Still have no job; Question about getting CE credits?

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I graduated last May from an ADN program, then went into an RN preceptorship. Unfortunately the hospital where I did my preceptorship was not hiring (very small hospital) so I had to move on from there. I had a private homecare client so I continued with that job until she passed away last November. Then I had to renew my CPR for Healthcare provider, which I was able to do in December.

When I was in school and asked about Continuing Education, everyone just told me that when I was hired somewhere I would get so much extra training that I wouldn't have to worry about it for a while. Well, I have applied at several hospitals and still not been hired. I have to have 14 CE credits done by the end of September so I'd like to start working on them. I see in my nursing magazines that many of the articles are available for CE credit hours. Is this how many people get their CE credits? Does this count as "contact hours"?

Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

I do free ones on Medscape.

Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.

Your state BON website probably defines what they consider acceptable credits (in Illinois CME also counts), but generally an hour is an hour.

Most people get their continuing Ed online, but going to a day long in service or presentation can be a good way to network. Don't forget that some places, including allnurses provide unlimited ceu for a set price per year.

MrChicagoRN, I didn't even know that allnurses provided CEUs. I really know almost nothing about Continuing Education. Next time I fill out a survey for my nursing school, I am going to address this - I think they should prepare us somewhat for them.

Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.

Hmmm....I might be wrong about all nurses offering ceu. I thought they did, maybe it was in the past. But there are different places that do offer online stuff for $40-50 a year.

Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

I don't think that schools do a very good job of informing students about a lot of things - but OP is right, they should be providing basic information about the license renewal process, including how much CE is required, what 'counts' as CE, and where it can be obtained. In Tx, we not only have to have 10 hours CE per year, but it has to be in an area that is relevant to our practice.

There are quite a few online sources for free CE. Medscape is one of the most widely known. If you're willing/able to pay, you can purchase an annual subscription to Nurse.com for $45. (https://ce.nurse.com/unlimitedce/) - they have a large library of courses, including all of the state-mandated ones.

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