Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 435 - State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision › Chapter 30 - Occupational Therapists and Assistants › Section 435:30-1-5 - License renewal; late fees; continuing education; re-entry guidelines

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
(a)
Yearly
			 license renewal.
The occupational therapist and occupational therapy
			 assistant license is required to be renewed yearly on October 31 upon forms
			 provided by the Board and shall be accompanied by fees set by the Board. In
			 addition, late fees shall be assessed as set by the Board.
(b)
Continuing education for
			 renewal.
(1) Continuing education for
			 renewal of licensure has been established to require therapists' involvement in
			 activities which keep their skills and knowledge of current practice up to
			 date. A point is the equivalent of 1 contact hour. Twenty contact hours every 2
			 years will be required. Penalties for failure to comply with continuing
			 education requirements may be assessed after notice and hearing as required by
			 law. Penalties may include imposition of additional continuing education
			 contact hours, probation of license, suspension of license, or revocation of
			 license. Failure to produce records of continuing education rebuts the
			 presumption that continuing education requirements have been completed. The
			 willful and intentional misrepresentation of compliance with continuing
			 education requirements shall constitute prima facie evidence of a fraudulent
			 application for licensure renewal.
(2) A Sub-Committee, composed of Occupational
			 Therapists and Occupational Therapy Assistants, may review all points
			 submitted. The Sub-Committee will forward recommendations to the Occupational
			 Therapy Advisory Committee for approval or denial. Reasons for denial will be
			 given to each therapist. Should any individual therapist have questions as to
			 the appropriateness of a program, the therapist could consult the Committee.
			 The Committee would have the authority to decide on any type of program not
			 listed and assign appropriate hours. The responsibility for showing how a
			 particular activity is relevant to maintaining skills as an Occupational
			 Therapist or Occupational Therapy Assistant will be with the therapist applying
			 for approval. The Committee will automatically accept programs offered or
			 approved by the American Occupational Therapy Association or the Oklahoma
			 Occupational Therapy Association as proved courses.
(3) The Committee recognizes the role that
			 ongoing practice plays in maintaining competence as an Occupational Therapist
			 or Occupational Therapy Assistant. Continuing education requirements are
			 designed to update knowledge and skills. Synthesis takes place when the
			 therapist has the opportunity to apply this knowledge and these skills to their
			 practice. Therefore, therapists will be asked to provide information about
			 their practice of occupational therapy at the time of renewal.
(4) Traditional method of
			 points/value/documentation:
(A) Traditional
			 methods of points:
(i) Workshops
(ii) In services (6 point maximum per
			 compliance period)
(iii)
			 Seminars
(iv) Conferences
(v) Programs offered by or approved by the
			 American Occupational Therapy Association or the Oklahoma Occupational Therapy
			 Association or the National Board for Certification in Occupational
			 Therapy
(vi) Programs at Special
			 Interest Section meetings
(vii)
			 Occupational Therapy Education Council of Oklahoma workshops (points as
			 assigned on request from Committee)
(B) Assigned Value: 1 point per hour of
			 participation.
(C) Documentation:
			 Verification of attendance and copies of supporting documentation such as
			 program brochure, syllabus, etc. If unable to verify attendance, use Form B
Verification of Conference Attendance
, attach a copy of receipt
			 for conference fee and statement of relevancy to practice of Occupational
			 Therapy if not obvious from the program materials.
(5) Alternative methods of points:
(A) Presentations of occupational therapy
			 programs
(i) Presentations at workshops,
			 seminars, conferences
(ii)
			 Presentations as guest lecturer at accredited occupational therapy curriculum
(iii) Presentations as guest
			 lecturer at other programs on topics related to occupational therapy department
			 in services
(iv) Assigned Value: 2
			 points per hour for first presentation of original material. No additional
			 points for subsequent presentations.
(v) Documentation: Copies of supporting
			 documentation such as brochures, programs, or syllabus and a statement of
			 objectives of presentation.
(B) Clinical Instruction of Occupational
			 Therapist students or Occupational Therapy Assistant students.
(i) Assigned Value: 1 point per week of
			 continuous direct supervision.
(ii)
			 Documentation: Copy of letter of verification of fieldwork from educational
			 program.
(C)
			 Publications (published or accepted for publication)
(i) Authorship or co-authorship of a book
			 relating to occupational therapy:
(I) Maximum
			 of 20 points.
(II) Documentation:
			 Copy of Title page.
(ii) Authorship of a chapter in a book or
			 journal article appearing in a professional journal:
(I) Maximum of 10 points.
(II) Documentation: Copy of table of contents
			 and first page of chapter or article.
(iii) Authorship of an article, book review
			 or abstract in a newsletter (such as OOTA Newsletter, OT Newsweek, SIS
			 Newsletter, or other related newsletters):
(I) Maximum of 10 points per compliance
			 period.
