13:33-1.43 New Jersey Continuing
Education Requirements
The following is an excerpt from the State Board
of Examiners of Ophthalmic Dispensers and Ophthalmic Technicians
statutes and regulations book. The complete text can be found
online, but the online version is not entirely up to date. It
should be noted that the minimum of three credits in contact
lenses is only the minimum, you may acquire more then the three
minimum contact lens credits during the biennial period and utilize
them towards your twelve credit requirement.
You should also be aware that the Board can at
any time request from any licensee verification of completion
of this requirement and rumors have it that they will randomly
be doing so on a regular basis.
Remember that only face to face classroom style
courses are accepted. No internet or correspondence courses are
allowed.
Always check with the Board to make certain the
courses you are taking are approved. There have been reports
that some of the courses that have been given by educators other
then from the OANJ, which NJ Licensees have been attending have
not been approved by the Board.
You, the licensee are responsible for knowing the validity of the course being
taken.
If you are asked to submit your credits to the
Board, only New Jersey credits will be accepted. ABO, NCLE, New
York, Florida, etc. credits are not acceptable. Although in many
cases New Jersey courses are accepted by these other Boards the
reverse is not always true.
You may have noticed a wallet sized version of
your license attached with your renewal certificate. Do not lose
it or throw it away. This pocket sized certificate is said to
become the new manditory identification tag, replacing all other
various identification/name tags currently being used by licensees
in the state.
Maintenance of Continuing Education Credits is
Mandatory for All New Jersey Licensed Opticians
(a) An ophthalmic dispenser shall indicate on
the license renewal form that he or she has completed the continuing
education requirements as outlined in (b) below. Ophthalmic
dispensers applying for their first biennial renewal are exempt
from this mandatory continuing education requirement.
(b) Each ophthalmic dispenser licensed by the
Board shall successfully complete 12 credits per biennial period
of approved continuing education course work, of which three
such credits shall be in the dispensing of contact lensesin
compliance with N.J.A.C. 13:33-3.2. One credit shall
equal one hour of attendance at an approved course. Two
credits may be carried over into a succeeding biennial period
only if earned during the last six months of the preceding
biennial period.
(c) The ophthalmic dispenser shall maintain sponsor
verifications that he or she has completed the continuing education
courses as part of his or her records for a period of four
years. Falsification of sponsor verifications may result
in an appearance before the Board, penalties and/or disciplinary
action. The Board may request a review of an ophthalmic
dispenser's continuing education records at any time. Any
ophthalmic dispenser who isunable to verify that he or she
has completed the continuing education requirements shall be
subject to disciplinary action.
(d) The Board may waive the requirements of this
section on an individual basis in cases of certified illness
or undue hardship.
(e) The Board shall approve only such continuing
educational programs as are available on a reasonable non-discriminatory
basis to all persons practicing ophthalmic dispensing in the
State. The Board shall maintain a list of all approved courses
and lecturers at the Board offices and shall furnish this information
to licensees upon request. Courses to be approved for the continuing
education requirement shall be in areas of ophthalmic science,
study related to the human eye and its care, or such other
areas of opticianry education as the Board shall designate.
Speakers, lecturers and others participating in the presentation
of programs shall be recognized as possessing requisite qualifications
and being of recognized repute in their area of instruction.
(f) Any person desiring approval as a sponsor
of a continuing education course, seminar or program shall:
1. Complete and submit the written application
form provided by the Board. The application form will elicit
descriptive information concerning the course offering, such
as:
i. The name and address of sponsoring organization
and the name of individual filing application;
ii. The title and a complete description
of course offering;
iii. The date, time (beginning and end)
and place of course offering;
iv. Curriculum vitae of each speaker; and
v. The mechanism to be used to assess program
value.
2. Secure Board approval prior to offering any
continuing education course, seminar or program and prior to
representing that any course, seminar or program fulfills the
requirements of this section;
3. Notify all licensees of the time, place and
date of the course being offered; and
4. Monitor the attendance at each approved course
and furnish to each enrollee a verification of attendance.
(g) An ophthalmic dispenser on inactive status
who seeks to reactivate his or her license shall submit proof
to the Board of successful completion of 12 credits of approved
continuing education course work, three of which shall be in
the dispensing of contact lenses, for each biennial period
of approved inactive status.
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