You’ve finished school—graduated with your masters or doctorate in your rehab specialty—but that doesn’t mean your learning days are over. Far from it. Whether it’s informal learning from your peers, brushing up on the latest research in academic journals, or attending formal lectures or clinicals, a therapist’s learning is never done. It can’t be. How else can you stay current? To make sure all licensed therapists are doing just that—staying current—state governing boards mandate continuing education units in order to stay licensed. But with so many choices when it comes to CEUs, how do you find the right ones for you and your practice? You research, research, research. Starting with your state.

CEU requirements vary state to state, so check in with your licensing board before planning your curriculum. In Arizona, for example, a PT must complete 20 contact hours of continuing competences during each two (2) year licensure period. Also, because of the variety of conversions organizations use to determine continuing education units (CEUs), the rules require “contact hours” rather than CEUs be the measurement of continuing competence activities. At least ten (10) of those 20 contact hours must be from activities that an accredited medical, PT, or health care education program; a national or state medical, PT, or health care association (or a component of that association); or a national medical, PT or health care specialty society approves, regardless of whether the activities are on-site, online, or home study.

Now, this isn’t the case for all states. Several do not allow therapists to complete their CEUs in any format other than on-site, in person. While this greatly limits your options, there are still plenty of ways to locate and rack up informational, educational, and interesting continuing education units in person—without spending a fortune.

Here are some resources to help in your search: