3.4 Mandatory Courses, CPR Certification & Approved Providers

The Mandatory Courses

Rule 64B5-12.013 sets out four required course subjects plus a certification requirement. Each has a different frequency, and the question of whether the hours count toward the 30/24 total is a reliable examination discriminator.

Prevention of medical errors — Rule 64B5-12.013(2)(a)

To be Board-approved, the two-hour course "shall include a study of root cause analysis, error reduction and prevention, and patient safety." A two-hour prevention of medical errors course approved by the Board of Medicine under paragraph 64B8-13.005(1)(c), F.A.C., also satisfies the dental requirement — useful for practitioners who hold dual credentials or who find a medical course more convenient.

CPR — Rule 64B5-12.013(2)(b)

The content requirement is specific. Training must be at the basic support level and must include:

• One-rescuer and two-rescuer CPR for adults, children, and infants;
• Relief of foreign body airway obstruction for adults, children, and infants;
• Use of an automatic external defibrillator (AED); and
• Use of ambu-bags.

The training must result in certification or recertification by the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross, or an entity with equivalent requirements.

The delivery rule is the part licensees most often get wrong: CPR training and certification shall be taken in person or through a blended learning course. A blended course means online training plus hands-on skill competency completed in person for certification. "Online training without hands-on training completed in person for certification shall not be accepted by the board."

And the credit rule: CPR training and certification does not count toward the 30- or 24-hour requirement. It is an additional obligation, not a component of it.

Separately, s. 466.017(4), F.S., requires any dentist or dental hygienist who administers or employs the use of any form of anesthesia to hold certification in either basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation for health professionals or advanced cardiac life support, approved by the AHA, the Red Cross, or an equivalent agency-sponsored course, with recertification every 2 years. The same subsection requires every dental office using any form of anesthesia to keep resuscitative equipment, oxygen, and resuscitative drugs immediately available and in good working order as specified by Board rule.

Domestic violence — Rule 64B5-12.013(3)

Required as part of every third biennial licensure renewal or for reactivation. The two-hour Board-approved course must address domestic violence as defined in s. 741.28, F.S., and must cover the substantive areas set out in s. 456.031, F.S. To be Board-approved, the course must be approved by any state or federal agency or professional association, or be offered through a Board-approved continuing education provider. The hours count toward the biennial total.

HIV/AIDS — Rule 64B5-12.013(4)

Required no later than upon the first licensee renewal, or for reactivation of a licence. To be Board-approved, the course must instruct on HIV/AIDS and infectious diseases pertinent to dentistry and dental hygiene, including — but not limited to — viral counts, hepatitis, sterilisation and infection control requirements, identification of oral lesions associated with infectious disease, how the presence of infectious disease directly affects treatment decisions, and the subject areas set out in s. 456.033, F.S.

Two accommodations are built in:

• A course completed outside Florida that otherwise complies will be approved if the licensee submits a statement that they have reviewed and studied the Florida law set out in s. 456.033(1), F.S.
• Home study courses are permitted for the HIV/AIDS requirement, provided they comply with the entirety of the subsection.

The hours count toward the biennial total.

Safe and effective prescribing of controlled substances — Rule 64B5-12.013(5)

"As part of every biennial licensure renewal or for reactivation of a dental license, all licensed dentists shall complete a board-approved, two-hour continuing education course on the safe and effective prescribing of controlled substances."

Three points follow:

1. The requirement reaches all licensed dentists. It is not limited to dentists who hold a DEA registration or who actually prescribe. Section 466.0135(1) writes the same two-hour minimum directly into the statutory 30-hour total.
2. Courses previously approved under s. 456.0301, F.S., are deemed approved for this requirement.
3. A two-hour prescribing course approved by the Board of Medicine under Rule 64B8-13.008, F.A.C., also satisfies it.

The hours count toward the biennial total.

Approved providers — Rules 64B5-12.017 and 64B5-12.0175

Rule 64B5-12.017 governs application for provider status and Rule 64B5-12.0175 sets the standards for approved providers. Rule 64B5-12.014 establishes the Committee on Continuing Professional Education, and Rule 64B5-12.0185 sets the standards for Board approval of pro bono programs. A licensee's practical obligation is narrower: verify before enrolling that the course is offered by a Board-approved provider or by one of the bodies named in Rule 64B5-12.013(6)(b), because credit is refused after the fact if it is not.

Documentation

Sections 466.0135(3) and 466.014, F.S., both place the record-keeping duty on the licensee: the dentist or hygienist "shall retain in her or his records any receipts, vouchers, or certificates necessary to document completion" of the continuing education. Compliance is mandatory for issuance of the renewal certificate, and a false statement of compliance at renewal is itself a disciplinary matter under s. 466.028(1)(a), F.S., as obtaining or attempting to obtain a licence by fraudulent misrepresentation.