Sites Already Scheduled for Next Year Include Kalamazoo, Port Huron, and Mount Pleasant

By:        Lisa Love-Smith

               MAC Program Director

The MAC Education and Programs Committee has finalized our convention dates for 2025! Mark your calendars and make sure you have a plan to get the continuing education you need in 2025!

Currently Scheduled MAC Convention Dates (2025-2026)

• Spring Convention: April 25-27 at the Radisson Plaza, Kalamazoo
• Fall Convention: September 19-21 at the Blue Water Convention Center, Port Huron
• Express Convention: November 22-23 at the Comfort Inn & Suites, Mt. Pleasant
• 2026 Spring Convention: April 24-26 at the Grand Traverse Resort, Traverse City

We will also have a UP Convention in 2025… stay tuned for information on a possible exciting new location and dates! You may want to bring the whole family to the beautiful UP next year!

The Committee is also working on scheduling some stand-alone seminars for 2025, so be sure to check your emails for more information as it becomes available!

Do You Have a Plan to Obtain the Continuing Education You Need for License Renewal?

In a Nutshell

• Know your NEW expiration date. Check your new license expiration date here.
• Familiarize yourself with the MAC event dates above how they could affect your usual continuing education plan.
• Make a new plan to obtain your needed continuing education and Implicit Bias Training.

As you know, the State of Michigan has moved the chiropractic profession to a license expiration date based on the date you initially received your license to practice. Many of you have already renewed your license once under this new system. If you have not, be sure to determine how this new “issue date” expiration affects your yearly plan to get the continuing education you need when you need it!

In light of this change, be sure to make a plan to obtain the continuing education and implicit bias training you need for license renewal. Since you can no longer merely remember November 30^th of an odd or even year to renew your license to practice, it is more important than ever that you are aware of when your license expires and your options to get the CEs you need BEFORE your new expiration date.

For license renewal, the State of Michigan requires chiropractors to obtain 30 hours of continuing education in courses or programs approved by the Michigan Board of Chiropractic (BOC). Included within those 30 hours must be:

• One (1) hour in Ethics
• One (1) hour in Sexual Boundaries
• One (1) hour in pain and symptom management
• Two (2) hours in Physical Measures
• Two (2) hours in the Performance and Ordering of Tests
• Two (2) hours in Implicit Bias Training

Keep in mind:

• Implicit Bias Training hours are now counted within the 30 hours, rather than in addition to the 30 hours.
• The Physical Measures and Performance and Ordering of Tests requirements can now be achieved online. They do not have to be taken during a live, in-person program.
• As of this writing, the State of Michigan allows chiropractic licensees to obtain up to 15 hours of continuing education (of the 30 needed for license renewal) through online programs. See below for more information.
• Due to the State’s change in expiration date to one based on issue date, many chiropractors in their first cycle after the change had longer than the usual two years to obtain the 30 hours needed to renew their license, in order to get it to line up with the original month/day issue date. Subsequent renewal cycles will then be two years in length.
• If you obtain more than the needed 30 hours for license renewal, continuing education hours cannot be “carried over” or saved until the next license period. Your next license period begins the day after expiration and ends on the expiration date two years later. For example, for license that expires on September 30, 2024, the next license period begins October 1, 2024, and ends on September 30, 2026. The 30 hours needed for renewal must be obtained within that time frame, in order to avoid sanctions.
• These requirements apply whether the chiropractor is actively engaged in the practice of chiropractic or not. No one who wishes to keep their license current is exempt from this requirement, unless a waiver (for disability, military service, absence from the continental U.S., or other circumstance beyond the control of the licensee, which the BOC deems good and sufficient) has been granted by the State of Michigan.
• New licenses, which under the old system were issued most often for a duration of one year or less, are now for the full two-year license period. New licensees are now required to obtain continuing education starting at the beginning of licensure, rather than after their first renewal, as was the case under the old system.
• Although Michigan law provides for a 60-day grace period following the expiration date before a license officially expires, to avoid penalties, the continuing education requirement MUST be completed by the expiration date.

MAC Online Programs

Due to changes being implemented by the State of Michigan in the near future, the number of online hours allowed for license renewal will rise from the current 15 to 20 hours. As soon as this new rule is finalized and applicable to all chiropractors, we will inform the profession.

The MAC has a library of chiropractic continuing education webinars approved by the State and available to you to take on demand, at any time! Check out our library here. We will also be adding many new webinars over the coming months, so be sure to check back later this year!

Training in Identifying Human Trafficking

Michigan law requires health professionals to undergo a one-time training in identifying victims of human trafficking. If you have not yet completed this training, you must do so prior to license renewal.

The MAC has developed a short PowerPoint/webinar presentation that will satisfy the State’s human trafficking requirement. This training meets all the standards laid out in the Michigan Board of Chiropractic’s Administrative Rules for such programs. To access the MAC’s Human Trafficking webinar, click here.

Keep in Mind: This is not a requirement that a licensee gain an hour of continuing education in identifying the victims of human trafficking, like the mandated categories of ethics, sexual boundaries, or pain and symptom management. There is no specific number of hours needed, just a requirement that training is completed. Be wary of outside vendors claiming that an hour of continuing education is required.

Continuing Education Audits

Applicants for renewal are not required to submit proof of completion of their CE hours; rather, submission of your renewal application is an indication that you have completed the mandatory continuing education in Board-approved activities. Do not renew your license if you do not have the required 30 hours of continuing education credits.

LARA’s Bureau of Professional Licensing will conduct audits at the conclusion of the renewal period. Physicians chosen for an audit through an automated random selection process will be contacted and asked to submit documented evidence of the completion of the required hours of continuing education. All courses must be programs approved by the Michigan Board of Chiropractic and completed within the license period.

The Bureau also conducts periodic random audits to determine whether the human trafficking and implicit bias hours have been completed.

If you are selected for an audit and you do not submit the materials requested within the specified time frame, you are considered in violation of Michigan’s Public Health Code and a complaint could be filed against your license. The penalty for insufficient continuing education for most boards is a reprimand, a monetary fine (often $500 + $50 for every CE hour the licensee is deficient), and probation. Probation typically includes completion of the missing continuing education in addition to the continuing education for the current licensure period. However, this is a permanent sanction on your licensure record. Any requests for the status of your license will include a record that you have been disciplined for failing to complete the continuing education requirement.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at lisa@chiromi.com or (517) 367-2225.

This article is information only and does not constitute legal advice. It is the responsibility of all licensees to be aware of the laws and rules surrounding the practice of their health profession. The State of Michigan’s Board of Chiropractic Administrative Rules can be found online here.