If you obtained your occupational therapy license in the state of Colorado, you will need to earn continuing education units at required intervals in order to maintain your license. To help, I’m going to walk you through the steps I take to maintain my own occupational therapy license (and easily earn CEUs).💜
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Step 1: Look up your OT/OTA license.
To begin the process, I always double-check that my license is displaying correctly. You can look up your Colorado occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant license here.
Step 2: Confirm the Colorado OT continuing education requirements.
It’s always good to double check for any updates to your 2024 licensing cycle. (One year, I completed ALL of my state of Nebraska requirements only to find out that they were waived due to COVID. 😭)
But, to get you going here is the information I found, with links to where I found it.
Here are the basic OT/OTA CEU requirements in Colorado:
Due every 2 years
How many hours are required?
- OTs/OTAs need 24 hours
Verify here: Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies
Here are the occupational therapy continuing education requirements for coursework in Colorado:
These were copied from the Colorado Continued Professional Competency Manual: OTs/OTAs, revised 11/21.
Professional Development Activities
Professional Development Activities (PDA) are learning activities undertaken to increase the licensee’s knowledge and skill, or hone existing knowledge and skill for the purpose of continuing professional competency. PDA are equivalent to clock hours. One PDA is equivalent to one clock hour (60 minutes).
- Documentation of completed activities must be retained by the licensee for at least five (5) years.
- CPC requirements do not begin until after the first renewal of an occupational therapist or an occupational therapy assistant’s initial license.
Rules for Accruing PDA:
- You must complete at least 24 PDA during each 2-year license period.
- A licensee must complete the required 24 PDA through a minimum of two PDA categories (no more than 12 PDA will be credited in any one category).
- PDA will only count for the license period during which it was completed. PDA completed in excess of the requirement will not carry over into another license period.
- PDA must develop your professional skill and be directly relevant to your competence in occupational therapy and your learning goals.
- Unless otherwise noted, PDA cannot be accrued for activities that fulfill duties for your primary role or job description.
- The State Office does not pre-approve or accredit specific educational providers or programs.
• CPC requirements apply to all licensees in Active status – regardless of current employment status or number of hours worked.
Professional Development Activities (PDA) Categories
Coursework
Coursework refers to one-on-one learning experiences, as well as other high-quality learning experiences with defined learning objectives and a method to assess the attendee’s grasp of the subject(s) presented. PDA can be accrued hour-for-hour in Coursework activities.
Criteria Required:
- Contains specific measureable learning objectives
- Developed and presented by qualified individuals and institutions/organizations
- Contains content that relates to the practice of occupational therapy and/or directly relates to specific learning goals as created by the licensee
- Contains content and instructional methods based on identified learning objectives
- Includes a course evaluation tool which assesses achievement of learning objectives (must be present for online courses)
- Provides a certificate of completion or other sufficient proof of completion which identifies the name of the participant, date, title of course, number of eligible course or contact hours
- Coursework may be provided online or in-person
Examples of Coursework include, but are not limited to:
- College or university courses completed through regionally accredited universities or programs
- Workshops, seminars, conferences, etc.
- Local, state, national or international workshops, seminars or conferences
- Formal in-service trainings and workshops
- Online courses and webinars
Documentation Required:
Verifiable evidence from the school/organization to indicate the completion of a course which includes participant’s name, title of course, date and number of contact hours. Examples of acceptable evidence include certificates of completion, transcripts, letter from provider on letterhead, etc.
This doc goes on to describe other acceptable activities. Again, I recommend you read the rules in full.
Step 3: Earn your CEU hours (discounts below)!
Ok, now that you know your requirements, it is time to start earning those CEUs! There are of course a lot of options out there, but we hope you consider checking out the courses offered by OT Potential.
Do OT Potential courses count toward the continuing education required to renew my license?
Yes! In Colorado, you can 12 CEUs at OT Potential through the coursework category—given that courses align with your learning plan. It also seems like you could integrate your use of OT Potential into your self-study hours.
Where can Colorado OT professionals get the best deals on CEUs?
At OT Potential, our courses are all built around helping you get new evidence into practice.
But, what good is evidence-based practice, if you are not reimbursed appropriately for it? Our local associations do SUCH important advocacy work, when it comes to reimbursement and scope of practice. That’s why we’ve made it part of our mission to support these associations.
So, we have this win-win proposition for you. Join OT Potential using the promo code “Colorado” to receive a 15% discount—and we’ll donate 15% of your order to OTAC.
👍 Price of OT Potential with your Colorado discount = $84.15 (Reg $99)
🎉 Donation amount to OTAC = $12.62
And, the best part is if you decide to renew, it will be at your discounted price. AND, we’ll make another donation to OTAC.
This is one of the cheapest ways to earn all of your required Colorado OT CEUs, and you can feel good doing it because you are giving back to your state association ❤️.
(If OT Potential is not right for you, I am also a long-time fan of MedBridge, and through OT Potential, you can snag a MedBridge Promo Code for 40% off.)
Step 4: Renew your license. 🎉
Ok, now it’s time for the big moment.
You can renew your license online. I always renew online, but I do highly recommend looking at the paper version, because you will get to see the questions you must answer before you start the renewal process.
For example, it looks like you may have to actually list the CE you have completed when you do the submission. Here’s what the paper form says:
Enter your CE activities taken during this renewal period on the form below and complete all areas. You must earn a minimum of 24 CE hours that are eligible for CE credit as per the OT Rules in order to renew. See the OT Rules for further information. One course must meet the human trafficking training requirement.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you found this post helpful!
As you can tell, I am a continuing education nerd 🤓, so if you have any other questions about continuing education and your Colorado OT license renewal, just ask me the comments!
Ok! Ready to try OT Potential?
Get 15% off + 15% goes to support OTAC.
Learn more, then use promo code: Colorado