not be acceptable as a "live" course, even if it is a live
telecast.
- Are Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), Basic Life
Support (BLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) courses
acceptable continuing education?
Yes, including CPR, BLS and ACLS courses sponsored by the
American Red Cross and the American Heart Association. You may count
an initial CPR course for up to five hours of continuing education;
a CPR recertification course for up to three hours; a BLS course for
up to three hours; an initial ACLS course for up to twelve and an
ACLS recertification for up to six hours. (Note:
First Aid courses are NOT acceptable.)
- Are Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) programs acceptable
continuing education?
Yes, you may count an initial EMT Basic course
for ten hours of continuing education and an EMT Basic
recertification course for five hours.
- May I count toward my requirement a continuing education
course that I teach?
Yes. You may count once during
a registration period the hours in a continuing education course you
teach that an approved sponsor offers in an acceptable subject area.
- What records will I have to keep?
You need to keep the following five items of information
on each course for six years from the date you
completed it: (1) title of the course or program
and any identification number assigned to it by the sponsor, (2) number
of hours completed, (3) the sponsor's name
and any identifying number, (4) verification by the
sponsor of your attendance, and (5) the date and location
of the program or course. All five elements are likely to be
provided on a certificate of completion from the sponsor.
- What will I have to file?
You will report your compliance with the continuing education
requirements on your form to renew your registration. You
will certify, under penalty of perjury, completion of the required
hours and submit your required fee (it includes the
continuing education fee of $45 as set forth in Education Law).
- Do I have to file copies of my records of continuing
education?
Only if you are instructed to do so. You are
required to make your continuing education records available for
inspection by the Education Department upon request. Random
audits of such records are conducted to assure compliance with the
continuing education requirement.
- What will I have to provide in an audit of my continuing
education records?
You will have to provide to the Department your original
records of completion of each continuing education course.
An official list/summary of your courses provided by a professional
association such as PSSNY may be submitted in lieu of the
certificates.
- What if the audit reveals discrepancies?
You may be subject to disciplinary proceedings for
professional misconduct. According to Section 29.1 of the
Rules of the Board of Regents, willfully making or filing a false
report is unprofessional conduct. Penalties may include censure and
reprimand, fine, and/or suspension or revocation of your license to
practice in New York State.
- Are there any exceptions to the continuing education
requirement?
The Department may grant an adjustment (not an exemption) to the
requirement for poor health, certified by a physician; a specific
physical or mental disability, certified by an appropriate health
care professional; extended duty with the armed forces; or for
extreme hardship which, in the Department's judgment, makes it
impossible for the licensee to comply.
- What if I fail to complete the required number of hours
during a registration period?
A licensee who admits to noncompliance with the continuing
education requirements when registering may request
and may be granted a one-year conditional
registration by the Education Department. Conditional registrations
are not automatic and cannot be renewed.
Conditional registrations have specific requirements including your
agreement to: (1) complete the hours lacking from your previous
registration, (2) complete the regular continuing education
requirement at a rate of 1.25 contact hours per month during the
conditional registration period, (3) pay the regular registration
fee indicated on your registration form, and (4) at the end of the
conditional registration, provide proof of course completion and pay
an additional registration fee equal to the fee paid when the
conditional was requested.
- What if I do not meet the continuing education requirement
and simply do not renew my registration?
Fine, as long as you are not practicing your profession
in New York State. Your status will remain "not
registered" until you meet the continuing education requirement
and submit a registration renewal application with the appropriate
fee. If you practice your profession while unregistered or after the
Department has denied renewal of your registration for failure to
report completion of the required contact hours of continuing
education, you are subject to disciplinary proceedings for
professional misconduct.
- Who should I contact for more information on the
continuing education requirement?
You should contact the Office of the State Board of Pharmacy, New
York State Education Department, 89 Washington Avenue, 2nd
floor, Albany, NY 12234-1000, phone: (518) 474-3817, option 1,
extension 130, fax: (518) 473-6995, email: pharmbd@mail.nysed.gov.
For current information on continuing education and any changes
in the continuing education requirements, check this site.
SUNY Upstate Medical University
University Hospital
Department of Pharmacy Services
750 East Adams Street
Syracuse, NY 13210
Telephone: (315) 464-5463
www.upstate.edu
Approved through 8/04
VIA Health Pharmacy
The Genesee Hospital
224 Alexander Street
Rochester, NY 14607
Telephone: (716) 922-6127
www.viahealth.org
Approved through 1/05
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