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Discussion

Certified Nurses

I have been having SUCH a hard time finding information on becoming certified as a nurse with the requirements for applying and sitting for the exam, it's driving me crazy! I believe many who are certified go through ANCC, so I hope some of you know what I'm talking about. I've spent about 2 hours searching for answers and even called the ANCC but they were closed.

My question:

To sit for the exam, you need "30 Continuing Education Hours".

Are "Continuing Education Hours"... CEU's or Contact Hours? I know that 10 contact hours is = to 1 CEU.

For those who are certified... how long did it take you to complete all of the continuing education hours to qualify? If I need 30 CEU's, it'll take forever! :)

Thank you!

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    to sit for what? the NCLEX? Are you in nursing school? Thinking about nursing school? Or are you talking about specialty certifications?

    There's LPN, RN, BSN, NP, etc.... all require nursing school.... after graduation, then you're eligible to sit for the NCLEX....

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    • Author

    See NurseCredentialing.org, there are MANY things to become certified in... med/surg, cardiac vascular nursing, school nursing, public health etc

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    What did the ANCC website say? It's not just about CEUs....

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    See NurseCredentialing.org, there are MANY things to become certified in... med/surg, cardiac vascular nursing, school nursing, public health etc

    Uh, yeah..... you have to chose one- meet their requirements, then sit for the test....CEUs are totally different.....:)

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    • Author

    I completely understand the other requirements for the certification and exam.

    I am more specifically questioning the continuing education portion, the wording and terms of it all and what other experienced nurses have done.

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    • Author

    If you pick any of the certification specialties it states in a portion this:

    Use this form to document 30 continuing education hours in this certification speciality. Keep copies of continuing education certificates for your records in case you are audited. Examples: in-services, academic credits, CME credits, independent study that has been approved for continuing education, and continuing nursing education related to this certification speciality. If course titles do not clearly reflect the course’s relevance to this certification specialty, include a brief description of how the course relates to this certification specialty

    THEN... it says 1 CEU = 0.1 contact hours. But what are Continuing Education Hours???

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    You can get CEUs online....they don't take all that long, and aren't that expensive. Search for nursing CEUs..... I'm not sure if I can give a name of a company that I've used for decades. I get their mail order CEUs because I want the books- but they also have online courses. :)

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    • Author

    I still get that I can find a ton of education material online...

    For example, I found a site which offers a bunch of online courses in the specialty I'm looking for and there were 6 online courses for 4 contact hours each. Total of 24 contact hours. Which is awesome, but that would equal to 2.4 CEU's... so really... how LONG will it take me to qualify to certify??? Forever??? LOL!

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    • Author

    ...Not to mention super expensive!!!

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    I still get that I can find a ton of education material online...

    For example, I found a site which offers a bunch of online courses in the specialty I'm looking for and there were 6 online courses for 4 contact hours each. Total of 24 contact hours. Which is awesome, but that would equal to 2.4 CEU's... so really... how LONG will it take me to qualify to certify??? Forever??? LOL!

    It might take a while.... to be certified, it shows expertise...so it's going to take more than the standard required CEUs.... :)

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