Jennifer – that’s awful! It is unfortunate that the Respiratory School you went to didn’t emphasize the point that it is much easier to pay the NBRC $25 or $40 or whatever it is a year to keep track of your credentials; than for you to remember to send them in before your 5 years is up; and yes, they only send you one little postcard that looks like all of the other junk mail we all recieve.
In most cases, if you don’t change the facility you work at, it won’t be a problem, but as soon as you want to get hired at a new facility, you’ll discover your credentials have expired, and the only way to reactivate them is to take the board exams over again!!!
I just graduated Respiratory School in September, and thankfully, they emphasized this requirement to all of us, in the hope that we will not fall into this trap. If you pay your NBRC dues every year, they will keep track of your CEU’s for you, and it won’t be a problem.
Jennifer – I’m sorry you had to find out the hard way; it really sucks! To everybody else credentialed after 2002 – MAKE SURE you either keep your dues paid up with the NBRC, OR send in your verifications before your expiration date!!