What are CE credits?

fmAtoZ&backagain · Aug 5, 2011

ce - is a continuing education credit, that may not mean you can used them for your license, remember every state has some requirements on the # of hrs you need to have your license renew, now there are some credits you can use if they are for nurses, cne continuing nursing education, in fact you have a limit on the number of cne online you can take.

certifications are different, some require some pre-requisite cne hrs, years of practice, etc., to be able to take the test to be certified, and there are many certifications so you have to see which ones you need... i hope this helps.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Aug 5, 2011

No, really. I know it sounds stupid, but I really have no idea.
I did a couple Continuing Education hours in school that was required for class, but I have no idea what those credits were for or what they went to. Looking into getting some further certification that says its eligible for 18 CE hours. Whatever that is sounds significant, so I want to know what they are and do whatever it is I'm supposed to do to take advantage of them!

It's never stupid when you've never had the reason to know this before :)

I get mine through mail order (can do online, and many people prefer this, but I like the books that come with the mail order ones). Most states allow for some or all of your CEU hours to come from these...your state BON will have this info. Rhode Island only requires 10 CEUs (continuing ed units) per 2 years.....Iowa requires 36 per 2 years (per W.S. Nurses' Home Study Courses catalog. They will send you a certificate of completion for the course, and most also report to your BON, so they have a record of it- not the same as the previous "certification". When you renew your license, the BON will ask if you completed the required CEUs...and can ask for proof at any time. If you don't have them and get caught, you can have limitations placed on your license until you complete the hours (and whatever else they dream up).

Conferences are another way to get CEUs...but those are expensive if your employer doesn't pay for you to attend....that's another reason for mail order or online- you get a LOT more CEUs for much less money (still about 80 bucks for 30 hours, but conferences include registration fees, airfare, and hotels/food....They all 'count' :)