Kansas Respiratory Care Society

Monica Baden

520 E. Berry

Rose Hill, Ks 67133

krcsceu@cox.net

PROVIDERSHIP GUIDELINES

Purpose: The purpose of these guidelines is to establish a systematic and functional providership service to the membership that would be capable of delivering continuing education programs.

Definition: A providership status will enable an institution to furnish educational programs with the condition that these programs will have automatic pre-approval for a period of one year. This will eliminate obtaining prior approval for each program as it occurs. Two types of providerships will be granted:

Hospital: this type will be granted to hospitals

Organizational/Institutional: this type will be granted to non-hospital organizations such as colleges or private groups that provide an educational service but do not care for patients in addition to organizations that span more than one hospital/facility/etc.

Fee: Each providership will submit the required fee each year according to the schedule on the enclosed letter. This fee will be used to pay for the services required from the state evaluator.

General Guidelines:

Providerships will be granted on an annual basis, subject to renewal each April, by the Respiratory Care Evaluator.

The respiratory evaluator will review all providerships on an annual basis.

A providership institution shall have, either on staff or as a consult, a NBRC Registered Respiratory Therapist with a minimum of two years clinical instruction experience. This person must be on that institution’s educational planning committee for all educational functions that would relate to cardio-respiratory care.

Contact hours must be related to cardiopulmonary patient care or of such content that professional growth occurs.

The evaluator reserves the right to cancel providership status if evidence of unethical or unprofessional actions by the providers is disclosed.

Hour Presentations: One (1) CEU is equivalent to one (1) contact hour. This is based on a 50-minute hour.

Continuing Education Requirements for the Providership: The written definition of a qualified CEU is: “The purpose of continuing education shall be to provide evidence of continued competency in the advancing art and science of respiratory therapy. All program objectives, program agenda/content, presenter qualifications and outcomes shall be subject to review. Contact hours shall be determined based on program agenda/content, outcomes and participant involvement.” These must be an advanced study for the respiratory therapist, above the core curriculum for respiratory education. A copy of this core curriculum will be forth coming.

Guidelines for Approving Programs: All approved hours must fall within the following guidelines.

Seminars and symposiums. “A seminar shall mean directed advanced study or discussion in a specific field of interest. A symposium shall mean a conference of more than a single session organized for the purpose of discussing a specific subject from various viewpoints and by various speakers.”

Learning activities in the work setting designed to assist the individual in fulfilling employer requirements including in service education and on- the-job training ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR CEU’s. This includes equipment in services, OSHA guidelines, and other yearly functions of an employee. (If you have a question regarding this call me.)

Non-traditional or alternative educational programs. A nontraditional or alternative educational program shall be defined as one that is not presented in the typical conference setting. These would include self- study packets and videos. THESE ARE NOT APPROVABLE BY THE PROVIDERSHIP. These offerings must go through the American Association of Respiratory Care or me for approval.

You may only approve credit for the number of hours of instruction and for THE FIRST TIME your employee attends ACLS, PALS, or any advanced lifesaving course or the associated instructor course. CEU credit may not be given for any time that the employee is testing. BLS is not considered to be eligible for credit per the KS statute and likewise, neither is the BLS instructor course. For example:

For instance, John took a live ACLS class for the first time on Jan 1 and Jan 2 for a total of 8 hours instruction, and then had 2 hours of testing. He would get a certificate for 8 hours.

Mary Smith is renewing her PALS by taking the written test and doing the testing stations only. No instructional time offered. She would NOT receive any CEU hours.

STATEMENT OF APPROVAL: The following statement must be visible on all brochures, flyers and certificate of attendance of approved seminars, workshops, etc. for your facility.

“The _________________(provider name) CEU Evaluator has approved this program for _____ hours of Respiratory Continuing Education on behalf of the Kansas Respiratory Care Society, a chapter society of the AARC. Providership # KRCS ____”

Example:

The ABC Hospital’s CEU Evaluator, has approved this program for five (5) hours of Respiratory Continuing Education on behalf of the Kansas Respiratory Care Society, a chapter society of the AARC. Providership # KRCS 023.”

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

I have included below some of the most asked questions that I have received this past year.

We are offering a seminar at my hospital. Can outside people attend for CEU credit?

Your providership grants you the ability to give CEU credit for any offering that YOUR HOSPITAL hosts. If you would like to invite others from the outside as a way to either pay for your providership (if you charge a fee) or to promote yourself to others within the community, you are more than welcome to do so.

How long do I need to keep my records?

A minimum of 5 years since the NBRC requires CEU proof to be turned in to them every five years for anyone credentialed after July 2002.

Our nursing education department has classes that would benefit our respiratory therapists. Can I give CEU credit for them to attend?

As long as the hospital that holds the providership is the same hospital that has this education department, then the CEUs may be granted given the correct information is supplied to you/on file (ie agenda, objectives, etc) I realize that nursing has changed some of its criteria for CEU’s but the Respiratory Care has not, so we still need Agenda, Objectives, and Evaluations.

Our hospital requires our employees to do on-line education that has good information and is educational. Can CEU credit be given?

On-line programs may NOT be granted by the providership. These are only approved by the AARC.

If it is required for your job (if the therapist fails to complete the education, the employee is punished), CEU credit may never be granted by anyone.

Several of our therapists attended a seminar offered by the community. It was recommended for allied health professionals. Can the providership grant CEU’s for attending?

No. The providership is an umbrella for your institution. If the seminar is not covered by someone else’s providership or the AARC, each therapist must turn into me all the information and I will grant the CEU’s. The application along with the list of required documentation can be found @ www.krcs.org .

What does a therapist need to do to have something approved by Monica?

The application along with the list of required documentation can be found @ www.krcs.org . The tab at the top of the website is “CEU Evaluator”. The individual application for CEU’s can be found there. Make sure there is an agenda, objectives, and proof of attendance.

Is the providership under the KRCS or the KSBHA?

The providership is under the KRCS. Therefore, the approval statement needs to reflect that. See the statement and example on the second page of the providership guidelines.

Why does the providership statement need to be present on the brochure and certificate?

It must be visible on both to show that you have been delegated to approve the CEUs by me, the CEU Evaluator for the State of Kansas. The AARC is included on the statement so that people from out of state may submit the certificate to their state agency and the other states should recognize it as being okay.

Thanks, if you have any questions, please email me at krcsceu@cox.net.

By signing the bottom of the Providership Application, I understand the “Providership Guidelines” and the “Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s).” I also understand that the KS CEU Evaluator upon approval by the KRCS reserves the right to cancel providership status if evidence of unethical or unprofessional actions by the providers is disclosed