64B19-13.003. Continuing Psychological Education Credit

(1) Continuing psychological education credit will be granted for:

(a) Completion of graduate level courses in psychology provided by a university or professional school which is accredited by the American Psychological Association or regionally accredited, seven (7) continuing psychological education credits may be obtained for each one credit course, fourteen (14) continuing psychological education credits for each two credit course, and twenty-one (21) continuing psychological education credits for each three credit course, for a maximum of twenty-one (21) credits per renewal period;

(b) Completion of a colloquium, a presentation, a workshop or a symposium offered for continuing education credit by a doctoral psychology program or a psychology internship or residency which is accredited by the American Psychological Association; the amount of continuing psychological education credits will be granted as specified by the program, agency or institution offering or sponsoring these activities;

(c) Full attendance at workshops/seminars offered by providers approved by the American Psychological Association or any of its affiliates, or providers approved by the Board. A list of Board approved providers is available from the Board office upon request; continuing psychological education credits will be granted on an hour by hour basis;

(d) Simple attendance at a state, regional or national psychology convention or conference. Only five (5) credits will be allowed each biennium regardless of how many state, regional or national conventions or conferences are attended during that biennium; one (1) continuing psychological education credit will be granted per one conference day;

(e) Attainment of diplomate status or Board Certification in a specialty area within the practice of psychology from any certifying body, recognized by the Board pursuant to Section 490.0149, F.S., for which thirty-seven (37) continuing psychological education credits, not including the two-hour continuing education course on domestic violence required by Section 456.031(1), F.S., and the two-hour continuing education course on the prevention of medical errors required by Section 456.013(7), F.S., will be allowed only during the biennium during which the diplomate is first awarded;

(f) Presenting or moderating for the first time per biennium only a continuing psychological education program sponsored by a provider approved by the Board, except that credit will be limited to the number of credits allowed by the program;

(g) Each hour of attendance at a Board of Psychology meeting or Board of Psychology committee meeting. Only one credit will be granted for each hour of full attendance and only ten (10) credits will be allowed each biennium regardless of how many hours are attended during the biennium. Attendance at a Board or committee meeting shall also satisfy, hour by hour, the requirement of professional ethics and legal issues credit set out in subsection (3), of this rule;

(h) Serving on a Board Probable Cause Panel; Current and former members shall receive one credit hour for each hour of service, up to a maximum of ten (10) hours, for serving as a member on a Board probable cause panel. Service on a probable cause panel shall also satisfy the requirement of professional ethics and legal issues credits as set out in subsection (3) of this rule on an hour by hour basis.

(i) Service as the Board’s Continuing Education Liaison shall entitle the board member to receive one credit hour for each hour of review, up to a maxium of (10) hours.

(j) Service as the Board’s Subject Matter Expert (SME) shall entitle the board member to receive one credit hour for each hour of review, up to a maxium of (10) hours.

(k) Completion of continuing education courses approved by any Board within the Division of Medical Quality Assurance of the Department of Health, provided that such courses enhance the psychological skills and/or psychological knowledge of the licensee;

(l) The provision of volunteer expert witness opinions for cases being reviewed pursuant to laws and standards relevant to the practice of psychology. Two hours of credit shall be awarded for each case reviewed up to a maximum of ten hours per biennium. In this regard, volunteer expert witnesses are expected to perform a review of the psychological, medical, legal, and/or ethical literature, as appropriate to the case being reviewed;

(m) Serving on American Psychological Association and/or Florida Psychological Association chapter, state, or national boards, editorial boards of peer reviewed journals related to psychology, scientific grant review teams; a maximum of five (5) continuing psychological education credits will be granted per renewal period;

(n) Teaching as an adjunct professor a graduate level course in psychology or related to psychology in a regionally accredited institution; a maximum of twenty (20) continuing education credits will be granted for the first time teaching per course for each renewal period;

