You are in full swing to renew your license now! When you renew your license online before your February 28th renewal date, the Florida Department of Health will review your records in CE Broker. It will be required that all of your requirements be met and your hours are posted in order to renew successfully. So don’t wait until the last minute– complete and report your hours as you go so you don’t fall behind!
You can learn more about your renewal process at www.AreYouRenewalReady.com.
We want to give you a quick visual of all of your CE requirements so you don’t have any surprises when renewing your license. The following chart contains all of the 30 total hours required for Florida Optometrists.
Your Hours– Broken Down:
Board-Approved Providers:
- All Optometry courses must be Board approved. Only live courses are approved for the Optometry profession. All courses that are listed in CEBroker are approved and will count toward your license requirements.
Other methods of receiving credit:
- 20 General hours – For completion of the Florida Optometry Oral Drug Review Course & Examination.
- As part of the 30-clock hours, licensed practitioners shall be required to obtain two hours in the area of Florida jurisprudence. A licensed practitioner may earn two hours in Florida jurisprudence by attending a meeting of the Board for no less than four (4) continuous hours. Out-of-state licensed practitioners who do not practice in Florida at any time during the biennium shall be permitted to satisfy the requirement of two hours in Florida jurisprudence by certifying that they have obtained and read a copy of the current provisions of Chapters 456 and 463, F.S., and Rule Chapter 64B13, F.A.C.
- An instructor of a course may credit the hours taught towards completion of the instructor’s required continuing education only once, regardless of the number of times the course is taught. However, the instructor of a course may not credit the hours taught towards completion of the “transcript quality” portion of the continuing education requirement. Continuing education hours must be obtained during the biennium preceding license renewal.
- 381.00593, Florida Statutes – “Public School Volunteer Health Care Practitioner Act.”
Helpful Information to keep in mind:
- COPE-approved courses are Board approved upon submission and review into CE Broker.
- CPR courses given by the American Heart Association or the American Red Cross can count for 2 hours.
- The phrase “transcript quality” refers to coursework in ocular and systemic pharmacology and diagnosing, treating, and managing ocular and systemic conditions and diseases.
Account Options:
If you have a Professional or Concierge Account with CE Broker, you can see whether you have met the requirements listed above in your CE Compliance Transcript. If something is required for completion of that biennium, you will see it listed as required. Once you have completed those hours, you will see that they are fulfilled. If you have not completed those hours, you will see how many hours are still required for that section.
What If This Is My First Renewal?
According to the Florida Board of Optometry:
“Optometrists initially licensed within the biennium are exempt from the continuing education (CE) requirements for renewal with the exception of one (1) hour of HIV/AIDS. Any live classroom course approved by any MQA Board is acceptable.”
CE Broker iPhone and Android Apps- Continuing Education Simplified.
Our free CE Broker iPhone or Android app, available in the iTunes Store and in Google Play, is the best way to manage your CE from anywhere, anytime. You can create a FREE Basic Account and even upgrade to a Professional or Concierge account with your iTunes/Google Play account if you so desire. That means no credit card is required since your account on file is automatically charged. Once you download the app you need, you can see your Course History, Report CE, use the Course Search Tool and even view your CE Compliance Transcript. Visit the iTunes or Google Play store and download your app for free today!
What if I Have Questions?
We are dedicated to helping you successfully renew your license, so we have plenty of tools for you to utilize if you have any questions! We added a special Optometry-FAQ section just for Optometry in our Support pages which include all of the most commonly asked questions from other licensees in your profession. You can watch our Course Search video by clicking on the picture below to find a specific course to fulfill any unmet requirements.
Watch our Course Search Video here to walk you through how to find the course you need:
