To amend 18VAC150-20-170 to allow practice management courses to be approved for continuing education credit.

The petition will be published on June 25, 2018 in the Register of Regulations and also posted on the Virginia Regulatory Townhall at www.townhall.virginia.gov to receive public comment ending July 20, 2018.

Following receipt of all comments on the petition to amend regulations, the Board will decide whether to make any changes to the regulatory language. This matter will be on the Board’s agenda for its first meeting after the comment period, which is scheduled for July 23, 2018.

The petition and the comments on the petition were considered by the Board at its meeting today, November 6, 2018. Members of the Board voted to deny the petition for a variety of reasons. First, the petitioner had requested that the Board interpret its current regulations through a guidance document to allow hours of practice management to meet requirements for continuing education. Such an interpretation is beyond the scope of a guidance document, so the recognition of courses in practice management would necessitate an amendment to rule.

Second, the Board was concerned that hours of practice management would dilute the purpose of continuing education, which is to ensure that licensees remain minimally competent to practice veterinary medicine. While practice management (and related) courses may be extremely valuable in effectively operating a veterinary establishment and managing employees, they are not essential to the mission of the Board to protect patient health and safety. The Board considered the advisability of increasing the hourly requirement and then recognizing practice management for the number of additional hours, but that would increase the burden on all licensees.