Train the Trainer Part 5: Analytics - US PT/PTA CEU Guide

Embodia has applied to become an Approved CEU Provider in 42 states in the US. This means that Embodia will be able to approve your course(s) for CEUs in those states. There are certain requirements for a course to be CEU-approved; they are outlined below. 

Why CEUs matter for PTs

Licensed physical therapists and physical therapist assistants (PTAs) in the U.S. are required by most state licensing boards to complete continuing education (CE) as a condition for license renewal. These CE hours (often referred to as CEUs) ensure that PTs stay current with:

• Clinical skills
• Evidence-based practices
• Ethics and legal updates
• Advances in patient care

Who accredits CEU providers for physical therapy?

There is no single national accrediting body that regulates CEUs for PTs across all states, but the main gatekeepers are:

1. State Physical Therapy Licensing Boards. Each state has its own Board of Physical Therapy that determines:
   • How many CEUs are required
   • Which types of education are accepted
   • Whether CEU providers need to be pre-approved
     
     
2. APTA & Its Subdivisions. The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) does not directly accredit CEU providers, but:
   • Many state chapters of APTA (e.g., APTA California, APTA Texas) review and approve continuing education courses.
   • APTA also recognizes high-quality courses and providers through its credentialed clinical instructor programs.
     
     

What does "Approved Provider" mean?

An Approved CEU Provider is an entity that has been approved by a recognized accrediting body to offer CEUs that are accepted by professional licensing boards, associations, or employers.

This means the provider has met standards related to:

• Course quality
• Instructor qualifications
• Record keeping
• Assessment methods
• Instructional design

What is the cost of having your course approved for CEUs on Embodia?

There is no direct cost to you, the Embodia Instructor, to have your course approved for CEUs on Embodia. A nominal annual fee of CAD $400 will be added to the content creation fund on the backend of your course to cover the cost of CEU approval for your course (Embodia uses Redefine Health for CEU approval. Here's Redefine's pricing guide). This fee is paid back by sales of your course. Once it is paid off, we return to our usual revenue share.

This fee helps Embodia cover the cost of submitting and maintaining course requirements for each approved state. Embodia can offer a low, nominal fee to its instructors since Embodia is building a system and process for CEU course approvals. This includes tools on the backend of courses to help both Embodia and instructors manage and track their courses. 

If you were to submit your course for CEUs in the same states that Embodia has approved provider status, the fee totals USD $1005. Additionally, some states do not allow for individual CEU course applications and required approved provider status.

What is required to have my course(s) CEU approved?

The first step is to request CEU approval from Embodia. To do so, please email us at support@embodiaapp.com and indicate which course(s) you would like to have approved. If you have multiple courses, be sure to specify which ones—or let us know if you'd like all of them reviewed for CEUs.

Once we’ve confirmed that your course(s) are eligible for CEU approval, the following requirements must be met:

• CV/Resume: Upload a copy of  your CV/resume on Embodia under Education > My courses > Instructors
  
  
• Complete this Google form (this form asks for the following)
  • Financial Disclosures:  Please indicate if you mention any products/services during your course. If you have any vested interest (financial or otherwise), it is REQUIRED that you mention this to your course participants in pre-registration promotional materials (registration webpage, etc.) and at the beginning of your course. It is not permitted to sell products or services during CE courses.
  • Post-professional learning level of your course: Beginner/Basic, Intermediate, Advanced
  • Statement of Relevance to Professional Practice: 1-2 sentences about how your course is relevant to PT
  • Differential Diagnosis content: This course contains ____ hours of differential diagnosis content. (Your best estimation of how much of this content includes education related to determining a differential diagnosis)
    
    
• Course Description:  A brief paragraph professionally describing the course. Avoid promotional verbiage. The following details should be included:
  • How many hours (Embodia will calculate this for you)
  • Target population
  • Your topic
  • General takeaways from the course
    
    
• Learning Objectives: Are the learning objectives clear, appropriate, measurable & written in a manner consistent with Bloom’s Taxonomy? 
  • Utilize Bloom’s Taxonomy format to create the BEST objectives. Most of our courses will fall under the “Remember, & Understand” levels. Remember that your entire course and the order of your slides should start with clearly stated objectives. Watch this video for additional information and let us know if you need any further direction: https://youtu.be/OOy3m02uEaE  
    
    
• References:
  • Is there a complete reference list? Is it written a way where you can reproduce the references? There is no specific required format
  • Are at least 5 of the references published within the last 5 years? If not, is there a reasonable explanation for this? Ie. well-established topics considered to be seminal in the practice area; anatomy review courses, etc.
    
    
• Competency Demonstration: At the conclusion of the course, participants must demonstrate a minimum of 80% proficiency in an exam. The number of questions in the exam is at your discretion, and the participant can have unlimited attempts at passing the exam. Please see the section below, 'How are the number of CEUs calculated', to understand how the exam impacts the number of CEUs provided for your course.
  
  
• Course Evaluation: At the conclusion of the course, participants must complete a course evaluation. Embodia will provide the course evaluation based on the required template.
  
  
• Course Certificate: There are certain requirements for the course certificate. Some states have different requirements. Embodia will manage this for you. Course participants will need to add their CEU jurisdiction on their profile for their course certificate to be compliant with their state board.

If I host my course on another platform, does the CEU approval extend to that platform?

No, your CEU status is exclusive to the Embodia platform. If you would like to be approved for CEUs for your course(s) on other platforms, you will need to apply for CEUs yourself.

Which states does Embodia have Approved Provider status in?

The states that Embodia has approved provider status are:

• AL – Alabama
• AK – Alaska
• AR – Arkansas
• CA - California
• CO – Colorado
• CT – Connecticut
• DE – Delaware
• GA – Georgia
• HI – Hawaii
• ID – Idaho
• IN – Indiana
• IA – Iowa
• KS – Kansas
• KY – Kentucky
• ME – Maine
• MA – Massachusetts
• MI – Michigan
• MO – Missouri
• MT – Montana
• NE – Nebraska
• NH – New Hampshire
• NC – North Carolina
• ND – North Dakota
• OR – Oregon
• PA – Pennsylvania
• RI – Rhode Island
• SC – South Carolina
• SD – South Dakota
• TN – Tennessee
• UT – Utah
• VT – Vermont
• VA – Virginia
• VI – U.S. Virgin Islands (Note: this is a U.S. territory, not a state)
• WA – Washington
• WI – Wisconsin
• WY – Wyoming

The following are the states that we have pending applications to become an approved provider:

• Arizona
• Florida
• Illinois
• Mississippi
• New Mexico
• Oklahoma 

The following are the states we have not applied to become an approved provider in:

• Texas
• Nevada
• Louisiana
• Minnesota
• Ohio
• West Virginia
• New Jersey
• New York

However, individuals in these states can submit course information to their state board and receive CEUs. There may be fees associated with this submission that the individual is responsible for paying. 

What if my course has already been approved for CEUs?

For courses that have already been approved for CEUs, we can simply keep track of the renewal date and add them to Embodia's list once the renewal date comes up.

How are the number of CEUs calculated?

Embodia will calculate the number of CEUs for your course(s). There are 5 components to calculating the number of CEUs a course is approved for: 

1. Lecture, Seminar, Video, Lab: 60 mins = 1 contact hour
2. Reading: Use this Calculator: http://touchcalc.com/calculators/mergener
3. Writing: Use This Calculator: https://cte.rice.edu/workload. Report Estimated Writing Rate.
4. Case Review: Variable (use your best discretion on how long it would take a student to work through)
5. Quizzes/Assessments: 1 minute per standard multiple-choice, true/false question