A Guide To Understanding Your South Carolina PT CE Requirements

With every state and profession use a different language to explain how many and what kind of continuing education requirements you need to renew your license, it's not hard to get confused. Since it's our business to know this stuff, we're going to try to help by breaking the information down into it's simplest form and hopefully make it easier to understand. Today we're tackling South Carolina physical therapy requirements.

When is my license renewal deadline?

All physical therapists and physical therapist assistants must renew their licenses biennially on or before December 31st of every even-numbered year.

When do I have to have my CE hours done?

Same, so that's easy. Have your CE hours done by December 31st of every even-numbered year.

How are my CEs calculated?

The South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulations refers to continuing education not in hours, but in "Continuing Education Units" or CEUs. Each unit is the equivalent of 10 hours of learning. So 1 CEU = 10 contact hours. Easy! Each contact hour must contain a minimum of 50 minutes of instruction.

How many CEs do I need?

Every licensed PT and PTA needs to earn 3.0 CEUs or thirty (30) hours of acceptable continuing education credit per biennium year.

What kinds of courses are accepted by South Carolina?

South Carolina is pretty easy when it comes to getting your CEs. With no limits on home study and pretty much any topic in physical therapy accepted, you have a lot of freedom. You can even knock 4 hours off your requirements by taking a certified CPR course during your renewal cycle. Here's the full list of accepted types of courses:

(a) APTA and SCAPTA sponsored courses, APTA home study courses, and courses sponsored by another state professional physical therapy associations; and

(b) College coursework which is judged germane to the practice of physical therapy and is conducted or sponsored by accredited institutions of higher education; and

(c) AMA (American Medical Association) continuing education courses that involve physical therapy; and

(d) AHEC (Area Health Education Consortium) courses that pertain to physical therapy; and

(e) In-service hours totaling 0.4 CEUs maximum per biennium; and

(f) CPR of 0.4 CEUs per biennium; and

(g) Such other providers as approved by the Board (That's us!!)

Can I finish all my CEUs with HomeCEUConnection.com?

Yes!! We have a course catalog that is bursting with great PT/PTA courses including text, video and live, interactive offerings. With our courses, you don't even have to leave the house to complete your 30 hours. Log onto the website, buy a bundle or individual courses, read or watch your material, complete the online exam and BAM!...Your certificate of completion is in your inbox. How awesome is that?

Pretty darned awesome! What are you waiting for? Go now!

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