Approved Provider - An entity that has been approved by the Board to provide continuing competence activities for licensees as provided in the rules.

Board - The North Carolina Board of Physical Therapy Examiners.

Clinical Practice - Physical therapy consultation or patient care or client management or the supervision thereof.

Computer Based Testing or CBT - The Federation approved National Physical Therapist and Physical Therapist Assistant Examinations administered by a testing agency approved by the Federation.

Contact Hour - At least fifty (50) consecutive minutes of engagement in a continuing competence activity. Two (2) segments of at least twenty-five (25) consecutive minutes each is equivalent to one contact hour. Breaks and meals are not included in contact hours.

Continuing Competence - The licensee's ongoing activities to augment knowledge, skills, behaviors, and abilities related to the practice of physical therapy.

Continuing Education - Courses of study designed to provide learning experiences for physical therapy licensees.

Credentials - The materials related to educational background and professional experience that an applicant for licensure must present to the Board.

Documentation - Evidence of completion of continuing competence activities.

Educational Programs - Physical therapy and physical therapist assistant educational programs accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE).

Endorsement - Granting a license in this State based upon the applicant possessing an active license in another State.

Federation - Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy.

Graduated or Graduation - The completion of all requirements, including clinical experience, from an accredited program for PTs or PTAs. If an educational program certifies that the degree is assured and will be conferred at a later date, an applicant will be considered to have been graduated.

Inappropriate Touching - The unwelcome or unwanted laying of hands by a licensee for a purpose inconsistent with a physical therapy evaluation or treatment of a patient.

Jurisprudence Exercise - An online set of questions concerning the Physical Therapy Practice Act, Board rules and Position Statements posted on the Board's website at http://www.ncptboard.org.

Licensee - A physical therapist or physical therapist assistant licensed in North Carolina.

Note - The physical therapy progress note that documents each patient visit.

On-Site Supervision - The supervising licensee is present in the department or facility where services are provided, is immediately available to the person being supervised and maintains continued involvement in aspects of treatment sessions in which students completing clinical requirements or physical therapy aides are involved in components of care.

Patient - Any recipient of physical therapy services and includes the term "client".

Peer-Reviewed - Judged by an independent panel of experts having special knowledge or skills in a particular field of study.

Physical Therapist - Any person who practices physical therapy in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Physical Therapist Assistant - Any person who assists in the practice of physical therapy in accordance with the provisions of this Article, and who works under the supervision of a PT by performing such patient-related activities assigned by a PT which are commensurate with the PTA’s education and training, but an assistant's work shall not include the interpretation and implementation of referrals from licensed medical doctors or dentists, the performance of evaluations, or the determination or major modification of treatment programs.

Physical Therapy - The evaluation or treatment of any person by the use of physical, chemical, or other properties of heat, light, water, electricity, sound, massage, or therapeutic exercise, or other rehabilitative procedures, with or without assistive devices, for the purposes of preventing, correcting, or alleviating a physical or mental disability. Physical therapy includes the performance of specialized tests of neuromuscular function, administration of specialized therapeutic procedures, interpretation and implementation of referrals from licensed medical doctors or dentists, and establishment and modification of physical therapy programs for patients. Evaluation and treatment of patients may involve physical measures, methods, or procedures as are found commensurate with physical therapy education and training and generally or specifically authorized by regulations of the Board. Physical therapy education and training shall include study of the skeletal manifestations of systemic disease.

Physical Therapy Aide - Any non-licensed person who aids in the practice of physical therapy in accordance with the provisions of this Article, and who at all times acts under the orders, direction, and on-site supervision of a licensed PT or PTA. An aide may perform physical therapy related activities which are assigned and are commensurate with an aide's training and abilities, but an aide's work shall not include the interpretation and implementation of referrals from licensed medical doctors or dentists, the performance of evaluations, the determination and modification of treatment programs, or any independent performance of any physical therapy procedures.

PT Exam - A Federation approved licensing examination for physical therapists.

PTA Exam - A Federation approved licensing examination for physical therapist assistants.

Point - A unit of continuing competence.

Registered - Enrollment in a continuing competence activity.

Reporting Period - A twenty-five (25) month period commencing on January 1 during which the licensee must complete all continuing competence requirements. Points earned by a licensee may be counted toward completion during one reporting period only.

Reference

N.C. Gen. Stats. § 90-270.90

21 NCAC 48A .0105

21 NCAC 48G .0105