department of state
Division of Professional Regulation
1770 Respiratory Care Advisory Council
PROPOSED
PUBLIC NOTICE
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE, pursuant to 29 Delaware Code Chapter 101 and 24 Delaware Code Section 1775 (c), the Respiratory Care Advisory Council of the Delaware Board of Medical Practice has developed and proposes to modify Section 8.0 Continuing Education by amending subsection 8.6.7 to provide clarity to the continuing education requirements that must be met by a licensee seeking to reinstate a license that has lapsed for less than three (3) years. The proposal also includes new subsections 8.6.8 and 8.6.9 establishing additional requirements for applicants who wish to obtain reinstatement after the applicant’s prior license has expired for three or more years. In addition, the proposal modifies Section 10.0 Application for a License by amending subsection 10.2.1.4 to provide individuals who have not been licensed in any jurisdiction within three (3) years of initially passing the NBRC entry level examination will be required to re-take the NBRC examination and provide proof of a current passing score before a license will be issued.
The new subsections delineate the requirements for those applicants who have been engaged in the active practice of respiratory care during a specified period and those who have not.
A public hearing will be held on the proposed Rules and Regulations on Tuesday, April 16, 2006 at 2:30 p.m. in the Second Floor Conference Room A of the Cannon Building, 861 Silver Lake Boulevard, Dover, Delaware 19904. The Council will receive and consider input in writing from any person on the proposed Rules and Regulations. Any written comments should be submitted to the Council in care of Gayle MacAfee at the above address. The final date to submit written comments shall be at the above scheduled public hearing. Anyone wishing to obtain a copy of the proposed Rules and Regulations or to make comments at the public hearing should contact Gayle MacAfee at the above address or by calling (302) 739-4520.
1770 Respiratory Care Advisory Council
(Break in Continuity of Sections)
8.0 Continuing Education
8.1 Contact Hours Required for Renewal
8.1.1 The respiratory care practitioner shall be required to complete (20) twenty contact hours biennially and to retain all certificates and other documented evidence of participation in an approved/accredited continuing education program for a period of at least (3) three years. Upon request, such documentation shall be made available to the Council for random audit and verification purposes. All contact hours must be completed at least sixty (60) days prior to the end of the renewal year.
8.1.2 Contact hours shall be prorated for new licensees in accordance with the following schedule:
Two years remaining in the licensing
cycle requires - 20 hours
One year remaining in the licensing
cycle requires - 10 hours
Less than one year remaining in the
licensing cycle - exempt
8.2 Exemptions
8.2.1 A licensee who because of a physical or mental illness during the license period could not complete the continuing education requirement may apply through the Council to the Board of Medical Practice for a waiver. A waiver would provide for an extension of time or exemption from some or all of the continuing education requirements for one (1) renewal period. Should the illness extend beyond one (1) renewal period, a new request must be submitted.
8.2.2 A request for a waiver must be submitted sixty (60) days prior to the license renewal date.
8.3 Criteria for Qualification of Continuing Education Program Offerings
The following criteria are given to guide respiratory care practitioners in selecting an appropriate activity/program and to guide the provider in planning and implementing continuing education activities/programs. The overriding consideration in determining whether a specific activity/program qualifies as acceptable continuing education shall be that it is a planned program of learning which contributes directly to the professional competence of the respiratory care practitioner.
8.3.1 Definition of Contact Hours
8.3.1.1 Fifty consecutive minutes of academic course work, correspondence course, or seminar/workshop shall be equivalent to one (1) contact hour. A fraction of a contact hour may be computed by dividing the minutes of an activity by 50 and expressed as a decimal.
8.3.1.2 Recredentialing examination for certified respiratory therapy technician, (CRTT), and registered respiratory therapist, (RRT), shall be equivalent to five (5) contact hours.
8.3.1.3 Successful completion of advanced specialty exams administered by the National Board for Respiratory Care, (NBRC), shall be equal to five (5) contact hours for each exam.
8.3.1.4 One (1) semester hour shall be equal to fifteen (15) contact hours.
8.3.1.5 One (1) quarter hour shall be equal to ten (10) contact hours.
8.3.1.6 Two (2) hours (120 minutes) of clinical educational experience shall be equal to one (1) contact hour.
8.3.1.7 Fifty (50) consecutive minutes of presentation of lectures, seminars or workshops in respiratory care or health care subjects shall be equivalent to one (1) contact hour.
