Florida Board of Veterinary Medicine Continuing Education Online
Emergency Rules due to COVID-19 Pandemic – More details regarding the emergency rules can be found at www.lsbvm/org/rulemaking. With regards to Continuing Education requirements, the emergency rules:
- Allow all CE to be completed online for last year's '20-'21 renewal cycle AND the current '21-'22 renewal cycle; and,
- Extend the deadline by which all CE hours must be completed for last year's '20-'21 renewal cycle from June 30, 2020 to June 30, 2021. (All CE required for '20-'21 and '21-'22 must be completed by June 30, 2021 and must be submitted by the '21-'22 renewal cycle deadline of September 3, 2021.); and,
- Allow all CE to be completed online for the upcoming '22-'23 renewal cycle (in the CE Period of July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022).
Want to get a Continuing Education program approved by the Board? Pre-approval is required 14 days prior to the seminar/presentation/meeting. You may want to peruse the webpage, www.lsbvm.org/ce-opportunities, for those programs already reviewed and approved by the Board. The web listing is updated every two weeks, more frequently if needed. The Board staff is limited and cannot peruse websites for information concerning various meetings for approval.
For CE programs not included in the lists, pre-approval is required 14 days prior to the seminar/presentation/meeting.
Per the LA Veterinary Practice Act, rule §400 (page 36), a continuing veterinary education program accepted by another state's regulatory board of veterinary medicine, a governmental entity, and/or AAVSB ( which includes RACE programs ), as well as those programs sponsored by AVMA accredited schools of veterinary medicine and/or any professional associations recognized by the board, shall be accepted as units or hours of continuing education; however, all other programs and/or their participants, including in-house programs, shall be required to obtain pre-approval from the board in accordance with LAC 46:LXXXV.409.A.3 and 4, respectively.
If you are unsure whether or not a CE program is accepted by the Board and/or to have continuing education programs reviewed by the Board, please submit a CE Approval Request to the Board by clicking the link below.
Go to CE Approval Request Form
In light of the many changes in CE presentation (format, i.e., online, and subject matter, i.e. holistic/alternative, etc.), LBVM has made concerted efforts to comply with the statutes/rules and review presentation/seminar/courses for valid credits for its licensees. Note: A Continuing Education Program is approved by the LBVM for educational purposes only. As such, please be advised that any Continuing Education program approved by the LBVM (or per its Rules) does not mean the LBVM endorses the subject matter and/or that its application is lawful in the actual practice of veterinary medicine in Louisiana. It is incumbent upon you to confirm any subject matter presented in a CE program may be legally applied in your practice prior to its implementation.
Record & Track Your Continuing Education with the LBVM License Portal
Continuing Education activity can be recorded throughout the year in real time! After you attend a presentation for CE, simply log into the LBVM License Portal, go to "Continuing Education", select the current CE Period, enter in the CE activity details, and upload the certificate of completion. All of the CE activity entered throughout the year will promulgate into the renewal once you start it. With each new renewal cycle, you will have access to all past CE activity through the LBVM License Portal.
View of CE Activity
To enter in your continuing education activity, log into the LBVM License Portal and click the "Continuing Education" link in the left-hand menu, then click the "View" link for the appropriate CE period. To add CE programs that you've attended, just click on the "+ Add New" button and enter the following required information:
-> Delivery Method,
-> Title of Presentation/Seminar,
-> Organization/Sponsor,
-> Start Date (only applicable if CE activity was multiple days),
-> Date of Completion,
-> Number of Credits, and
-> Brief Description of CE Activity
You must then upload the certificate of completion for the CE activity by clicking on the "Choose File" button. Click the "Save>" button, then repeat the above step to enter more CE activity.
For large conferences with multiple presentations, enter the conference details in the above fields, then either upload a scanned copy of the record of personal participation sheet or theLBVM's Record for Personal Participation Form.
IMPORTANT – All CE activity must be entered in the Continuing Education section PRIOR to starting your renewal process!
If you start your renewal without entering in your CE activity, you will have to back out of the renewal, then enter the CE activity, then continue with the renewal process.
