Section Opt 8.02 - Continuing education requirements(1) A licensee shall complete 30 hours of approved continuing education in each biennial registration period.(1m) Each biennium, except as provided in sub. (1s), and unless granted a hardship waiver in accordance with sub. (3m), the 30 required hours of continuing education shall include 1 hour on the topic of responsible prescribing of controlled substances.(1s) The board shall provide an exemption to any licensee under sub. (1m) if the optometrist does not hold a federal drug enforcement administration registration number and does not prescribe controlled substances.(2) A minimum of 20 of the 30 hours of approved continuing education hours, as specified in sub. (1), required for optometrists who are allowed to use diagnostic and therapeutic pharmaceutical agents shall relate to ocular health, conditions, or disease management, or the removal of superficial foreign bodies from an eye or from an appendage to the eye.(3) A minimum of 20 of the 30 hours of approved continuing education hours, as specified in sub. (1), required for optometrists who are not allowed to use diagnostic and therapeutic pharmaceutical agents shall relate to ocular health, conditions, or disease management.(3e) At least 20 of the 30 hours of approved continuing education required under sub. (1) shall be completed by attending programs in person. Any programs not completed in person shall be COPE or Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education approved programs, in accordance with s. Opt 8.03 (1) (a), or programs approved under s. Opt 8.03 (2).(3m) In cases of hardship, a licensee may apply to the board for any of the following: (a) Approval of less than the 20 hours of in person continuing education required under sub. (3e).(b) Approval of a continuing education program under s. Opt 8.03 (2).(3s) An optometrist who by the renewal date has been licensed for one year or less from the date issued shall not be required to report continuing education for the first renewal of the license. An optometrist who by the renewal date holds a license for more than one year and less than 2 years shall be required to report 15 hours of approved continuing education for the first renewal of the license. A minimum of 10 of the 15 hours shall be attended in person.(5) Except for purposes of obtaining continuing education in order to satisfy the requirements for late renewal under s. Opt 7.05, continuing education hours may be applied only to the biennial registration period in which the continuing education hours are acquired.(6) To obtain credit for completion of continuing education hours, an optometrist shall, at the time of each renewal of registration, sign a statement certifying that the course work has been completed. If audited, an optometrist shall submit certificates of attendance issued by each course provider or other evidence of attendance satisfactory to the board.(7) An optometrist who fails to meet the continuing education requirements by the renewal date may not engage in the practice of optometry until his or her registration is renewed under s. Opt 7.05.Wis. Admin. Code Optometry Examining Board Opt 8.02
CR 06-116: cr. Register May 2007 No. 617, eff. 6-1-07; correction in (9) made under s. 13.93(2m) (b) 7, Stats., Register December 2007 No. 624.Amended by, CR 18-021: am. (title), (1), cr. (1m), am. (2), (3), cr. (3e), (3m), (3s), r. (4), (8) to (10) Register August 2019 No. 764, eff. 12/15/2019Amended by, CR 23-040: am. (1), (1m), cr. (1s), am. (3s) Register August 2024 No. 824, eff. 9-1-24; correction in (1s) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 12., Stats., Register August 26 No. 824, eff. 9/1/2024Sub. (10) is repealed eff. 12-15-19 by CR 18-021.