Questions on Continuing Education Requirements

Q: How many contact hours of continuing education are needed for this licensing period?

A: A minimum of thirty (30) hours of continuing education, which includes two (2) hours in Prevention of Medical Errors, must be obtained by all licensees during the biennium ending May 31, 2009. Up to 10 hours may be in management, risk management, personal growth, and educational techniques. The Dietetics and Nutrition Practice Council no longer approves CE Providers. The Council website lists several methods of obtaining CE credit. Here is a link to the Council website: Dietetics and Nutrition Practice Council

Q: What is the NEW change to the law on HIV/AIDS courses?

A: Starting July 1, 2006, the law was changed to eliminate the mandatory requirement that licensees take an HIV/AIDS course each biennium. If you have already taken the course, it still counts for CE credit. However, new licensees must take a 3 hour HIV/AIDS prior to first renewal of their license. The Dietetics and Nutrition Council website contains details on who takes the course and when it is required. Applicants for licensure no longer have to take the course before licensure. The course can also be taken as an elective in the future. The Florida statute and the Council Rule provide that licensees of this Council can take an HIV/AIDS course that is approved by any Health Care Board. CE for Health Care Professionals is an approved provider of the Board of Clinical Laboratory Personnel and the Board of Occupational Therapy Practice. Therefore, Dietitians and Nutrition Counselors may take our course HIV/AIDS course for credit.

Q: Is a course in the Prevention of Medical Errors required by the Dietetics and Nutrition Practice Council?

A: Yes, in 2001 the Florida Legislature passed a law requiring all Florida licensed health care professionals to take a 2 hour course in Prevention of Medical Errors every biennium. The Council website notes as follows: "Prevention of Medical Errors courses approved by any Board within the Division of Medical Quality Assurance (MQA) of the Department of Health are approved by the Council." CE for Health Care Professionals (CEHCPRO) is an approved CE Provider for the Board of Clinical Laboratory Personnel and the Board of Occupational Therapy. In addition, our Prevention of Medical Errors course was specifically reviewed and approved by the Occupational Therapy Board. Therefore, licensed Dietitians and Nutrition Counselors can take our course.

Q: How many hours of continuing education may be taken by home study?

A: The Council rule states that up to fifteen (15) hours of continuing education by home study per biennium shall be accepted. Our courses are designated as home study for these purposes.

Q: When will I receive my renewal notice from the State?

A: The notices are mailed approximately 90-120 days before May 31, 2009. The notices will be mailed to the last address you have given the Council. The renewal notices are NOT forwarded. If you do not receive your notice, check with the Council.

Q: How can I change my address with the Council?

A: Send the Council a letter, or check the Council Website and print out a change of address form and mail to: Dietetics and Nutrition Practice Council, Florida Department of Health, 4052 Bald Cypress Way, Bin # C-05, Tallahassee, Florida 33999-3255, or change it electronically by sending the Council an e-mail. You can look up your name, address and license number on the Department's "Licensee Look-up" site to check your information. A citation can be issued against and you can be fined $100 for failure "to notify the Department of a change of address within 60 days." Council Rule 64B8-44.05, F.A.C.

Q: What are the CE requirements for persons NEWLY LICENSED during the current biennium?

A: The Council rule states: "Those persons certified for licensure in the second half of the biennium are exempt from the continuing education requirements for that biennium." Rule 64B8-45.001(1), F.A.C. Therefore persons licensed after June 1, 2008 do not need to take the CE courses for this biennium. However, all new licensees must take the Prevention of Medical Errors course during every 2 year renewal period because this is a Florida Legislature requirement that the Council cannot waive. Under the new law, new licensees must take the 3 hour HIV/AIDS course prior to first renewal.

Q: What are the course requirements for persons applying for INITIAL LICENSURE?

A: Applicants must take a 2 hour course in Prevention of Medical Errors. Applicants can take our Prevention of Medical Errors course.

Questions on Signing Up for Courses

Q: How do I order courses?

