Continuing Education for Professionals

When you hire a professional, whether it be a doctor, a lawyer or an accountant, you probably inquire and make note of where that professional was educated. However, it is also important to inquire about that professional’s involvement in continuing education. Many people place a lot of importance on a professional’s education as an indication of how good that professional is at practicing his or her profession.

However, continuing education is a part of a professional’s education that many of us miss when we are considering a professional’s formal education. It is important for all professionals to stay up to date on the latest research, trends and ideas in their field. The best way to do that is to regularly participate in continuing education programs. Some professions mandate that their members participate in certain amounts of professional development activities in order to maintain their licensure or certification. If you are going to hire, employ or work with a professional it is a good idea to ask about how often they participate in continuing education activities.

Types of Continuing Education

• University continuing education: college is probably the type of continuing education that we most often think of for professionals. Most, if not all, professionals already have a college degree. However, many decide to go back for a master’s or doctorate or related degree to further their knowledge and career.

• Distance or Online Education Opportunities: more and more professionals are taking advantage of online continuing education opportunities. These types of distance education courses are easy to fit in during a busy work day because they can be completed from the office. No time or money is wasted in traveling to a course site and many professionals like being in their own office in case an office emergency arises.

• Seminars: seminars may be offered by local colleges or professional groups. Often they are singular events that allow people to quickly gain the knowledge that they need to effectively do their jobs and to earn continuing education credits.

• Classes: like seminars, classes are also offered by local colleges and professional groups. However, they usually meet more than once and provide more in depth coverage of the subject area.

Who is Required To Fulfill Continuing Education Requirements

The time and content requirements for continuing education vary among professions and among state licensing agencies. However, in most, if not all, of the states the following types of professionals are required to complete some kind of continuing education requirement:

• Continuing education for lawyers: lawyers are licensed by state boards of bar overseers. This board sets the continuing education requirements that lawyers must follow in order to stay admitted to the bar and practice law in that jurisdiction.

• Continuing education for accountants: like lawyers, accountants are licensed by the state. The state agency responsible for the licensure sets the continuing education requirements. Some states require that accountants’ continuing education work include ethics trainings.

• Continuing education for nurses: registered nurses, licensed nurse practitioners, critical care nurses, EMTs, paramedics and others are required to complete continuing education requirements.

• Medical continuing education: doctors and their patients benefits from regular continuing education requirements. It is perhaps more important for doctors than for any other professionals to stay current on the latest technology, trends and research in their field. Therefore, continuing education is required for physicians.

• Pharmacy continuing education: pharmacists are required to participate in continuing education for much the same reasons as other medical professionals. The life of their customers depends on it.

• Other professionals: each state licensing or certification agency makes its own rules regarding continuing education requirements. For example, in addition to the professionals described above, many states require that other professionals such as teachers and truck drivers participate in mandatory continuing education.

The states set the minimum requirements for professional continuing education. However, professionals are always allowed and often encouraged to exceed the minimum requirements. When professionals seek challenging and relevant continuing education opportunities and make the most of those opportunities rather than sitting through boring lectures in order to get confirmation of attendance, everyone benefits.

Continuing education serves an important role in keeping professionals who have graduated from school informed of current developments in their field and should be encouraged by those professionals, the state agencies that regulate them and the people that employ them.

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