While you’re caught up in the busy day-to-day of your physical therapy job, a deadline lurks. It may not be immediate; but it’s always there, hanging in a corner of your professional life like a rarely used piece of therapy equipment. You may not pay much attention to it, or even think of it at all — until it’s right around the corner and you realize you have to scramble to meet it.
What deadline causes many PTs to kick themselves (hard) before making a mad dash to the finish line? Continuing education requirements for licensure renewal, of course.
Most states mandate the completion of CEUs for the renewal of PT licenses, although the number of hours required and timing of licensure renewal varies from state to state. It’s a safe bet that most states claim their fair share of PT procrastinators, whose last-minute stampede to meet renewal deadlines often leads to frantic snatches at whatever CE courses pop up at the top of Google search results. With CE content, first is not always best, however. While plenty of online sites make completing CE requirements about as easy as “click, pay, done,” hastily grabbed CEUs may not measure up to PTs’ long-term professional development needs.
Choose Wisely
Finding CE activities is easy. Finding CE courses that actually boost your professional development takes a bit more work. Yet even the most conscientious PTs — the ones who are always on top of their CEU requirements — might put more thought into their lunch options than the CE experiences they choose.
It can be tempting to view Physical Therapy CE as just another item on your already stacked to-do list, but your career — and your patients — will thank you for remembering the importance of first-class learning activities to the delivery of superior patient care. Quality CE coursework, after all, has long been demonstrated to improve both professional careers and patient outcomes.
Yes, you need CEUs to renew your license; and yes, considering your demanding work life, the quicker and easier they are to obtain the better. But better yet: Careful selection of CE activities will help you accomplish your professional development goals, improve your clinical practice, and ultimately achieve positive patient outcomes.
Supporting Your Efforts
At Eisenhower Medical Center, we’re all in when it comes to supporting the educational needs of PTs on our team. We recognize the value of career-long knowledge development among our practitioners and offer a work culture that’s rich in learning opportunities. PTs at Eisenhower Medical Center learn during close professional interaction with their colleagues, including physicians, nurses, social workers, and other rehab professionals, on integrated teams that provide exceptional care with exceptional results. They also expand their knowledge base by participating in the learning activities of others. As a teaching facility, Eisenhower is proud to educate students across healthcare disciplines from more than 50 academic centers throughout the country.
To help you benefit the most from the Physical Therapy CE activities you choose to engage in, we want to provide you with these tips:
1. Change Your Viewpoint
If you consider meeting CE requirements a hassle, take a moment to reflect on the power of knowledge to advance your career and the patient care your provide. Think of career-spanning education not as a chore, but as an opportunity. Move beyond viewing lifelong learning merely as the means to demonstrate your continued competency to recognizing it as a vehicle that drives you toward excellence.
2. Make It a Habit
Say so long to crunch time. Ongoing Physical Therapy CE completion translates directly into ongoing skill development. Create a plan to complete Physical Therapy CE activities at regular intervals, such as monthly or quarterly; but train yourself to always be on the hunt for valuable learning experiences. If you hear a tidbit on the morning news about expanded strategies for managing motor control in patients with Parkinson’s disease, for example, set aside your cup of coffee and seize the moment to search online for the latest CE module on the topic. Make time in the following days to work through the course while the subject is fresh in your mind.
3. Develop a Strategy
Why settle for just any old CE course when one that’s specifically designed to improve your skills in your practice area is likely available? Consider where you want to go in your career, and explore CE topics that align with your goals. If you practice in orthopedics/sports medicine but you’d like to take advantage of growing opportunities in stroke care, for instance, train your sights on learning activities specific to neuroscience. Or, make a list of your weakest areas in your current practice area and focus on CE options that will help you hone your skills in those areas.
4. Be Ready for Change
Make familiarizing yourself with healthcare trends a part of your strategy, and keep a running list of emerging topics for which CEUs might come in handy. Read journal articles for the latest research; and pay attention to media reports, which frequently highlight healthcare topics and can signal an upcoming shift in healthcare policy or methods that could impact your practice. Public outcry over the escalating opioid epidemic in the U.S., for instance, contributed to new guidelines recommending physical therapy over prescription medication for pain management in some cases. If you haven’t already, you might see more patients with chronic pain in your practice as a result. A pain management CE course could ensure you’re up to speed on appropriate protocols.
5. Dig for Details
Be sure you understand the CEU requirements specific to your state (review California’s requirements here), and make it a point to check any CE provider you’re interested in against the list of organizations approved by your state board to provide CE content (see this list of providers recognized as Continuing Competency Approval Agencies in California). Board recognition of CE providers can occasionally be terminated for failure to meet standards, so it’s a good idea to review an approved provider list frequently, especially if you’re seeking CEUs from an organization you haven’t previously used.
Take the time to vet individual Physical Therapy CE activities by making sure they clearly define their goals and intended audience. Confirm that faculty qualifications match the course content. Give preference to those activities that allow you to put what you’ve learned into immediate practice. Before you proceed with any course, be aware of the number of CEUs offered for completion of the activity, the manner in which documentation of completion is handled (a downloadable certificate, for example), and the cost.
6. Seek a Mix of Experiences
CE activities are readily available online and through leading healthcare employers like Eisenhower Medical Center, but don’t discount opportunities to boost your CE portfolio at regional and national conferences. If you’re fortunate to attend a professional conference, you’ll not only find ample opportunity to engage in CE sessions, but you’ll also have the chance to network with colleagues and faculty and gain insight into additional learning opportunities. Add the American Physical Therapy Association to your list of resources. It offers information on national conferences and lets you search for CE courses by topic.
7. Get Referrals
Speaking of colleagues, word-of-mouth often can connect you to exceptional CE experiences. Check out user ratings of a course’s quality, and ask for referrals from your associates. If they appreciated a particular Physical Therapy CE activity, chances are you will, as well.
It helps, too, to work with an employer that values your education efforts. Join the learning culture at Eisenhower Medical Center. We offer up to $10,000 in relocation assistance to new PT members of our team. Search our current openings and apply today.
Originally posted on 11/4/2017