A: To order courses, you must create a Member Profile for yourself. On the Order Page, there are three sections - Course Selection, Current Members, and New Member Profile. After checking the course(s) you want to order, go to the New Member Profile section and enter the necessary information. The following fields are required: first name, last name, email address, profession, license number, email, login name and password. Remember your login name and password, (they are case and space sensitive) you'll need these later to login to the member section to access the courses, tests and course completion certificates. To correctly enter your Florida license number, do not use the two or three letter prefix for your profession or the zeroes that appear before your license number. If you are not licensed in Florida, put in "applicant" or "student." Do not put in the license number from another state. Once you submit this information, the next screen allows you to verify the order information. If there is an error, use your browser's back button and correct the information. However, if the information is correct, press the "Submit Info" button and you'll be sent to a secure site to enter your credit card information.

Q: How does the secure site work, and what sort of security is being used for my credit card information?

A: The secure pages where your credit card information is entered are being hosted by VeriSign, one of the leading security companies on the net. VeriSign has added a Secure Socket Layer (or SSL) to protect these pages. An SSL is an industry standard protocol for encrypting data to prevent eavesdropping or message forging. Note: Once you submit your credit card information, the approval is almost instantaneous. Do NOT push the button more than once or you may reorder and be charged again. Once the transaction has been successfully completed you will be shown the transaction approval page. You may then return to our website by pushing the Login button at the bottom of that page. You will also receive an e-mail Receipt of the transaction. Please print out this Receipt for your records. If you do not want to log in at this time you may return to the CEHCPRO website home page for your profession later and go to Member Login to log in and access your courses.

Q: What do I do after I've paid? / How do I get to my courses?

A: Once the system has verified your credit card and you have received your e-mail Receipt, you can go immediately to the Member Login page by using the button at the bottom of the transaction approval page. Enter the login name and password exactly as you entered them during the course purchase. You will then be sent to your personal Account. On this page there will be a list of courses and below that a listing of the contact information you provided at sign up. For each course in the list there will be two links. The top link for each course, "Review Course Materials", will take you to the course. The second link, "Take the Test", will direct you to the test.

Q: How do I change my profile's contact information?

A: To change your contact information you must first log into the member's section from the Member Login page. Use the button on the bottom of your Account page that reads "Update Contact Info". Once you have changed your contact info you will need to enter your password in order to confirm the changes.

Q: How do I go back and add more courses later?

A: To add additional courses at a later time go to the order page and check the course(s) you want to add. Then enter your login name and password in the "Current Member" section. After that you will be presented with a screen to verify the order information (classes ordered, cost, name, and license number). If there is an error in this information, use your browser's back button and enter your login information again - if an error persists please contact support@CEHCPRO.com. However, if the information is correct press the "Submit Info" button and you will be sent to the secure site to enter your credit card information.

Questions on Course Procedures

Q: How long do I have to take the courses and can I print out the course materials?

A: You can print out the course materials and review the materials in any format you wish (online, offline, in print) as many times as you need. You can read the materials several times over any length of time. CEHCPRO does not impose any time limit on how long you have to take a course, however you should be mindful of the deadline for renewal imposed by your licensing Board or Council.

Q: What are the testing procedures? / How many times can I take the test?

A: Tests must be taken online. All tests in the CEHCPRO system are in a "true / false" format with any blank answers counting as wrong. A score of 70% or more is considered passing and you can take the test as many times as necessary to achieve a passing grade. Once you have passed the test you will be able to open a new window which contains your certificate of completion.

Q: How do I make a copy of the certificate of completion for my own records?

A: When you log in to the member's section, your account page will have a list of all of the courses that you are signed up for. Each course will have two links associated with it and for each completed course the second link will read "Certificate of Completion". This link will allow you to view your certificate in a new window, use the Print button in your browser to print a copy of the certificate at any time for your records. Make sure that you hold onto your certificates and any other proof of taking your CE courses from other companies for 4 years.

Q: Who do I contact if I have additional questions or concerns?