LBVM License Portal
Late Fees and Fines
All licensed veterinarians in the State of Louisiana are required to obtain 20 hours of continuing education per fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) (eff. 07/1/2007) as a prerequisite to renewal. Failure to do so is a violation of the Veterinary Practice Act and may result in a late fee and/or fine being imposed by the Board.
- Effective 11/20/2014, the late fee for renewals is $150.
- The late fee for failure to take appropriate CE hours in the proper time frame of July 1 to June 30, is $25, and a fine of up to $50 may be levied.
- CE must be taken between July 1 and June 30 to meet the requirement that it be taken as a prerequisite to renewal.
- A time period of no less than 90 days will be provided for completion of license renewals and missing/late CE hours.
- Partial (incomplete) renewal submissions will not be accepted.
- If the required CE is not timely obtained during the fiscal period (July 1 through June 30), then the license expires on September 30 and you cannot legally practice until the renewal process is completed and you are issued a license for the current year.
The LA Veterinary Practice Act Rules associated with the fees and/or fines for late CE are as follows:
Rule 403.A – A minimum of 20 (DVMs) / 10 (RVTs) / 6 (CAETs) actual hours is required each fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) as a prerequisite for annual renewal of a license.
Rule 403.C – All hours shall be obtained in the 12 months preceding the renewal period of the license. Hours taken prior to the 12-month continuing education period will not be accepted. Hours taken after the beginning of the renewal period will require payment of the late fee, and may require the payment of a fine of up to $50, as set forth in §413.D. Hours submitted as the late continuing education, if accepted by the board in accordance with §413.D, cannot be applied to other renewal periods
Rule 413 – Non-Compliance – D. Failure to obtain the required number of hours in the specified time period shall be considered a violation of the rules of professional conduct. A grace period of no more than 90 days may be granted by petitioning the board for an extension. A late fee of $25 and a fine of up to $50 may be levied.
ONLINE vs. IN-PERSON Continuing Education as defined by the LA Veterinary Practice Act
The LA Veterinary Practice Act defines interactive webinars as online CE hours, NOT live CE hours. The Board continues to receive questions from practitioners concerning the type of continuing education hours required for the annual renewal of licenses – specifically whether interactive, live presentations online may be substituted for the physical presence requirements for attendance at seminars, lectures, conferences, or workshops. Further guidance has been requested concerning the definition of "online instruction" which is limited to 10 hours per fiscal year. These issues are particularly relevant given the unusual circumstances presented by social distancing constraints made necessary by the COVID-19 emergency. The Board is governed in this regard by the provisions of the Louisiana Administrative Code(LAC title 46 part LXXXV) and in particular Chapter 4, sections 400 and 403 (A) (2) and (3). The LAC addresses continuing education instruction in terms of subject matter, accreditation, and the means of delivery of instruction (medium).
Subject matter content is governed by Section 403 (A)(3): "3. The 20-hour requirement for annual renewal of a license may be taken in any combination of the following board-approved programs regarding subject matter content: clinical, alternative, regulatory, practice management, and/or research…".
Accreditation is addressed by Section 400 and 403 (A)(1): "1. A. A continuing education program accepted by another state's regulatory board of veterinary medicine, a governmental entity, and/or AAVSB, as well as those programs sponsored by AVMA-accredited schools of veterinary medicine and/or any professional associations recognized by the board…(and)…other programs…submitted to the board for pre-approval…".
The medium of delivery of instruction has specific provisions beyond content and accreditation. "Contact participation" is defined in section 400 as "physical attendance at seminars, lectures, conferences, or workshops". The units of continuing education by contact participation are not limited by the LAC. Sections 403 (A) (2) and (3) provide that a maximum of 10 hours of accredited instruction may be obtained in "approved videotaped, self-test programs with third-party grading, and/or self-help instruction, including online instruction with third-party grading" (Section 403 (A)(2)). Section 403 (A)(3), after addressing subject matter content further provides: "…however, the actual mediums of approved videotaped, self-test programs with third-party grading, and/or self-help instruction, including online instruction with third-party grading, are limited to the 10-hour maximum set forth in paragraph A.2 of this Section".
Accordingly, the LA Practice Act distinguishes between "physical attendance" instruction and all other types, including interactive, live instruction participation online, the latter being subject to the 10 hour maximum per fiscal year.
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Source: https://lsbvm.org/continuing-education/