[VickyRN]

The North Carolina General Assembly has passed a law authorizing the Board of Nursing to require evidence of continuing competence at the time of license renewal or reinstatement, beginning July 1, 2006:

http://www.ncbon.com/forms/CC-FAQ.pdf

Random audits will be conducted by the Board to ensure compliance.

Effective July 1, 2006, you will be expected to complete steps A-D.---i.e. assess your practice, develop a learning plan, and select one of the acceptable learning activities listed above. Then, implement your plan! You should complete your learning activity before your next renewal.

Effective July 1, 2008, you will have to attest to having completed the continuing competence requirement on your renewal application. The Board will monitor compliance through random audits. Should you be selected for audit, you will be asked to submit supporting documentation, such as copies certificates for continuing education or national certification, proof of hours
worked, etc.

http://www.ncbon.com/forms/CC-ABCD.pdf

Learning plan document to keep on file: Has learning activity options listed to meet the requirements for continuing competence:

http://www.ncbon.com/forms/CC-LearningPlan.pdf

Understanding Continued Competence Webcast. Great resource!

http://www.ncbon.com/prac-contcompwcast.asp

In recent years public awareness has been raised about the need for regulatory boards to assure continuing competence of nurses:

http://www.ncsbn.org/pdfs/Continued_...ngServices.pdf

[VickyRN]

The Continuing Competence webcast takes about 1 hour to complete and you will receive 1.1 CEU's:

http://www.ncbon.com/prac-contcompwcast.asp

It is extremely important that NC nurses understand the continuing competence requirements in order to avoid interruption in our licensure.

[VickyRN]

Great resource:

How will Continuing Competence work . . .

Although nurses will not be expected to complete their learning activity until their next license renewal (after July 1, 2008), they are expected to begin actively working on the following steps by July 1, 2006.
• Assess their practice (using the four dimensions of nursing practice that are applicable in any practice setting).
• Select standards of practice that apply to their area of practice (these may be nursing law, agency policies or standards set by professional or specialty organizations).
• Collate feedback from others to help identify strengths and opportunities for further development.
• Develop a learning plan which establishes at least one goal and gather materials related to their accomplishments.
Note: The self assessment and learning plan are for the individual nurse’s personal records and will not be part of what he/she will submit to the NC BON.

http://www.ncnurses.org/ce_continued_competence.html

[VickyRN]

If you know of any free online CEU's which can be used to fulfill the Continuing Competence requirements as outlined by the NCBON, please list them in this thread.

Completion of one of the following will be required:
1) National certification or re-certification by a national credentialing body recognized by the Board
2) 30 contact hours of continued education
3) Completion of a Board approved refresher course
4) Completion of a minimum of two semester hours of post-licensure academic education related to nursing practice
5) 15 contact hours of continued education and completion of a nursing project as principal investigator or co-investigator to include statement of problem, project objectives, methods, date of completion and summary of findings
6) 15 contact hours of continued education and authoring or co-authoring a nursing-related article, paper, book or book chapter
7) 15 contact hours of continued education and developing and conducting a nursing continuing education presentation or presentations totaling a minimum of five contact hours, including program brochure or course syllabi, objectives, date and location of presentation, and approximate number of attendees
8) 15 contact hours of continued education and 640 hours of active practice within previous 2 years (“contact hour” means fifty (50) minutes of an approved, organized learning experience;the board has a listing of recognized providers of continued education)

http://www.ncbon.com/forms/CC-ABDC.pdf

[VickyRN]

Antibiotics Review


Overview:
Choosing an antibacterial agent can be challenging, given the wide array of drugs available. Learning the important properties and uses of these drugs is made easier by the fact that they are grouped in classes based on their biochemical structure. Members of a drug class share characteristics such as clearance, mechanism of action, absorption, and side effects; knowing these shared properties makes it easier to choose the appropriate agent for a particular patient. In addition, it is easier to quickly grasp the strengths and weaknesses of a newly marketed antibiotic if you understand the general pharmacology of its class. A good grasp of the use of specific agents to target specific bacteria leads to improved clinical response to treatment and a decrease in the likelihood of the development of microbial resistance. This course serves as a review of the classes of antibiotics and their characteristics as well as an overview of the individual antibiotics that are currently available for use by the practitioner.

http://www.netce.com/courseoverview.php?courseid=336

[VickyRN]

Disaster Preparedness and Response for Nurses By The American Red Cross and Sigma Theta Tau International

2 Credit Hours

[VickyRN]

Bladder Management after Spinal Cord Injury: A Practical Approach

3 contact hours

[VickyRN]

Needlestick Safety and Prevention

3.6 contact hours

[VickyRN]

Explosions and Blast Injuries
1 contact hour

Neurologic Tests and Procedures
1 contact hour

[VickyRN]

Nellcor offers free, accredited online continuing education courses for registered nurses and respiratory therapists through our Center for Clinical Excellence website. Choose from a variety of self-paced courses that are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Courses offer convenient post-testing and the ability to print your certificate upon completion. Certificates may be used to meet or accumulate contact hour requirements for re-licensure.

http://www.nellcor.com/educ/onlineed.aspx

Current Courses
Note: typical course length is one hour.

Proportional Assist™ Ventilation Plus
Contact Hours: AARC/CRCE 1.0
Format: Multimedia
Participants will learn the key differences between Pressure Support and Proportional Assist™ Ventilation Plus (PAV™+) modes of ventilation. Flow and pressure waveform characteristics between Pressure Support and PAV+ are compared and contrasted. The concept of effort and "Percent Support" in PAV+ is described. Details of how the PAV+ software option determines resistance, compliance and patient effort. The potential benefits and possible limitations of PAV+ are listed. Register now. * Proportional Assist and PAV are trademarks of the University of Manitoba, used under license by Puritan Bennett.


Implementing Evidence: What Can You Do About VAP?
Contact Hours: AARC/CRCE 1.0; ANCC/California BRN 1.0
Format: Multimedia
Causes of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) are described as well as the impact on patient morbidity and mortality rates. Participants will learn about two important national guidelines for prevention of VAP and expected practices from the AACN practice alert on VAP. An evidenced-based process for change within your healthcare organization to reduce VAP rate is included. Register now.


Are Your Patients at Risk? Monitoring Patients on the General Care Floor
Contact Hours: AARC/CRCE 1.0; ANCC/California BRN 1.0
Format: Multimedia
Helps identify postoperative patients who are at risk for hypoxemia based on the impact of concurrent diagnosis and health history. Participants will learn about the impact that continuous pulse oximetry monitoring has on patient outcomes based on clinical research studies. Expanded use of pulse oximetry using centralized monitoring stations is also explored. Register now.


Improving Neonatal Skin Integrity: An In-Depth Look at Adhesives and Neonatal Skin
Contact Hours: AARC/CRCE 1.0; ANCC/California BRN 1.0
Format: Multimedia
This presentation explains the function of skin layers, describes variations between term and premature skin, identifies principles of skin adhesion, details types of adhesive products used in the NICU, and lists clinical practices for reducing the potential for injury from adhesive pulse oximetry sensors. Register now.


Management of Perioperative Patient Temperature
Contact Hours: ANCC/California BRN 1.0
Format: Text File
Hypothermia may increase patients' perioperative risks and cause discomfort in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU). This course describes the normal mechanisms for temperature maintenance, the effects of surgery and anesthesia on temperature homeostasis, consequences of mild core hypothermia, and methods to maintain normothermia. Register now.


Pediatric Tracheostomy
Contact Hours: AARC/CRCE 1.0; ANCC/California BRN 1.0