Michigan Alliance of School Physical and Occupational Therapists

MiOTA UPDATE

October 23, 2010

The Licensure Rules should be voted upon by the Michigan Board of Occupational Therapists in November 2010.  The number of PDUs required to maintain your license is not part of that package and will be determined in 2011.  All therapists will be required to take a short test regarding the OT laws in Michigan when they renew their license.

All licenses are due to be renewed by May 31^st.  All licenses are renewed every two years.  If you do not receive a renewal notice via mail you are still required to do so or lose your license.  There is a 30 day grace period.  You may go to Michigan.gov and find the page for renewing licenses and do so. 

Other things included in the rule: 

• OTA supervision – no more than 3 OTAs to be supervised by one OT at any given time

1. General supervision – most be available via electronic means immediately, must meet monthly with OTAs, OT perform part of evaluation
2. Specific Supervision – OT must be within eyesight during treatments, must meet monthly with OTAs, may perform part of evaluation, OT must speak with patient during treatment session

• You may not use OT, OTR, OTL, Occupational Therapist, COTA, OTA, etc without being licensed in the State of Michigan

Submitted by Donna Case

MPTA UPDATE

October 23, 2010

Hello fellow school-based physical therapy providers;

As your MPTA liaison with MASPOT I would like to take this opportunity to update you on current events that will impact your practice

• For PTA’s please check www.mpta.com or www.michigan.gov for up to the minute updates on licensure information.  It is imperative for you to make sure your license status is in compliance with the new guidelines. The limited PTA license will no longer be offered after 12/31/10.  In order to practice as a PTA in MI after 1/11/11, you must hold either a limited or full PTA license.  The limited license is valid until 12/31/11 or until the full license is obtained.  Please attend to these deadlines.  You will want to be prepared ahead of time; avoid last minute scrambling.
• Direct Consumer Access continues to be an active initiative for the MPTA and a focal point for the near future. Visit www.mpta.com for information on how you can assist in this legislative process. Please pay particular attention to links to patient letter templates to send to legislatures in support of Consumer Access efforts. Many of our parents rely on us as school-based therapists to alert them to ways to advocate for their children.  This is a great grassroots effort to ensure their continued access to physical therapy services and the essential service we provide.

1. Make note that the letters are only templates and can be customized to fit individual needs.
2. Letters should be sent to the MPTA office who will then forward them on.
3. It may be helpful to note that in a school-based setting our prescriptions are written for one year which saves the families the burden of travel, expense and hardship to review with a primary care physician as often as our counterparts within the medical model. And that as providers with sometimes daily interactions with families we are often the referral source that identifies a need for medical interventions, acts on it and saves the patient from further complications due to quick recognition/identification of a new medical event. We have been providing Differential Diagnosis forever and my hats go off to you for performing so well in this arena.
4. If you have questions regarding Direct Consumer Access you may contact me or visit www.mpta.com for more information.

• New on the horizon is Professional Development Requirements for license renewals, most likely beginning in the 2012, or perhaps the 2013 licensure cycle.

1. Keep track of your continuing education credits both electronically and with paper back-up. 
2. Start thinking about setting professional development goals and making plans to meet those goals within the two-year renewal period.
3. It sounds like a formalized plan will need to be developed and tracked similar to what the OT’s are currently doing. Begin to think of developing a portfolio that defines goals and specifies a plan to reach those goals. Goals should be realistic and consist of 5-7 strategic obtainable goals.
4. PDR numbers have not yet been established by the State of Michigan and it looks like multiple avenues will be available to meet the requirements.
5. Keep in mind that only continuing education courses that are offered from accredited programs (from MPTA or other approved agencies) will be accepted after the State of Michigan implements professional development requirements.    Before investing in continuing education you should check the MPTA website for verification that the course you plan on attending will be counted.
6. Remember that membership has value; MPTA offers a wide variety of webinars and courses at affordable rates to assist you with meeting the new licensure professional development requirements.

 Please feel free to contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with questions regarding MPTA news or with your questions. Together we can make a difference, together we can get through budget difficulties and cuts, and together; we can make the world a better place for our most needy of populations. We must adopt an advocacy role with both arms; we must unite and take action to protect what they so desperately need; care and service. We can speak and unite for them. Your commitment is appreciated everyday

Sincerely,

Elizabeth O’Neil PT, DPT, ATP

MASPOT MPTA Liaison