(o) Publishing in the field of psychology (research, peer-reviewed articles, books, book chapters, textbooks or editor or co-editor of peer reviewed journals); a maximum of ten (10) continuing psychological education credits will be granted per publication per renewal period, not to exceed thirty (30) continuing psychological education credits per renewal period;

(p) Performance of Pro Bono Services – A licensee may receive up to six (6) hours per biennium of continuing education credit through the performance of pro bono services to the indigent as provided in section 456.013(9), F.S., or to underserved populations, or in areas of critical need within the state where the licensee practices. In order to receive credit under this rule, licensees must make a written request to the Board and receive approval prior to performing pro bono services in advance. One (1) hour credit shall be given for each two (2) hours worked. In the written request, licensees shall disclose the type, nature and extent of services to be rendered, the facility where the services will be rendered, the number of patients expected to be serviced, and a statement indicating that the patients to be served are indigent. If the licensee intends to provide services in underserved or critical need areas, the written request shall provide a brief explanation as to those facts.

(2) No continuing psychological education credit may be earned for:

(a) Regular work activities as a psychologist;

(b) Independent, unstructured or self-structured learning;

(c) Personal psychotherapy or personal growth experience;

(d) Obtaining or providing supervision or consultation from or under a psychologist or other professional who is not a Board approved continuing psychological education provider;

(e) Home study except from providers approved by the American Psychological Association or any of its affiliates.

(3) As a condition of biennial licensure renewal, each licensee must complete forty (40) hours of continuing psychological education.

(a) Three (3) of the forty (40) hours must be on professional ethics and Florida Statutes and rules affecting the practice of psychology. Of those three hours, at least one hour shall be on professional ethics, and at least one hour shall be on Florida laws and rules relevant to the practice of psychology and shall include Chapters 456 and 490, F.S. and rule Title 64B19, F.A.C.

(b) Two (2) of the forty (40) hours must relate to prevention of medical errors. In addition to the study of root-cause analysis, error reduction and prevention, and patient safety, the course content shall also be designed to discuss potential errors within a psychological setting, such as inadequate assessment of suicide risk, failure to comply with mandatory abuse reporting laws, and failure to detect medical conditions presenting as a psychological disorder. If the course is offered by a facility licensed pursuant to Chapter 395, F.S., for its employees, the Board will approve up to one (1) hour of the two (2) hour course to be specifically related to error reduction and prevention methods used in that facility.

(c) Passage of the laws and rules examination of the Board constitutes forty (40) hours of continuing education credit, including credit for professional ethics and Florida Statutes and rules affecting the practice of psychology. Passage of the laws and rules examination, however, does not satisfy the requirement for the two (2) credit hours of continuing education on domestic violence required every third biennial licensure renewal period, nor the requirement for two (2) hours relating to prevention of medical errors.

(4) The licensee shall maintain, and make available upon request, documentation to substantiate continuing psychological education credit required by the Board. The licensee shall retain such documentation for two (2) years following the renewal period during which the continuing psychological education credit was required.

(5) Every six years, each licensee shall complete two (2) hours of continuing psychological education on domestic violence as defined in Section 741.28, F.S.; these two (2) hours shall be part of the forty (40) hours otherwise required for each biennial licensure renewal. The licensee shall maintain documentation to substantiate timely completion of these two (2) hours and make said documentation available upon request every third biennial licensure renewal period.

Rulemaking Authority 456.013(6), (7), (9), 490.004(4), 490.0085(4) FS. Law Implemented 456.013(6), (7), (9), 490.007(2), 490.0085(1), (3) FS. History–New 1-28-93, Amended 7-14-93, Formerly 21U-13.0042, Amended 6-14-94, Formerly 61F13-13.0042, Amended 2-8-96, 11-18-96, Formerly 59AA-13.003, Amended 1-10-01, 8-5-01, 5-21-02, 6-3-04, 1-2-06, 12-31-06, 2-24-08, 5-26-08, 1-7-09, 11-8-10, 3-18-14, 11-1-17, 2-23-23, 11-21-23, 9-19-24.