What the statutes mean

A requirement of your licensure is that you must take at least 40 hours of continuing education during each 2 year licensure period. Normally, you may choose any program approved by the chiropractic examining board; however, the board may require you to take specific courses if they determine they are in the best interests of the profession. In the past, the board has required chiropractors to take education dealing with AIDS, boundary training, x-ray and CPR.

Your continuing education hours are non-transferable which means that if you take more than 40 CE hours you may not apply them to another license period.

• CE hours required as a consequence of a disciplinary preceding, informal settlement conference, or resolution of an investigation into your conduct or competence may not be counted towards the fulfillment of your CE requirement.
• At the time of your license renewal, you must sign a statement verifying that you have 40 hours of continuing education. If you do not have 40 hours by the end of the licensure period, the state requires that you stop treating patients until you obtain your hours.
• If you fail to obtain 40 hours of approved education during a licensing period, the CE hours you obtain for the following period will be applied to the previous licensing period only. Since you were short in the previous period, they will not apply to the current licensing period until you have obtained all 40 hours. In other words, you are never allowed to "double count" your hours.

CE Records

You must keep your CE vouchers for a minimum of 4 years. The chiropractic examining board may do a random audit at any time. If they audit you, you will have to prove that you attained the required number of hours. For your convenience, the Wisconsin Chiropractic Association maintains files for all Wisconsin chiropractors of their CE hours. To participate, all you need to do is send or fax the WCA a copy of your CE vouchers. If you take a course sponsored by the WCA, you do not need to do anything; these hours will be recorded automatically. The WCA will mail you a periodic update of your hours and will provide the necessary vouchers to the state if you are audited.

• You only receive credit for the time you are physically present in the classroom.
• You must make sure that you sign in and out of every program. If you fail to do so, you might not receive hours for the program. Every program sponsor has their own rules for attendance verification, and it is your responsibility to comply with those rules.

CE Programs

• Never assume a CE program has been approved for credit by the examining board just because the program brochure has the words "credit applied for". Each course needs to be approved individually, every time it is offered. Don't assume that because the exact same course was approved for credit the previous biennium, that it will automatically be approved again. Call the WCA or the examining board to insure that the program has been approved. Please note the WCA does not approve the continuing education courses. That responsibility belongs to the Chiropractic Examining Board.
• No matter how good the program, the chiropractic examining board does not approve programs for credit after they have been held. Credit for each course must be applied for 75 days in advance of the first day of the program.
• The WCA, ACA, ICA or a chiropractic or medical college must sponsor a program in order to be approved by the board.
• In order to be approved for credit, a program's subject matter must relate to improving the clinical skills of a chiropractor and the material must generally be taught at the undergraduate or postgraduate level of a chiropractic college.
• Home study programs are only approved for credit when the board determines there is extreme hardship.
• Programs that emphasize business, management, or the insurance aspects of a chiropractic practice are not eligible for credit.

Statute excerpts

Chir 5.01 Continued education requirements for license renewal.

1. Every chiropractor shall complete at least 40 continuing education credit hours in approved continuing education programs during each 2 year license registration period ending on January 1 of each odd-numbered year, except as specified in s. Chir 3.02 (1) (c).
2. Continuing education credit hours may apply only to the 2 year license period in which the credit hours are acquired, unless either of the following applies:
1. The continuing education credit hours required of a particular chiropractor as a consequence of a disciplinary preceding, informal settlement conference, or resolution of an investigation into the conduct or competence of the chiropractor may not be counted towards the fulfillment of generally applicable continuing education requirements.
2. If the chiropractor has failed to meet the license renewal requirement during the period, continuing education hours acquired on or after January 1 of any odd-numbered year will apply to the preceding period only if the chiropractor has failed to meet the license renewal requirement during that period, and will not apply to any other period or purpose.
3. To obtain credit for completion of continuing education programs, a chiropractor shall certify on his or her application for renewal of license registration that he or she has completed all continuing credits as required in this section for the previous 2 year license registration period. A chiropractor shall retain for a minimum period of 4 years, and shall make available to the board or its agent upon request, certificates of attendance issued by the program sponsor for all continuing education programs for which he or she claims credit for purposes of renewal of his or her license registration. Chiropractors attending a program for credit shall be present in the room where a program is being presented in order to claim credit. A chiropractor may claim credit hours for continuing education for which he or she was in actual attendance in the room, except for authorized break periods or to attend to personal hygiene needs.

Chir 5.02 Approval of continuing education programs.

