For Initial Licensure

Licensees are required to submit proof of completion of the following continuing education (CE) upon initial licensure:

• Two (2) hour course relating to prevention of medical errors

For Initial Licensure Renewal

Licensees initially licensed after July 1st of the second year of the biennium are exempt from the CE requirements for renewal with the exception of:

• Two (2) hour course relating to prevention of medical errors (live/participatory)
• One (1) hour of HIV/AIDS
• One (1) hour of Professional and Medical Ethics (live/participatory)
• One (1) hour of Florida Laws and Rules (live/participatory)
• One (1) hour of federal and state laws related to the prescribing of controlled substances (live/participatory)

For Licensure Renewal Following Initial Renewal

Every licensee must complete 40 hours of approved CE within the biennium for which they are claimed. The requirements are:

• Two (2) hour course relating to prevention of medical errors (live/participatory)
• One (1) hour of Professional and Medical Ethics (live/participatory)
• One (1) hour of Florida Laws and Rules (live/participatory)
• One (1) hour of federal and state laws related to the prescribing of controlled substances (live/participatory)
• Twenty (20) hours of general, AOA Category 1-A CE related to the practice of osteopathic medicine or under osteopathic auspices
• Two (2) hours of Domestic Violence as part of every third biennium renewal (or every six years)
• Thirteen (13) or fifteen (15) hours of general, AOA or AMA approved CE; thirteen (13) if you are due to take the two (2) hours of Domestic Violence CE and fifteen (15) if you are not

Any licensee who is a member of the Armed Forces of the United States on active duty (and for a period of six (6) months after discharge from active duty) now has the option of obtaining all forty (40) hours of continuing education through home study, correspondence or on-line courses.

Not all Prevention of Medical Errors courses will meet the criteria for renewal.  It is important to make sure that the course you take includes the following information: a study of root-cause analysis, error reduction, prevention and patient safety and the five most misdiagnosed conditions during the previous biennium, which were: cancer, wrong-site/patient surgery, acute abdomen, heart conditions, and surgical complications/errors.  Please remember to periodically refer to rule 64B15-13.001, F.A.C. for the specific Prevention of Medical Errors course requirements as they may change every two years.

See Rule 64B15-13, F.A.C. for more information about continuing education requirements.