Renewal Lapse and a Full Schedule
A chiropractor's Nebraska license expired 38 days ago. She believed she had a 60-day grace period because a colleague told her so. Her renewal file shows 20 documented continuing education hours for the biennium, including 6 hours from an online vendor that is not Board-approved, and she has not paid the late fee. The front desk has 14 patients scheduled today, including two post-surgical patients and one patient with acute radicular pain. The office manager says the state 'never checks' and that the doctor can backdate the renewal after finishing 'a weekend course.' The doctor has a clean disciplinary record. The Board's website shows her status as 'lapsed.' She asks whether she can see the acute patients while the renewal is pending and whether the online hours can count if she submits them with an explanation.
1. May the chiropractor continue treating patients while her renewal is pending?
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No. Once the license is lapsed, the chiropractor is not authorized to practice chiropractic in Nebraska, and seeing patients would be unlicensed practice regardless of a clean record or a busy schedule. The colleague's '60-day grace period' is not a safe basis for practice; any grace period would have to come from the Board's current rules or an explicit Board order, and the Board website shows lapsed status. She should stop clinical care immediately, notify scheduled patients, and arrange referral or coverage by a currently licensed chiropractor, especially for the post-surgical and radicular patients. She may complete administrative work that does not require a license. Practicing while lapsed can lead to discipline and can complicate later renewal, so the office manager's 'never checks' comment is not a legal defense.
2. How should the continuing education and late-renewal issues be resolved, and what is wrong with backdating?
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She must compare her documentation to the Board's current biennial requirement. On these facts she has 20 hours, but 6 are from a vendor that is not Board-approved, so at most 14 may count; that is a substantial deficit even before the total-hour requirement is applied. She should obtain Board-approved hours to reach the required total, including any mandatory ethics or jurisprudence content, pay the late fee, and submit a truthful renewal application. The online hours may count only if the vendor and course are Board-approved; an explanatory letter does not convert an unapproved course into approved CE. Backdating the renewal or the treatment records would be falsification and separate misconduct. She should ask the Board in writing about any late-renewal penalty or reinstatement procedure and keep the response.