A: You may contact the support personnel for CEHCPRO. The necessary contact information can be found on the Contact Us page. The easiest way to contact us is to send us an e-mail. We answer that day, sometimes within minutes.

Information on CE Broker

Q: What is "CE Broker"?

A: "CE Broker" is a company that tracks the continuing education courses taken by health care practitioners licensed by the Florida Department of Health. Several years ago, the Florida Legislature received evidence that many health care licensees were not taking the required CE courses and in 2001 passed a law that required the Department to set up an "electronic CE tracking system." However the Legislature did not provide any funding for the tracking program. The Department then contracted with a company, "CE Broker", which agreed to do the tracking without charging the Department. Under the contract, "CE Broker" makes money by charging licensees $35 to subscribe to its services for two years. All of the CE Course Providers, like our company, are required to register their courses with "CE Broker", and to submit the names, license number and other information about the licensees who take CE courses from the Provider. "CE BrokerÕ then creates a "transcript" for each licensee showing their name, profession, license number, name of course taken and number of hours for each course. For more information visit the "CE Broker" website: www.cebroker.com.

Q: Do health care licensees have to subscribe to "CE Broker" in order to have their license renewed?

A: No, subscription is not mandatory and is completely voluntary, although Department letters to licensees earlier seemed to imply otherwise, and seemed to tie license renewal with membership in "CE Broker." The Department has now decided that they will check for compliance after a person renews their license. A licensee can and should keep their own records of the CE courses they have taken; in fact, Council rules require the licensee to keep their CE records for 4 years. CE Providers also must keep their attendance and course taker records for 4 years. All CE providers must report their attendance records to "CE Broker." If this is done, "CE Broker" will have a complete transcript for ALL licensees. The Department will then electronically and quickly be able to obtain those records from "CE Broker" and, after license renewal ends, can conduct audits to determine which licensees have failed to take the required continuing education. IMPORTANT NOTE: Dietitians and Nutrition Counselors will be audited at the end of this renewal period using "CE Broker."

Q: Can I find out my CE records from CE Broker without being a subscriber?

A: No, not unless you subscribe; however, any records of "CE Broker" are "public records" under the state of Florida public records law, Chapter 119, Florida Statutes. The Department of Health has stated that they will provide a "list of courses taken" under the public records law, at the normal public records charge of $0.15 a page. To obtain a list of the courses that "CE Broker" has listed for you (without joining "CE Broker"), you can send a letter to the following address:

Division of Medical Quality Assurance
Management Services, Bin C01
Attention: Public Records-CE History
4052 Bald Cypress Way
Tallahassee, FL 32399-3251

www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/Publications/cebroker-FAQ.htm

Q: Is CE for Health Care Professionals complying with the new rules?

A: Yes, once you successfully complete a course with us, we automatically and electronically send our records of course attendance to "CE Broker." We are also keeping all of our CE course attendance records in case there is a mix-up or error. We also urge all licensees to keep all of their course attendance records and certificates until all of the problems with this process are ironed out.

Q: Is there any thing else I should do to keep my license?

A: Yes, update your address changes to your licensing board. Approximately 20% of the licensees do not update their addresses with their Board or Council. Renewal notices and discipline notices are mailed to the address listed with the Council. If a discipline notice comes back to the Council because of improper address, the Council will also add another discipline charge of failure to keep your address current, which is $100.00 fine.

Q: What is the penalty for not taking the CE courses?

A: The Council issues a citation and can charge a penalty of $100 and the costs of investigation as follows: "Falsely certifying timely completion of required CE courses for renewal or initial licensure if completed by the time the citation is to be issued, and a penalty of $100 per contact hour wrongfully claimed." Council Rule 64B8-44.005 (3) (d), F.A.C.

Q: Is there any health care person that "CE Broker" does not apply to?

A: Yes, only health care licensees of the Florida Department of Health are affected. Applicants for licensure frequently take our CE courses, as needed for initial licensure or review, but the "CE Broker" system does not keep records for these persons. Licensees from other states can take our courses, but their records are not sent to or kept by "CE Broker."

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