Chapter 276-10 CONTINUING EDUCATION
All applicants for biennial renewal of dispenser licenses shall
submit proof to the Board of satisfactory completion of twenty (20) hours of
Board approved continuing education relevant to the licensee's professional
practice. The renewal period begins January 1st of every even number year to
December 31st of the following odd number year, except that an
initially licensed dispenser licensee shall be exempt from meeting the
requirements of this Rule if, at the time of renewal, said dispensing licensee
has been licensed for a period of time less than two (2) years. Continuing
education hours completed by an initially licensed dispenser licensee, who at
the time of renewal has been initially licensed for less than a two (2) year
period, will not be available or "carried over" for credit to meet the
requirement for the next biennial license renewal.
| (1) |
Courses offered by the following are
preapproved by the Board as means of acquiring the required continuing
education hours for license renewal subject to the specific categories as
outlined in paragraph 3 of this rule.
| (a) |
International Institute for Hearing Instrument Studies. |
| (b) |
International Hearing Society. |
| (c) |
Georgia Society of Hearing
Professionals. |
| (d) |
American
Speech-Language-Hearing Association. |
| (e) |
Georgia Speech-Language-Hearing
Association. |
| (f) |
American Academy
of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Inc. |
| (g) |
Georgia Academy of Audiology. |
| (h) |
College courses taken for credit or
through official audit or seminars sponsored by such colleges. |
| (j) |
American Academy of Audiology |
|
| (2) |
All educational opportunities
other than those offered by various state approved/sanctioned academies,
societies and associations require prior approval from the Board within thirty
(30) days prior to the scheduled date of such program. Applications for
approval must include sponsor, date, location, subjects, scope, instructors,
qualifications of instructors, and classroom hours for each subject. |
| (3) |
Of the required hours, two (2) must be in
the medical area (face-to-face only, NOT online), two (2) must be in
jurisprudence (Georgia laws and rules) and/or ethics, two (2) must be in
patient management. The remainder of hours may be obtained as product specific
or on the topic of practice building. Effective January 1, 2016, a hearing aid
dispenser must obtain a minimum of twenty (20) hours of continuing education
per biennium.
| (a) |
Online Hours: Of the
required total continuing education hours, a total of six (6) hours must be
obtained face-to-face, in person (of these 6 hours, the 2 required hours in the
medical area MUST be obtained face-to-face, in person). Prior to December 31,
2015, the remaining eight (8) hours may be obtained via online means, however,
NO more than four (4) hours may be obtained online in any given twenty-four
(24) hour period. Effective January 1, 2016, a hearing aid dispenser must
obtain a minimum of twenty (20) hours of continuing education per biennium. No
more than fourteen (14) hours of the required twenty (20) may be obtained via
online means with NO more than four (4) hours obtained online in any given
twenty-four (24) hour period. |
| (b) |
Approved areas of study to satisfy the two (2) hours in the medical area are
| 1. |
Anatomy and physiology; |
|
| (c) |
Approved areas of study to satisfy the
two (2) hours in patient management are
| 4. |
Impressions of the
ear. |
|
|
| (4) |
The
method of reporting continuing education hours to the Board, IF selected for a
Continuing Education Hours audit, shall be as follows:
| (a) |
Each licensed hearing aid dispenser shall
be responsible for maintaining certificates of attendance and any course
descriptions, schedules, syllabuses, synopses or abstracts of course content
for continuing education courses taken to satisfy the requirements for
continuing education for a period of four (4) years from the date of
attendance; |
| (b) |
Continuing
Education Hours must be obtained within the two year licensure cycle, i.e.
between January 1st of every Even Numbered year and December 31st of the
subsequent Odd Numbered year. |
| (c) |
The Board shall audit the required continuing education hours of a percentage
of dispenser licensees for compliance with all rules and regulations. This
percentage shall not be less than fifteen percent (15%) of the licensed Hearing
Aid dispensers, randomly selected, each biennium renewal period; |
| (d) |
At the time of license renewal, each
dispenser shall certify to the Georgia Board of Hearing Aid Dealers and
Dispensers that he/she has completed the continuing education credits required
for license renewal; |
| (e) |
In the
event a licensee, who is audited, fails to submit certificates of continuing
education attendance, or other documentation referred to in paragraph (4)(a)
above, of having satisfied the continuing education requirements for license
renewal, the application will not be processed until the continuing education
audit is completed. A licensee who fails to meet the continuing education
requirements is not eligible to renew his/her license and the license will be
revoked by operation of law. An application for reinstatement must be filed, in
accordance with Board rule
276-7-.01,
for any lapsed licenses. |
| (f) |
Current (licensed) members of the Board shall also be audited for each renewal
cycle that they serve on the Board. |
|
