Exploring the Different Approaches to Continuing Education

The number of CEUs you must earn in a license cycle depends on which state your license is in. For those of you who have certifications, or are nurse practitioners, the requirement is different. NurseCE4less can help you find how many CEUs hours are required in your state.

What are CEUs and which ones are accepted?

The reason nurses are required to do continuing education is to ensure that they are kept educated on current practices and technology¹. Continuing education, according to the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), “builds upon the educational and experiential bases of the Registered Nurse for the enhancement of practice, education, administration, research, or theory development”¹. Continuing education should be relevant to and applicable to a nurse's scope of practice. There are several activities that do not qualify as CEU license renewal¹:

• BLS, CPR
• On-the-job training/ in-service for a new job/Orientation
• Nurse refresher courses
• Courses that do not have a connection to nursing care/Financial gain courses
• Liberal arts courses

Professional Development vs. Fulfilling Requirements

How do you as a nurse professional see continuing education? 

Some nurses may find it difficult to complete the required hours with long work days and family obligations. As a result, nurses may not realize the importance behind the learning process and therefore view it as something to fulfill state requirements, rather than for professional development.  Procedures are changing and are amended all the time to keep up with the latest evidence-based research. Nurses are obligated to stay updated with modern practice, and one way to do that is to choose continuing education that is relevant to their practice. This way, they are practicing with the most reliable information. 

Other nurses view their continuing education as a way to enhance their professional development. Of course, it’s not all one or the other, and over the years, priorities will transform for each individual nurse. Nurses are part of an ever changing profession and sometimes, it can be overwhelming to keep up. It truly is a lifetime of learning. Patients are more educated regarding their own healthcare, and thus, the nurse must be informed in order to properly assist their patients. 

The Advantage of Certification

If you have a certification, or are a nurse practitioner or CRNA, then the amount of CEUs that you need is quite a bit more but spread out usually in a five year period. If you do not acquire the correct CEUs or the amount needed, then in order to maintain certification, you will have to take the certification test again.

It goes without saying that certification adds a level of professionalism due to the depth of knowledge required to pass the test. Also, there are stringent requirements in order to keep the certification that also keeps the nurse informed on another level because they have to do live CEUs, which means going to conferences. Conferences expose the nurse to new products, procedures, and medications, and also to know what the latest requirements are for Jcaho, etc. 

Try to think of doing your CEUs as not just checking off something on your list, but as a way to learn and grow in your professional career. Many facilities (39%) offer continuing education free, or allow reimbursement, which comes back to benefit the company².

What are your experiences with continuing education?

Today, most continuing education is done on a computer, whether purchased or assigned by the employer. Access is easier, but does that make it any easier to do? Is it engaging and/or enhancing your field of practice? Courses need to be exciting enough to challenge nurses and help them to learn³. This education results in improved quality patient care and equips nurses with the tools that they need.

If continuing education is developed in such a way that it comes across as juvenile or cartoonish, then the nurse is going to check out and not pay attention. Nurses are adult learners and continuing education should reflect that. 

Is your continuing education aligning with your practice?

In order for advanced learning to be relevant, it must in some way help nurses in their day-to-day practice. There are so many branches of nursing and specialties, and continuing education must relate to each one in order to be useful. That’s not to say that learning for the sake of learning is always good. Are you able to find education in your areas of practice, and how accessible is it? 

How much time are you spending on continuing education?

As mentioned before, many nurses have families that include small children, elderly, disabled family members, and not a lot of helping hands. Continuing education may feel like a burden, something that looms over their heads. It can be hard to find time to do the education for any working person. Do you find yourself rushing at the last minute to complete things? Does work allow you to do it in downtime? Are you one of those nurses that reads every single word, or do you skim over it and hope to pass the test? Hopefully, some of the nuggets are embedded into the brain so they can be passed on to patients. 

How could continuing education be improved?

If you have been practicing long enough, you will remember the “skill days” when there would be a room set up with stations, and each station would be a refresher or have a new way of doing something. It was hands-on, which helped to put those skills into the memory bank. Employers should regularly have representatives from whom they buy supplies to come and do in-services. This onsite, hands-on way of learning is helpful, plus it allows for questions and interaction, and sometimes you can get an hour of continuing education credit.

Here are answers to some common questions about nursing continuing education:

Know Your Continuing Education Requirements: What I Wish I’d Known [Part 1]

Managing Continuing Education Time and Money: What I Wish I’d Known [Part 2]

Keep Your Continuing Education Records Safe: What I Wish I’d Known [Part 3]

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References

¹What is Continuing Nursing Education or CNE?

²INTIVA Health: Importance of Continuing Education for Nurses and Their Employers

³Journal of Education and Educational Development (JoEED): Analysis of the Concept Continuing Education in Nursing Education