California Continuing Medical Education Credit Requirements
| Required number of CME credits per year(s) | 50 credits / 2 years |
| State-Mandated CME Content/Additional Notes | Pain management, geriatric medicine, end-of-life care All general internists and family physicians who have a patient population of which more than 25% are 65 years of age or older must complete at least 20 hours of mandatory CME in geriatric medicine or the care of older patients. All physicians and surgeons (except pathologists and radiologists) must complete mandatory CME in the subjects of pain management and the treatment of terminally ill and dying patients (one-time requirement of 12 credits). Physicians must complete this requirement by their second license renewal date or within four years, whichever comes first. |
| RN Required number of CE credits per year(s) | 30 hours / 2 yrs All RNs in the State of California who wish to maintain an active license are required to complete 30 hours of continuing education for license renewal. |
| LPN Required number of CME credits per year(s) | LVNs must complete 30 contact hours of Continuing Education every two years in order to renew their license with an active status. |
| APRN Required number of CME credits per year(s) | N/A |
| ANCC accreditation accepted? | Yes if CE held outside of the state |
| CE for Specialty: Athletic Training | Currently no continuing education is required. |
| CE for Specialty: Audiology/SLP | CE: 24 Contact Hours must be completed over a two year renewal period |
| CE for Specialty: Dietetics/Nutrition | There are no continuing education requirements. However, under California code, dietitians must be registered or eligible to register with the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). Maintaining your CDR Registration as a Registered Dietitian Total number of CPE units (CPEUs) required every 5-year recertification cycle: RDNs or RDs need 75 CPEUs NDTRs or DTRs need 50 CPEUs |
| CE for Specialty: Emergency Medical Services | Licenses must be renewed every two years. CE Requirements for EMTs: EMT: 24 hours Advanced EMT: 36 hours CE Requirements for Paramedics: Paramedic: 48 hours |
| CE for Specialty: Laboratory Technology | During every two-year renewal cycle: Clinical laboratory scientists and director personnel license types must obtain 24 contact hours of continuing education. Cytotechnologist licensees must obtain 12 contact hours of continuing education. Certified phlebotomy technicians must obtain a total of 6 contact hours of continuing education. Continuing education must approved by clinical laboratory science continuing education accrediting agencies or from an accredited academic institute. Click here for a list of approved agencies. |
| CE for Specialty: Massage Therapy | There are no Continuing Education requirements. |
| CE for Specialty: Medicine and Surgery | CE: 50 contact hours must be completed every two years. For Doctors with practices in Family and or Internal Medicine, 20% of CME must be in geriatrics if 25% of patients in the practice older than 65 years old. There is a one time requirement of 12 hours in the subject of pain management and the appropriate care and treatment of the terminally ill. The Medical Board will accept courses or programs that address one or both topics. |
| CE for Specialty: Occupational Therapy | CE Requirements: Occupational Therapists (OT) are required to complete 24 professional development units (PDU’s) or contact hours every 2 years. Occupational Therapy Assistants (OTA) are required to complete 24 professional development units (PDU’s) or contact hours every 2 years. |
| CE for Specialty: Pharmacy | 30 hours pharmacy continuing education must be completed every 2 years. CE coursework must pertain to the practice of pharmacy and be obtained from a provider who is recognized by one of the two accreditation agencies designated by the Board, the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) or the Pharmacy Foundation of California (PFC). Home study is permitted. ACPE-approved courses for Pharmacy Technicians end in the letter “T”. ACPE-approved courses pharmacists (only) end in the letter “P”. Courses ending in the letter “P” cannot be used to meet pharmacy technician CE requirements. |
| CE for Specialty: Pharmacy Technician | No continuing education is required. |
| CE for Specialty: Physical Therapy | CE Requirements: Continuing competency hours must be earned during the renewal period. Your renewal period begins the day after your license expires or issue date and ends on your expiration date. For example, if your license expires on September 30, 2011, your continuing competency hours must be completed during the period September 30, 2009 – September 30, 2011. (Physical Therapists and Physical Therapist Assistants are subject to the same continuing competency requirements). New Licensees If you are in your first 13-24 months of licensure in California and renewing your license for the first time, use this chart to help you determine the number of continuing competency hours required On or Before the License Expiration Date Basic Life Support Hours: 4 hours Ethics, Laws and Regulations Hours: 2 hours Other Hours of Coursework Needed: 9 hours Total Hours Required: 15 hours After the License Expiration Date Basic Life Support Hours: 4 hours Ethics, Laws and Regulations Hours: 2 hours Other Hours of Coursework Needed: 24 hours Total Hours Required: 30 hours |
| CE for Specialty: Psychology | 36 hours of continuing education must be completed every renewal period. All licensees are required to complete 4 hours in laws and ethics and one course in spousal or partner abuse assessment, detection and intervention strategies every renewal cycle. As a one time requirement, licensees must also complete a 3 hour course in aging and long-term care. Licenses must be renewed biennially prior to the expiration date listed on license. |
| CE for Specialty: Radiology Technology | CE per license type: CRT: 24 hours Radiography – 24 hours Nuclear Medicine – five hours Radiation Therapy – 24 hours Fusion Imaging – 24 hours Limited – 24 hours; radiography & fluoroscopy supervisor and operator permit. Mammography – 24 hours in ; 10 CE in mammography and perform 200 exams. Certified Supervisors and Operators (California licensed physicians and surgeons, podiatrists, or chiropractors) – 10 hours. CE must be related to: • Mammography • Computerized Tomography • Quality Management • Bone Densitometry • Vascular-interventional Radiography • Cardiac-interventional Radiography • Radiologist Assistant • Radiation Therapy Renewal cycle is every two years. |
| CE for Specialty: Respiratory Therapy | 15 hours of continuing education are due every two years from the date the license was issued. At least 2/3 of the continuing education hours relate to clinical practice. 3 hours in law and professional ethics during every other license renewal cycle (The course shall be provided by the American Association for Respiratory Care or the California Society for Respiratory Care). All hours can be home-study |
| CE for Specialty: Social Work | Initial Renewal: a minimum of eighteen (18) hours of continuing education by the expiration date of the license. Mandatory six (6) hours of Law and Ethics training with every renewal. One half of the required CE hours can be earned through self-study. Renewal: thirty-six (36) hours of continuing education within the preceding two years of their license renewal date. Mandatory six (6) hours of Law and Ethics training with every renewal. One half of the required CE hours can be earned through self-study. One-time mandatory requirements: Spousal/Partner Abuse (7 hours), Aging and Long Term Care (3 hours), HIV/AIDS (7 hours) |
Note: All information should be verified with licensing board
Resources: http://www.acep.org/ | http://ce.nurse.com/ | http://about.continuingeducation.com/