8.3.1.8 Preparing original lectures, seminars, or workshops in respiratory care or health care subjects shall be granted no more than two (2) contact hours for each contact hour of presentation.
8.3.1.9 Performing clinical or laboratory research in health care shall be reviewed and may be granted an appropriate number of contact hour(s) at the Council’s discretion.
8.3.2 Learner Objectives
8.3.2.1 Objectives shall be written and be the basis for determining
content, learning experience, teaching methodologies, and evaluation.
8.3.2.2 Objectives shall be specific, attainable, measurable, and describe expected outcomes for the learner.
8.3.3 Subject Matter
Appropriate subject matter for continuing education shall include the following:
8.3.3.1 Respiratory care science and practice and other scientific topics
related thereto
8.3.3.2 Respiratory care education
8.3.3.3 Research in respiratory care and health care
8.3.3.4 Management, administration and supervision in health care delivery
8.3.3.5 Social, economic, political, legal aspects of health care
8.3.3.6 Teaching health care and consumer health education
8.3.3.7 Professional requirements for a formal respiratory care program or a related field beyond those that were completed for the issuance of the original license
8.3.4 Description
Subject matter shall be described in outline form and shall include learner objectives, content, time allotment, teaching methods, faculty, and evaluation format.
8.3.5 Types of Activities/Programs
8.3.5.1 An academic course shall be an activity that is approved and presented by an accredited post-secondary educational institution which carries academic credit. The course may be within the framework of a curriculum that leads to an academic degree in respiratory care beyond that required for the original license, or relevant to respiratory care, or any course that shall be necessary to a respiratory care practitioner’s professional growth and development.
8.3.5.2 A correspondence course contains the following elements:
8.3.5.2.1 developed by a professional group, such s an education corporation or professional association.
8.3.5.2.2 follows a logical sequence.
8.3.5.2.3 involves the learner by requiring active response to module materials and provides feedback.
8.3.5.2.4 contains a test to indicate progress and to verify completion of module.
8.3.5.2.5 supplies a bibliography for continued study.
8.3.5.3 A workshop contains the following elements:
8.3.5.3.1 developed by a knowledgeable individual or group in the subject matter.
8.3.5.3.2 follows a logical sequence.
8.3.5.3.3 involves the learner by requiring active response, demonstration and feedback.
8.3.5.3.4 requires hands-on experience.
8.3.5.3.5 supplies a bibliography for continued study.
8.3.5.4 Advanced and specialty examinations offered by the NBRC or other examinations as approved by the Council including:
Recredential exam.
Pediatric/perinatal specialty exam.
Pulmonary function credentialing exams
Advanced practitioner exam
8.3.5.5 Course preparation
8.3.5.6 Clinical education experience must be:
8.3.5.6.1 Planned and supervised.
8.3.5.6.2 Extended beyond the basic level of preparation of the individual who is licensed.
8.3.5.6.3 Based on a planned program of study.
8.3.5.6.4 Instructed and supervised by individual(s) who possess the appropriate credentials related to the discipline being taught.
8.3.5.6.5 Conducted in a clinical setting.
8.4 Educational Providers
8.4.1 Continuing education contact hours awarded for activities/programs approved by the following are appropriate for fulfilling the continuing education requirements pursuant to these regulations:
American Association for Respiratory Care.
American Medical Association under Physician Category I.
American Thoracic Society
American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation
American Heart Association
American Nurses Association
American College of Chest Physicians
American Society of Anesthesiologists
American Sleep Disorders Association
Other professional or educational organizations as approved periodically by the Council.
8.5 Accumulation of Continuing Education
8.5.1 When a licensee applies for license renewal, a minimum of twenty (20) contact hours in activities that update skills and knowledge levels in respiratory care theory, practice and science is required. The total of twenty (20) contact hours per renewal period shall include the following categories:
4 DE Reg. 694 (10/1/00)
8.5.1.1 A minimum of 12 contact hours of continuing education required for renewal must be acquired in a field related to the science and practice of respiratory care as set forth in Subsection 8.3.3, Subject Matter, 8.3.3.1, 8.3.3.2, or 8.3.3.3.
8.5.1.2 The remaining 8 contact hours of the continuing education required for renewal may be selected from Subsection 8.3.3, Subject Matter.
