Requires veterinarians and veterinary technicians to complete continuing education

Title of bill

An act to amend the education law, in relation to continuing education for veterinarians and veterinary technicians

Purpose

This bill will impose certain mandatory continuing education requirements on licensed veterinarians and veterinary technicians in the State of New York.

Summary of provisions

This bill would add Section 6704-a to the Education Law to impose continuing education requirements on veterinarians and Section 6711-b of said law to impose similar requirements on veterinary technicians.

Justification

In recent years, a number of licensed professions have addressed the issue of mandatory continuing education. Licensed veterinary medicine is extremely proud of its long history of broad based continuing education programs that have long been a hallmark of the profession. These programs, offered by the various state and local veterinary medical societies and their affiliates, colleges of veterinary medicine, national societies and recognized board specialties have helped ensure that the state's veterinarians maintain the highest possible levels of professional competence. This longstanding program has proven effective over the many years that it has been in existence with both the overwhelming majority of licensed practitioners availing them-selves of these opportunities and through the lack of complaints against veterinarians based upon alleged deficiencies in professional competence.

At the core of these professional development efforts has been local veterinary organizations, particularly in the state's rural areas that have served to coordinate the provision of these continuing education opportunities. These largely voluntary efforts should be encouraged in any mandatory continuing education requirement. As a result, this bill specifically recognizes their ongoing role by prohibiting the imposition on any requirement that these entities have full-time employees and deems these longstanding providers of quality educational programs as qualified to continue to offer these services.

The state's veterinarians and veterinary technicians are extremely proud of their record of accomplishments in ensuring that they remain up to date with respect to their professional competence. The enactment of this bill will help ensure that the state works in partnership with these professionals to ensure that this remains true for the years to come. It also ensures that the model that has worked for over a century will remain viable in the decades to come.

Legislative history

2007/08: S.2793-B Passed Senate; A.4975-B Higher Education 2009 S. 285-B Advanced to third reading; A. 7203-B Passed Assembly

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the first of January nest succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.