1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 10 and NRS 633.491, every holder of a license issued under this chapter, except a temporary or a special license, may renew the license on or before January 1 of each calendar year after its issuance by:

(a) Applying for renewal on forms provided by the Board;

(b) Paying the annual license renewal fee specified in this chapter;

(c) Submitting a list of all actions filed or claims submitted to arbitration or mediation for malpractice or negligence against the holder during the previous year;

(d) Submitting evidence to the Board that in the year preceding the application for renewal the holder has attended courses or programs of continuing education approved by the Board in accordance with regulations adopted by the Board totaling a number of hours established by the Board which must not be less than 35 hours nor more than that set in the requirements for continuing medical education of the American Osteopathic Association; and

(e) Submitting all information required to complete the renewal.

2. The Secretary of the Board shall notify each licensee of the requirements for renewal not less than 30 days before the date of renewal.

3. The Board shall request submission of verified evidence of completion of the required number of hours of continuing medical education annually from no fewer than one-third of the applicants for renewal of a license to practice osteopathic medicine or a license to practice as a physician assistant. Upon a request from the Board, an applicant for renewal of a license to practice osteopathic medicine or a license to practice as a physician assistant shall submit verified evidence satisfactory to the Board that in the year preceding the application for renewal the applicant attended courses or programs of continuing medical education approved by the Board totaling the number of hours established by the Board.

4. The Board shall require each holder of a license to practice osteopathic medicine to complete a course of instruction within 2 years after initial licensure that provides at least 2 hours of instruction on evidence-based suicide prevention and awareness as described in subsection 8.

5. The Board shall encourage each holder of a license to practice osteopathic medicine to receive, as a portion of his or her continuing education, training concerning methods for educating patients about how to effectively manage medications, including, without limitation, the ability of the patient to request to have the symptom or purpose for which a drug is prescribed included on the label attached to the container of the drug.

6. The Board shall encourage each holder of a license to practice osteopathic medicine or as a physician assistant to receive, as a portion of his or her continuing education, training and education in the diagnosis of rare diseases, including, without limitation:

(a) Recognizing the symptoms of pediatric cancer; and

(b) Interpreting family history to determine whether such symptoms indicate a normal childhood illness or a condition that requires additional examination.

7. The Board shall require, as part of the continuing education requirements approved by the Board, the biennial completion by a holder of a license to practice osteopathic medicine of at least 2 hours of continuing education credits in ethics, pain management or care of persons with addictive disorders.

8. The Board shall require each holder of a license to practice osteopathic medicine to receive as a portion of his or her continuing education at least 2 hours of instruction every 4 years on evidence-based suicide prevention and awareness which may include, without limitation, instruction concerning:

(a) The skills and knowledge that the licensee needs to detect behaviors that may lead to suicide, including, without limitation, post-traumatic stress disorder;

(b) Approaches to engaging other professionals in suicide intervention; and

(c) The detection of suicidal thoughts and ideations and the prevention of suicide.

9. A holder of a license to practice osteopathic medicine may not substitute the continuing education credits relating to suicide prevention and awareness required by this section for the purposes of satisfying an equivalent requirement for continuing education in ethics.

10. Members of the Armed Forces of the United States and the United States Public Health Service are exempt from payment of the annual license renewal fee during their active duty status.

(Added to NRS by 1977, 948; A 1983, 958; 1987, 404; 1997, 2128; 2002 Special Session, 23; 2005, 262, 2727, 2807; 2007, 1838; 2011, 1038, 2037; 2013, 1569; 2015, 2284, 2285; 2017, 944, 947; 2019, 1493, effective January 1, 2020)