Should all states require CEU's for registration renewal?

Katnip, RN · Jul 4, 2008

I live and work in Maryland. We do not require CEUs. I think the rationale is that each hospital has a requirement to do in-house competencies that they feel this is enough.

I do CEUs on my own, regardless.

Jules A, MSN · Jul 4, 2008

I live and work in Maryland. We do not require CEUs. I think the rationale is that each hospital has a requirement to do in-house competencies that they feel this is enough.
I do CEUs on my own, regardless.

So do I but I do think that it should be required by the BON also because while most nurses I know do stay current there are some that I doubt have read a journal article since they graduated a million years ago.

Okami_CCRN, BSN, RN · Jul 4, 2008

I live and work in NJ and we require 30 hours of CEU, but when renewal comes your CEU's are reviewed at random meaning you may or may not have to prove your CEU time.

Its funny watching the RN's argue which program they should go to for the precious CEU

Vito Andolini · Jul 4, 2008

Yes, for every licensed category, not just nurses. Barbers, car mechanics, builders, doctors, real estate agents, everyone who is licensed.

Babs0512 · Jul 5, 2008

I live in NY, as stated previously, we have no such program. However, I am required to do extensive in house training EVERY year in mild, moderate conscious sedation - ACLS, PALS, Art lines, Medications, Monitoring vent patients, course on Perianesthesia nursing, recertification in Malignant Hypertension, etc... and more.... that's plenty.

Your right, there probably are many nurses who haven't kept up with technology, but as long as employers make it part of their yearly requirements, it will get done if they want to maintain their jobs.

Altra, BSN, RN · Jul 5, 2008

Yes, I think CEU requirements for licensed professionals make sense.

Many of the annual/biannual requirements of hospital employment (ACLS, PALS, etc.) can count for the CEU requirement (at least in my state), but ultimately the burden of proof is, and should be, on the licensed professional.

Jolie, BSN · Jul 5, 2008

If studies demonstrate better performance by nurses who complete CEUs, then I'm all for it. Otherwise, it is an expensive and time-consuming way to placate others.

IL did a pilot study (in the '70's or '80's, I believe) on the impact of requiring CEUs for nurses. Basically, the study demonstrated that nurses took whatever courses were easily available and inexpensive, often covering material that was not pertinent to their area of practice, just to "get them done". The conclusion of the study was that requiring CEUs did not improve nursing practice, but simply necessitated an expensive bureaucracy to monitor and enforce compliance.

Based on those results, IL decided not to require CEU's for nurses. In 2008, the IL Nurse Practive Act was rewritten, including a new requirement for CEU's. I'm not sure if the change was prompted by new data demonstrating the value of CEU's in terms of quality of nursing care, or if the IL BON simply "caved" to pressure from other states, other professions or the general public.

One thing is very different now than when the original study was done, and that is the easy access to CEU's via the internet. So now it is not difficult, time-consuming or expensive for nurses to access coursework pertinent to their areas of practice. That may be the difference that makes CEU's relevant to improving the quality of nursing practice.

lsyorke, RN · Jul 5, 2008

IL did a pilot study (in the '70's or '80's, I believe) on the impact of requiring CEUs for nurses. Basically, the study demonstrated that nurses took whatever courses were easily available and inexpensive, often covering material that was not pertinent to their area of practice, just to "get them done". The conclusion of the study was that requiring CEUs did not improve nursing practice, but simply necessitated an expensive bureaucracy to monitor and enforce compliance.

This is my gripe on mandatory CEU's. Since NJ implemented this I get a ton of companies sending out the "30 CEU's for $39.00. No tests required". How does that advance anyones practice, except in check writing?

eager1hasbegun · Jul 5, 2008

Are CEU's tax deductible?? And if so, would they still be so in MD, a state that doesn't require them??

woody62, RN · Jul 5, 2008

I am licensed in New York and Florida. Despite what others have said, NYS does require CEU's every four years in infection control. The state of Florida requires twenty-four hours of CEU's every two years. I use to get my Florida CEU's by attending a graduate nursing course a semester. I got more then I required in just one semester. Many of my peers took classes at their employer or at local Vo-tech's. Some of the vo-tech courses were worth the time and effort that went into them but others were just fluff courses to satisfy the state's requirement. If the course provides new knowledage and requires testing in order to pass it, fine. A state's requirement is just too easy to forfill.

Woody:twocents:

StarlightRN · Jul 6, 2008

I live in NC and as of July 1, 2006 CEU's are required for license renewal. If you have 640 hours of active practice within the previous two years you only have to have 15 contact hours of continuing education activities. When you renew your license they do random audits and require your certificates as proof of your education. You may or may not get an audit.

You are suppose to 1)self assess your practice, 2) develop a learning plan and establish at least one goal for yourself, 3) select a learning activity that will help you reach your goal/goals; and 4) implement your plan.

There are 8 options you can choose from, but the 15 CEU's for 640 of active practice seems like the easiest one to do. My license is up for renewal September 2008. I really hope I don't get an audit, b/c I think it would be so much trouble to have to go through, sending in all your certificates, records of work hours etc.