Our Position Statement
One purpose of the AzSRC is to provide Continuing Respiratory Care Education to the Respiratory Therapist. The criteria for approving programs for continuing education (CE) are established by the AzSRC, AARC and reflect the continuing education requirements of the Arizona State Board of Respiratory Care Examiners (BOE).
How do i apply?
The Arizona Society for Respiratory Care (AzSRC) is one of several organizations that have been accepted by the Arizona State Board of Respiratory Care Examiners (BOE) to approve valid continuing education (CEs) for Arizona licensure. If a continuing education certificate has been issued by the AzSRC, it will be recognized by the Board of Examiners if it falls within the BOE guidelines. The AzSRC is not responsible for the maintaining of individual licenses. For specific licensing questions, please contact the Board of Examiners at 602-542-5995.
What is a CE?
Continuing Education, or CE, is defined as the variety of learning experiences meant to enhance the knowledge of the Respiratory Therapist, enabling them to provide safe and effective respiratory care to patients.
Continuing education may also be used to:
- Define learning experiences related to the education and management of Respiratory Therapists and Respiratory Care services.
- Promote health and disease management.
- Provide patient safety.
- Discuss health care cost containment.
- Provide knowledge of healthcare law and ethics.
- Provide knowledge of emergency preparedness.
The Approval Process
The process has four steps. Complete them in order — a roster cannot be processed until the program it belongs to has been approved.
1. Purchase your CE application credits for the year by clicking the “CE Credit Purchase” link at the top of this page and filling out the electronic form. One credit covers one program date. A single application is $65; volume pricing is shown on the form. Payment can be by credit card (preferred), check, or money order made out to “AzSRC” and mailed to 1959 S. Power Rd., Suite 103-292, Mesa, AZ 85206. Payment must be received before a program can be approved.
Note: Any unused fees paid to the AzSRC via the Invoice, will expire annually on December 31 and will not be transferable in to the next year.
2. Submit a CE Credits Application for each program by clicking the “CE Credits Application” link at the top of this page. Have the following ready: whether you are applying as an Institution or an Individual; the presentation title, presenter name and qualifications; the date(s) and length of each presentation, with beginning and ending times; the total CEs requested and how many of those are ethics CEs; the method of presentation; at least three program objectives; an agenda with a time breakdown if you are requesting more than three (3) CEs; and your contact and billing details, plus your AARC number if you are a member.
Submit a separate application for each program date. Applications may be submitted any time before the program and no later than forty-five (45) days after it. Allow thirty (30) days for the committee to complete its review. You will be emailed when a decision is made; if the program is denied, the CE Committee will return the application with an explanation.
3. Submit your attendee roster after the training by clicking the “Submit Training Roster” link at the top of this page, once the approved program has been presented. Prepare your roster first as a CSV file that lists each attendee’s full name and email address exactly as they should appear on their certificate, and nothing else; name the file after the presentation. The form will ask you to confirm that the program was approved, then for your institution and contact details, the presentation title and date(s), and the roster upload. If your program has not been approved yet, the form will direct you back to Step 2.
4. Learners receive their evaluation and certificate automatically. Once a valid roster is received for an approved program, every learner on that roster is emailed a link to the course evaluation. When a learner completes the evaluation, their certificate is generated and emailed to them automatically — you do not need to print, sign, or distribute anything. Only the attendees listed on the roster will receive certificates, so please check the roster carefully before uploading it.
Per the Arizona State Board of Respiratory Care Examiners, all CE certificates and documentation must be kept for a period of five (5) years. (Refer to www.rb.az.gov)
CE Approval Criteria and Additional Information
1. ACLS, PALS, and NRP are no longer required to be approved by the AzSRC for Board of Examiners license renewal. Five (5) will be granted per course by the Board of Examiners. (See rb.az.gov) Note: Instructor courses for ACLS, PALS and NRP are NOT eligible for CEs.
2. All topics must meet the scope of practice as defined by Respiratory Care Practice ARS R 4-44-210. Even though a topic may be pertinent to an individual practitioner, if it is in not in our scope of practice, it will not be approved. (Example, chemistry does not fall under our scope of practice except by a very indirect connection. Therefore, it will not be approved) Non-clinical topics can be approved if they fall directly under the non clinical classification ARS R-4-944-121.
3. All approved CE programs are issued an official AzSRC certificate. Certificates are generated and emailed directly to each learner after they complete the course evaluation — providers no longer need to sign, photocopy, or distribute them. Only attendees listed on the roster submitted in Step 3 of the approval process will receive a certificate.
4. An attendance roster must be used for registration at the time of the program offering. All participants receiving a copy of the certificate must sign the attendance roster for actual receipt of CEs. The original attendance roster must be maintained by the provider / individual for a minimum of three (3) years to be available to the Board of Examiners (BOE) for their investigations.
5. CE’s are counted from the date of license. Any CE offering must be taken within the current licensing period to qualify for continuing education credits.
6. CE’s are approved in increments of 0.5 hours.
7. The AzSRC will approve programs related to the practice of Respiratory Therapy. The program faculty must be knowledgeable in the topic being taught demonstrated by an educational degree, professional experience in the subject matter or teaching experience in the subject matter. Objectives must be specific and consistent with the program expected outcomes. The AzSRC will not approve college completed courses.
8. Approval will be issued when the application is legible and complete. An agenda/time breakdown must be present with the application if requesting more than three (3) CEs. No CE credit will be given for course introductions, breaks, testing or evaluations.
9. Each program date approved will count as an individual application per the cost structure. Any subsequent dates of a program will count as another application per the cost structure. A program counts as one application regardless of length. (Example: If a program is one (1) hour in length, it will count as one application. If a program is two days in length, it will count as one application.)
10. Institutions, after paying the fee, can apply for CE credit for programs offered/sponsored by their own facility. Individuals can apply for CEs, after paying the fee and completing the CE application. All costs are set by the AzSRC Board of Directors.
11. CEs can be applied for any time in advance by an Institution however, applications received more than forty five (45) days following a program will not be considered for approval. Individuals applying for CEs must submit their application after attending a program with proof of completion of that program.
12. The AzSRC does not approve any successfully completed NBRC Examinations or completed college courses for CEs. (Refer to www.rb.az.gov for acceptance of NBRC Examinations)
13. Teaching modalities must be interactive and facilitated. All videos scheduled for CE approval must be facilitated to provide for discussion of material presented. Proof of facilitation is the responsibility of, and must be provided by, the institution applying for approval.
14. The AzSRC will consider online, web-based programs up to a total of 1.0 CE per program. The individual / facility will complete the AzSRC application, pay the appropriate fee and submit the application to the CE committee for review. If the program meets the scope of practice requirements, then up to 1.0 CE will be approved.
15. A thirty (30) day period for approval of applications, after receipt by the continuing education committee, is needed.
Applications can be mailed, emailed:
Arizona Society for Respiratory Care
1959 S Power Rd Ste 103-292
Mesa, Arizona 85206
ceus[at]azsrc[dot]org
16. The RCP is responsible for his/her own CE’s. The Board of Examiners, Arizona Society for Respiratory Care, and the Continuing Education Committee will not be responsible for the individual practitioner who has not followed through with the personal responsibility for individual CE records.