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LOUISIANA BOARD OF VETERINARY MEDICINE Report to Licensees Vol. 10, No. 3 APRIL 2001 Adrienne A. Aycock, DVM, President ° George E. Gowan, DVM, Vice-President ° Robert M. Lofton, DVM, Secretary/Treasurer ° J. Edwin Davis, DVM, Member ° Glenn R. Walther, DVM, Member |
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Presently held licenses expire September 30, 2001. License renewal will be held from July 1, 2001 to September 30, 2001 for the 2002 renewal year (October 1, 2001 through September 30, 2002). The board office will mail license renewal information packets the last week of June 2001. If your mailing address has changed since the last renewal, please contact the board office via telephone, mail, fax or email with address changes. |
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The continuing education period for year 2002 renewal is in progress now. Continuing education for the 2002 renewal must be taken between July 1, 2000 and June 30, 2001. Continuing education taken prior to July 1, 2000 is not acceptable. Those individuals who received licensure between May 1, 2000 and April 30, 2001 must perform and provide acceptable proof of sixteen hours of approved continuing education and renew their licenses during the renewal period for 2002.
Recently, the Board reviewed its current approved policy for continuing education and Board promulgated rules in Chapter 4 relative to continuing education. No provision is made in the Board's rules for the acceptance of verification of a licensed (active or inactive status) veterinarian's employment at a veterinary school in lieu of performance of the required sixteen hours of continuing education annually.
A minimum of sixteen (16) actual hours is required as a pre-requisite for licensure renewal. All hours should be obtained in the twelve months (July 1 to June 30) immediately preceding the renewal period, which runs from July1 to September 30 (license expiration date) annually. A maximum of four (4) hours annually may be obtained in Board pre-approved videotape, on-line, self-test, and/or self-help instruction programs with third party verification/grading. A maximum of four (4) hours annually may be taken in practice management courses.
Proof of attendance for continuing education programs must be submitted with the annual renewal form and renewal fee payment. Proof of attendance should include the name of the course program and sponsor organization, date(s) of program/attendance, actual hours attended and the specific subject sessions attended by the licensee. For large, multi-session and/or multi-day programs a record/log of personal participation listing the individual sessions and hours attended must be submitted with the standard certificate of attendance presented by the sponsor organization. A marked copy of the program's agenda/itinerary with session times can be submitted with the certificate of attendance in lieu of a written record/log. If the record/log of personal participation/attendance is required and not submitted, the renewal is considered incomplete and will be returned to the licensee for completion by providing the required documentation for acceptance of continuing education.
Please remember that board office personnel must be able to verify the individual session topics attended and personally count a minimum of sixteen hours of continuing education attended to accept continuing education for renewal. |
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Continuing education programs attended after the June 30 continuing education deadline must include the $25 late CE fee. If the fee is not included, the renewal is considered incomplete and returned to the licensee for completion by payment of the late CE fee. If the completed renewal is not received back in the board office postmarked by the renewal deadline of September 30 (license expiration date), the $125 late renewal fee must be included. Again, if the late renewal fee is due and not included, the renewal is considered incomplete and again returned to the licensee for completion by payment of the late renewal fee. After September 30, the license is considered expired and would be reported as such until all items are submitted to complete the renewal. A complete renewal packet must consist of: 1) a complete, signed renewal form - all information on the renewal form should be corrected if needed and questions must be answered; 2) full payment of renewal fees and all applicable late fees (see above paragraph); and 3) acceptable documentation of compliance with the continuing education requirement (see above section). Please make sure to submit your license renewal timely during the 90 day renewal period so that any problems with the renewal can be corrected before the September 30 renewal deadline to avoid payment of the late renewal fee and/or expiration of your license. |
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FOR YOUR INFORMATION --- To all Louisiana Licensed Veterinarians who hold a Louisiana Controlled Dangerous Substance License through the Department of Health and Hospitals-CDS Program, the DHH-CDS has issued the following statement regarding renewal of your CDS license. If you have any questions regarding this article, please contact the DHH-CDS at (225) 342-9404.
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[Please call or write the Board office for a copy of any Notice of Intents or Rules described below.]
Preceptorship
Program
Consent Forms The Board intends to issue a Notice of Intent in April 2001, regarding amendments to Rule 1039 relating to the requirement for the use of written consent forms and establishment of minimum standards for the consent forms relative to general anesthesia and euthanasia and the requirement for veterinarians to consult personally with clients prior to any euthanasia procedures. These rule amendments are anticipated to take effect August 2001. Sample forms will be developed and provided by the Board in an upcoming issue upon publication of the final rule. |
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from the Real Lives of Veterinarians and Other Interested Persons
What is a veterinarian's responsibility to report another veterinarian to the Board for impermissible acts or omissions; do any requirements exist to report allegations of wrongdoing committed by a licensed veterinarian? Board promulgated Rule 1007 provides that "veterinarians shall expose, without fear or favor, before the proper Tribunal or the Louisiana Board of Veterinary Medicine, corrupt or dishonest conduct in the profession." Board Rule 1029 further states "a licensed veterinarian shall not promote, aid, or abet the practice of veterinary medicine by an unlicensed person, or any illegal or unethical act on the part of any veterinarian." Board Rule 1001 provides that the Rules of Professional Conduct shall include the AVMA's Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics. Principle II addresses Professional Behavior and states that veterinarians should report illegal practices and activities to the proper authorities. Board Rule 1401 provides that the Board may deny, revoke, suspend or otherwise discipline a licensed veterinarian, as well as assess a fine per incident upon findings of violations of the Practice Act, Board Rules, and/or the Code of Ethics. Board Rule 1415 provides that the Board may sanction a licensed veterinarian for his refusal to respond to or cooperate with the Board regarding investigations. Therefore in view of the above, a veterinarian is legally and ethically required to report to the Board alleged violations of the Veterinary Practice Act, Board's Rules, and/or Codes of Ethics committed by another veterinarian licensed by the Board or an unlicensed person. A non-reporting veterinarian could be subject to sanctions for failure to report such acts or omissions after proper notice and a public hearing. A license to practice veterinary
medicine is a privilege. |
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