Questions About Continuing Education Requirements

[Myname82, BSN, RN]

Hello. I have been an RN for nearly 3 years now, and I'm looking to move beyond my first job (which I believe I've outgrown) and into travel nursing. I recently received my California RN license in the hopes that I can land a travel gig there. I have a question I'm trying to get answered. However, as many of you probably already know, the service at the California BON is terrible, and trying to reach them by phone or e-mail is futile. So I'd like to pose the same question to all of you that I tried to pose to them: Is there any way to actually verify if a company's or Web site's continuing education courses are accredited/accepted by a certain state? There are many sites that CLAIM to have courses that will count as valid credit for California's CE requirements, but are those claims reliable? I don't want to pay for a course package only to find out later that the courses I take won't count.

Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[NedRN]

Yes, most CEU claims are legit. ANCC is the gold standard accepted by anyone who checks CEUs and most nursing CEUs will be so accredited. Some CEU providers, such as BLS/ACLS classes are accredited by the BON in their state, and generally accepted by all other BONs. About California specifically, you merely have to attest that you have the CEUs required for renewal. You could be audited so it is a good idea to have your CEUs in order, however in 25 years of holding a CA license, I've never been audited.

Being certified in your specialty is a resume enhancer that could help land you a desired assignment over someone with your experience who is not certified. Your CEU's will then do double work maintaining your various nursing licenses (many BONs require continuing education) and maintaining your specialty certification.