8.5.2 Contact hours, accumulated through preparation for, presentation of, or participation in activities/programs as defined are limited to application in meeting the required number of contact hours per renewal period as follows:
8.5.2.1 Presentation of respiratory care education programs, including preparation time, to a maximum of four contact hours.
8.5.2.2 Presentation of a new respiratory care curriculum, including preparation, to a respiratory care education program, to a maximum of four contact hours.
8.5.2.3 Preparation and publication of respiratory care theory, practice or science, to a maximum of four contact hours.
8.5.2.4 Research projects in health care, respiratory care theory, practice or science, to a maximum of four contact hours.
8.5.2.5 Infection control programs from facility or agency to a maximum of one contact hour.
8.5.2.6 Academic course work, related to health care or health care administration, to a maximum of four contact hours.
8.6 Review/Approval of Continuing Education Contact Hours
8.6.1 The Council may review the documentation of any respiratory care practitioner’s continuing education.
8.6.2 The Council may determine whether the activity/program documentation submitted meets all criteria for continuing education as specified in these regulations.
8.6.3 Any continuing education not meeting all provisions of these rules shall be rejected in part or in whole by the Council.
8.6.4 Any incomplete or inaccurate documentation of continuing education may be rejected in part or in whole by the Council.
8.6.5 Any continuing education that is rejected must be replaced by acceptable continuing education within a reasonable period of time established by the Council. This continuing education will not be counted towards the next renewal period.
8.6.6 Each license not renewed in accordance with this section shall expire, but may within a period of three years thereafter be reinstated upon payment of all fees as set by the Division of Professional Regulation of the State of Delaware.
8.6.7 An applicant wishing to reinstate an expired license during the three (3) year period permitted under subsection 8.6.6 shall provide documentation establishing completion of the required 20 hours of continuing education during the two-year period preceding the application for renewal.
8.6.8 An applicant whose license has been expired for a period of three (3) or more years and who has been actively engaged in the practice of respiratory care during the period of expiration shall be required to submit an application for reinstatement demonstrating proof of active practice satisfactory to the Council and shall demonstrate proof of completion of 20 hours of continuing education during the two-year period preceding the application.
8.6.9 An applicant whose license has been expired for three (3) or more years and who has not been actively engaged in the practice of respiratory care during the period of expiration shall be required to submit an application for reinstatement and shall be required to give evidence of satisfactory completion of an approved respiratory care examination within two (2) years prior to the application for reinstatement before licensure will be granted. In addition the applicant shall demonstrate completion of 20 hours of continuing education during the two-year period preceding the application.
4 DE Reg. 694 (10/1/00)
8 DE Reg. 1438 (4/1/05)
8 DE Reg. 1587 (5/1/05)
(Break in Continuity of Sections)
10.0 Application for a License
10.1 Application
10.1.1 An application for a license to practice respiratory care must be completed on a form provided by the Board of Medical Practice and returned to the Board Office with the required, non-refundable fee.
10.2 Completed Application
10.2.1 An application for a license to practice respiratory care shall be considered completed when the Board has received the following documentation:
10.2.1.1 Non-refundable application fee
10.2.1.2 Completed application for licensure
10.2.1.3 Verification of education form
10.2.1.4 Verification of national examination score. Individuals who have not been licensed in any jurisdiction within three (3) years of initially passing the NBRC entry level examination will be required to re-take the NBRC examination and provide proof of a current passing score before a license will be issued.
10.2.1.5 Letter(s) of good standing from other states where the applicant may hold a license, if applicable.
10.2.1.6 Any other information requested in the application.
10.3 Appeals Process
10.3.1 When the Council determines that an applicant does not meet the qualifications for licensure as prescribed under 24 Del.C. §1770B and the Rules and Regulations governing the practice of respiratory care, the Council shall make such recommendation to the Board proposing to deny the application. The Council shall notify the applicant of its intended action and reasons thereof. The Council shall inform the applicant of an appeals process prescribed under 29 Del.C. §10131.
*Please Note: As the rest of the sections were not amended they are not being published. A complete set of the rules and regulations for the Respiratory Care Advisory Council is available at: http://www.state.de.us/research/AdminCode/title24/1770%20Respiratory%20Care%20Practice%20Advisory%20Council.shtml#TopOfPage