1. The board may approve a continuing education program which meets the following minimum requirements:
1. The program is sponsored by the Wisconsin chiropractic association, the American chiropractic association, the international chiropractors association, a college of chiropractic approved by the board, or a college of medicine or osteopathy accredited by an agency recognized by the United States department of education.
2. The program subject matter relates to improving the clinical skills of a chiropractor and is generally taught at the undergraduate or postgraduate level of a chiropractic college meeting the requirements of s. Chir 2.02 (6) (b).
3. The program sponsor agrees to provide a responsible person to monitor and verify the attendance of each registered chiropractor at the program, and the program sponsor agrees to keep the records of attendance for 3 years from the date of the program and to furnish each participant with evidence of having attended the program.
4. A program sponsor shall not assign or delegate its responsibilities to monitor or record attendance, provide evidence of attendance, validate course content, or provide information on instructors or other aspects of the program unless the assignment or delegation is specifically identified in the application for approval and approved by the board.
5. The program sponsor has reviewed and validated the program's course content to insure its compliance with par. (b).
6. When a course instructor of the program is on the undergraduate or postgraduate faculty of a chiropractic college, the program sponsor has provided written verification that the course instructor has been appointed in accordance with the accreditation standards of the council on chiropractic education, and that the chiropractic college exercises sufficient supervision over a faculty member's course content.
7. The program offers significant professional educational benefit for participants, as determined by the board.
2. :
1. Continuing education programs may include subject material other than that which relates to improving the clinical skills of a chiropractor and is generally taught at the undergraduate or postgraduate level of a chiropractic college, meeting the requirements of s. Chir 2.02 (6) (b). However, only the parts of the program which relate to improving the clinical skills of a chiropractor and are generally taught at the undergraduate or postgraduate level of a chiropractic college are eligible for credit.
2. Any presentation, program content, materials or displays for the advertising, promotion, sale or marketing of equipment, devices, instruments or other materials of any kind or purpose shall be kept separate from the program content and presentation for which approval is applied and granted.
3. Programs shall be approved for one hour of continuing education for every 50 minutes of instruction.
3. Home study programs may be approved for credit only in cases of extreme hardship, as determined by the board.
4. :
1. An application for approval of a continuing education program shall:
1. Be on a form provided by the board.
2. Identify the name and address of the program sponsor and describe how the program sponsor qualifies under this section.
3. Describe the time and place of the program.
4. Be complete as prescribed in this subsection and filed with the board no later than 75 days prior to the program date. An application is not considered complete until such time as all information required to be submitted with the application, and any supplementary information requested by the board, is received by the board.
5. Include evidence of the program sponsor's verification showing to the satisfaction of the board that the subject matter is generally taught at the undergraduate or postgraduate level of a chiropractic college meeting the requirements of s. Chir 2.02 (6) (b) and relates to improving the clinical skills of a chiropractor. A detailed course outline or syllabus describing the subject matter of the program, and the amount of time devoted to each section of the outline or syllabus shall be attached to the application.
6. Describe the names and qualifications of all instructors, and if applicable, whether an instructor of the program is an undergraduate or postgraduate faculty member of a sponsoring college was appointed in accordance with accreditation standards of the council on chiropractic education.
7. Identify whether the program sponsor intends to assign or delegate any of its responsibilities to another person or entity, and if so, include each of the following:
1. A specific description of the assignment or delegation.
2. The person or entity who is assigned or delegated to perform the responsibility, including name, address and qualification to perform the responsibility.
3. The method by which the program sponsor intends to assure that the delegated or assigned responsibility is performed.
2. If necessary in order to determine whether an applicant meets the requirements of this chapter, the board may require that the applicant submit information in addition to that described in this section.
5. Continuing education credit may not be awarded for meals or break periods.
6. The sponsor of an approved program shall insure that the program is carried out and presented as represented to and approved by the board, and that all responsibilities of the program sponsor, an instructor, and any person or entity delegated or assigned a responsibility relating to a program approved by the board are fulfilled.

Chir 5.03 Application denials.

The board may deny approval of an application for any of the following reasons:

1. The program or program sponsor does not meet requirements established in this chapter.
2. The emphasis of the program is on the business, management, or insurance aspects of a chiropractic practice rather than on improving the clinical skills of the chiropractor.
3. The board determines that the program sponsor has not provided adequate assurance that responsibilities delegated or assigned to others will be satisfactorily performed.
4. The program sponsor, an instructor, or a person delegated or assigned a responsibility has a financial, personal or professional interest which conflicts directly with the performance of responsibilities in this chapter.
5. Failure on the part of the program sponsor, an instructor, or a person delegated or assigned a responsibility to carry out a program as represented to and approved by the board or as provided in this chapter.