NSDA Newsletter - October 2019

A Cautionary Tale

This is a fictional dietitian's renewal experience. 

Last year, Charlie’s Continuing Competency Program (CCP) submission was audited and the audit team rated it “unsatisfactory.” A letter was sent by registered mail and email reminders were sent to Charlie indicating that their next submission would be audited and that their license would not be renewed if there was a second "unsatisfactory" submission. The second submission was also unsatisfactory. There is a renewal grace period, and Charlie had time to resubmit their CCP submission.  A late fee of $200 was charged and their license was renewed.

Read the excerpt below from Charlie explaining what happened:

“… I received the mail but did not read the entire letter so I misinterpreted its message. I did not realize my license would not be renewed …”

What happened could happen to any one of us. We are all bombarded with emails. Scanning is sometimes the only way to triage the messages we get. We all have developed our own ways of prioritizing the messages we receive. As regulated health professionals, our professional obligations are to meet a regulatory body's administrative and practice standards.  There may be a financial penalty or other consequence to our license status if information is not read.  Had Charlie never written the national exam and if their license had expired, they would have been required to write the national exam to have their license reinstated.

We are sending messages in various formats multiple times to do our part to make it easier for you to meet your obligations.  How do you prioritize the messages you get? Read on for some tips.