Continuing Education for Psychologists in North Carolina Frequently Asked Questions 1. Can I complete all of the required 18 continuing education (CE) hours in Category A activities? Yes.
While you are required to obtain only 9 CE hours in Category A
activities, all 18 required CE hours may be obtained through
participation in Category A activities. 2. Must a program specifically include "psychologists" in its target audience in order to count for Category A?
Yes.
"Psychologists"
must specifically be included in the target audience, although other
professionals, e.g., social workers, may also be included.
For example, a program whose targeted audience is listed as "mental
health professionals"
is not sufficient to count for Category A.
3. Can I count a
psychology course in which I am
enrolled at XYZ University, and if so, how are the hours counted?
Yes,
hours associated with attending a psychology course may be counted for
Category B credit, provided that the course content covers ethical and
legal issues in the professional practice of psychology or the
maintenance and upgrading of professional skills and competencies
within the psychologist's
scope of practice. Applicable
hours include classroom instruction hours and reading articles or
books, related to the class. Note,
however, that these activities cannot be counted for Category A
credit.
4. How can I know for
sure that the program that I am
attending will count for the required 3 CE hours in the area of
ethical and legal issues? The
3 CE hours in the area of ethical and legal issues must be obtained
through completion of activities which meet Category A requirements,
i.e., the activity must be sponsored or co-sponsored by the Board,
APA, APA approved sponsors, or NC AHECs. Program descriptions published by sponsors should clearly
state that an activity covers ethical and legal issues when
applicable.
5. I am
retired, and a friend of mine who is licensed in North Carolina is
living out-of-state. Do
we have to comply with continuing education requirements in order to
renew our licenses? If
so, can we place our licenses on an inactive status? Compliance
with the continuing education requirements is a condition for license
renewal even if you are not practicing psychology in North Carolina.
The Psychology Practice Act does not provide for an inactive
license status. Further, the Act does not authorize the Board to establish a
special or separate category of licensees who would have different
requirements for license renewal.
6. How can I become an
approved CE provider for psychologists in North Carolina? If
you wish to offer a program for Category A credit, you must obtain APA
approval as a continuing education sponsor or you must co-sponsor the
program with the APA, an AHEC, or an APA approved sponsor. Initially,
the Board does not anticipate sponsoring, or co-sponsoring with an
individual or organization, any continuing education programs. If the
Board decides to do so in the future, guidelines for the process of
sponsorship will be developed by the Board.
For Category B credit, there are no sponsor requirements.
Therefore, there is no application process to become approved
as a sponsor for this category. The
topics provided for in paragraph (g) of the CE Rule remain, however,
the basis for receiving credit.
7. Does the North
Carolina Psychological Association (NCPA) count as a sponsor of
continuing education under the CE rules? Yes.
The NCPA is an APA approved sponsor for continuing education.
8. If I attend a program
offered by an APA approved sponsor and certificates are not
automatically provided, do I need to have a certificate or will my own
documentation of attendance be sufficient for Category A credit? Certificates
must be maintained from Category A programs, and if not shown on the
certificate, additional documentation must be maintained to show the
date of the program, number of contact hours, name of sponsor or
program, title of program, and location of program.
9. What kinds of
documentation, records, or content are needed for Category B?
Documentation
which must be kept is listed in detail under paragraph (l) of the CE
Rule. The information listed in the Rule will be required to be
entered on a form designed by the Board.
This form is available from the Board office and on
the Board's web
site.
10. For Category B activities, how
much time would need to be spent in actually attending a meeting or
presentation and how would these hours be transformed into CE units? It
is essential first to be aware that there is a difference between CE
hours and CE units. In
North Carolina, the Board Rule requires the completion of a specified
number of contact hours. There
is no requirement to complete a specific number of units.
A CE hour is defined as one hour of instructional or contact
time. One CE hour is
credited for each hour of participation in Category B activities.
For example, if you spend one hour in reading an (applicable)
article, you receive one hour of CE credit in Category B.
11. Should I send in documentation to
the Board of a continuing education activity as soon as I complete it? No.
You should not submit documentation of CE hours to the Board
unless directed to do so by the Board.
You must retain documentation of CE hours for a minimum of
seven years and submit all required documentation within 30 days after
receiving a written request for the documentation from the Board.
Any documentation materials submitted to the Board that have
not been specifically requested by the Board will be returned to you.
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