Respiratory Care: Requirements and Continuing Education

16.23.12.8 Continuing Education Requirements.

Continuing education is a requirement for biennial license renewal or license reactivation.

1. Continuing education hours must be directly related to respiratory therapy, pulmonary function technology, or related inter-disciplinary areas of health care.
2. The department may consult with the board to resolve questions as to appropriate continuing education hours.
   1. The department shall be the final authority on acceptance of any educational activity submitted by a licensee or a sponsor for approval.
   2. Each respiratory care practitioner must participate in at least twenty (20) clock hours of continuing education activities every renewal cycle, or as provided by 16.23.12.12 NMAC and 16.23.12.13 NMAC.
3. A minimum of twelve of the twenty hours of continuing education must be category I that include any of the following types of educational offerings:
   1. lecture - a discourse given for instruction before an audience or through teleconference;
   2. panel - a presentation of a number of views by several professionals on a given subject with none of the views considered a final solution;
   3. workshop - a series of meetings for intensive, hands on, study or discussion, in a specific area of interest;
   4. seminar - a directed advanced study or discussion in a specific field of interest;
   5. symposium - conference of more than a single session organized for the purpose of discussion of a specific subject from various viewpoints and by various presenters;
   6. distance education - includes such enduring materials as text, Internet or CD, provided the proponent has included an independently scored test as part of the learning package; and
   7. NBRC awarded continuing education credit for successful completion of re-credentialing exams for CRT and RRT level credentials.