Continuing Education Requirements for Physical Therapists in Georgia

Physical therapists help patients obtain maximum movement and function when injury, disease or other factors affect their ability to move normally. A profession of this nature requires licensure to ensure the therapist has received the necessary education and training to perform their job competently. In Georgia, the State Board of Physical Therapy oversees licensing. It requires physical therapists to undergo a certain amount of continuing education to maintain their license. This requirement ensures therapists stay up-to-date with emerging treatments and other relevant information.

Required Hours

A physical therapist must complete at least 30 hours of experience during each licensure period. Licenses are good for two years, and expire on December 31 every odd-numbered year. Therapists who receive their initial license out of sync with this schedule -- for example, those who receive it in an even-numbered year -- might or might not have to complete these requirements for their first renewal period, depending on when they received the license. These therapists should check with the board.

The content must be designed to increase the therapist's present skill level, and cannot cover material the therapist already knows or demonstrates competency in. The board reserves the right to audit any content the therapist submits. If a therapist is unsure whether an activity qualifies as applicable continuing education, she should contact the board.

The board divides acceptable activities into two classes: class one and class two. Class one content includes any program approved and/or provided by professional associations including (but not limited to) the Physical Therapy Association of Georgia, the American Academy of Physical Therapy, the American Occupational Therapy Association, the American Association of Nurses and the Federation of the State Boards of Physical Therapy. Other acceptable class one credit includes authoring a physical therapy paper, teaching a physical therapy class, or providing a peer review when it serves as an adjunct to employment, not as the primary employment or work towards a specialization. A therapist can obtain all the required hours from class one activities.

Class two activities include, but are not limited to, self-instruction from professional literature (up to a maximum of five hours) and attending programs given by approved associations that do not qualify for class one activities. The board permits a maximum of 10 hours from class two activities.