(II) Documentation: Copy of
			 article, book review or abstract evidencing title of newsletter and date of
			 publication.
(iv)
			 Alternative media such as video tapes, slide/tape presentations, etc., that
			 would be available for general viewing. Media or description of media to be
			 submitted to Committee for approval and assignment of points as appropriate.
(I) Assigned Value: 10-20 points per
			 publication or finished product
(II) Documentation: Copy of approval letter
			 from Committee.
(D) Research
(i) Principal or co-investigator, project
			 director or research assistant. Research proposal and final results submitted
			 to Committee for approval:
(I) 10
			 points
(II) Documentation:
			 Statement of participation and abstract of proposal and results.
(ii) Quality assurance studies
			 completed and published in journal or newsletter:
(I) 5 points Assigned Value: 5-10 points per
			 project
(II) Documentation:
			 Manuscript acknowledgment or copy of article.
(E) Formal Coursework
(i) College and university coursework courses
			 directly relating to improvement, advancement, or extension of one's skills as
			 an Occupational Therapist. One credit course would be 10 points, 2-credit
			 course 20 points, and 3-credit course would be 30 points. Assigned Value: 10-30
			 points as approved.
(ii) College or
			 university courses which are indirectly related, yet support skills and
			 knowledge will be evaluated individually and assigned value accordingly.
(iii) Documentation: Course
			 description with statement of relevance to Occupational Therapy and transcript
			 or other documentation of passing grade.
(F) Self-Study: (Independent Learning
			 Projects). A combination of activities which may include, but are not limited
			 to a combination of reading, observing other therapists, viewing video tapes
			 and quality assurance studies and related professional activities which enhance
			 knowledge and skill in a specific area. A Report of Professional Self-Study
			 should be submitted to Committee for approval (Form C). Points will be assigned
			 by the Committee based on the relevance to practice and complexity.
			 Documentation: Copy of approval letter from OT Advisory Committee.
(G) Specialty Certification. Achievement of a
			 specialty certification by a recognized body such as Neuro Developmental
			 Techniques, Sensory Integration, American Society of Hand Therapists will be
			 awarded 20 points one time only. Credit will be granted for Certification
			 obtained within the compliance period in which certification was granted or the
			 next subsequent compliance period only.
(H) Professional Activities
(i) American Occupational Therapy Association
			 membership: 2 points Documentation: Copy of current AOTA membership
			 card.
(ii) Oklahoma Occupational
			 Therapy Association or American Occupational Therapy Association elected office
			 (up to 8 points per year). Documentation: Copy of annual report submitted to
			 OOTA or AOTA listing activities of office.
(iii) AOTA or OOTA Committee chair - points
			 awarded based on the extent to which activities are relative to maintaining
			 involvement in the profession as evidenced by their annual report (up to 8
			 points per year). Documentation: Copy of approval letter from OT Advisory
			 Committee.
(iv) Member of Committee
			 - based on evidence of involvement in appropriate activities (up to 4 points
			 per year). Documentation: Copy of approval letter from OT Advisory
			 Committee.
(v) Active involvement
			 in related organizations and committee upon approval by the Committee (up to 4
			 points per year). Documentation: List of dates of activities and types of
			 activities, signed by committee chair, with a statement of relevance of the
			 organization or committee to the practice of occupational therapy.
(6) Guidelines for the
			 audit process.
(A) The Occupational Therapy
			 Committee will, ninety (90) days before expiration date of each compliance
			 period, randomly or for cause, select licensees for audit to ensure that all
			 continuing education requirements have been met.
(B) Licensees being audited have thirty (30)
			 calendar days from the date of the letter of notification to submit proof of
			 continuing education to the Committee.
(C) The Occupational Therapy Committee or its
			 appointed sub-committee shall review the documentation of each individual for
			 compliance with established continuing education standards.
(D) Licensees found to be in compliance shall
			 be notified of such and that no further action regarding the audit is
			 required.
(E) Licensees found not
			 to be in compliance shall be notified within (5) working days following the
			 determination of non-compliance. The Board shall provide to the licensee
			 specific information concerning areas of deficiency and what further
			 information, if any, is needed to bring them into compliance. The licensee
			 shall be given the opportunity to submit additional documentation for the
			 Committee to consider, or he or she may elect to personally appear at the next
			 Occupational Therapy Committee meeting. Provided, nothing in this provision
			 shall prevent the Committee from requiring the licensee to personally appear
			 for the purposes of ensuring compliance with the continuing education
			 requirements.
(F) A summarized
			 report shall be submitted to the Occupational Therapy Committee listing the
			 names of those audited who are in compliance with continuing education
			 requirements. Those not in compliance shall be listed with notation of
			 deficiencies found and/or recommendation.