Mandatory continuing education--a survey of current activity. A special communication.

The purposes of this article are 1) to present a review of the literature addressing issues related to mandatory continuing education (MCE) and 2) to report the responses from three surveys conducted by the Task Force on Mandatory Continuing Education of the Florida Physical Therapy Association, Inc. Questionnaires were sent to appropriate representatives in 1) American Physical Therapy Association chapters of all states with MCE required for relicensure, 2) APTA chapters of all states without MCE required for relicensure, and 3) state headquarters of nine other health-related associations with MCE required for relicensure in Florida. Feedback from respondents is presented concerning state requirements for MCE, the process of MCE, and overall sentiment of the membership concerning this requirement. In general, states with MCE required for relicensure and selected associations in Florida with this requirement responded positively toward MCE, whereas states without the MCE requirement responded negatively. All three groups expressed a growing concern for a system to ensure practitioner currency.