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Q. What is
Continuing Education?
Rules 610-X-2-.10(4)
of the Alabama Board of Nursing Administrative Code defines
continuing education as “planned, organized learning experiences
designed to augment the knowledge, skills and attitudes for the
enhancement of the practice of nursing to the end of improving health
care to the public.”
Q. What content is
acceptable as continuing education for license renewal?
Acceptable content
[610-X-10-.02] must be beyond the basic educational level for entry into
practice of the individual license and includes:
- Clinical technology, procedures, and nursing
implications.
- Specialty areas of nursing practice.
- Nursing practice related to care of the patient.
- Administration, management, and
supervision in health care delivery.
- Social, legal, and ethical aspects of
nursing.
- Nursing education.
- Nursing research, theory, and practice
issues.
- Quality improvement and management,
accrediting standards, and processes.
- Liberal arts, sciences, business,
and general education courses offered for academic credit by an
institution accredited by an educational accrediting body.
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Q. Are there content requirements for continuing education?
Beginning October 1, 2002, as a part of the 24
Board-approved or Board recognized continuing education contact hours for
license renewal [610-X-4-.08]:
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Certified
Registered Nurse Practitioners (CRNP) and Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM)
with prescriptive authority shall earn six contact hours of
pharmacology content specific to prescriptive practice in the
approved area for collaborative practice.
- Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) shall meet
continuing education requirements specified for renewal of their registered
nurse license.
- Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA) shall
earn six contact hours of pharmacology specific to the practice area of
anesthesia and the scope of practice of the CRNA.
- A registered nurse or licensed
practical nurse licensed by examination during the earning period
shall earn for the first licensure renewal, four (4) contact hours
of board-provided continuing education related to Board functions,
the Nurse Practice Act, regulations, professional conduct, and
accountability.
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Q. I need to take
the mandatory class. I heard it was offered online. Where can I find
this class?
Follow the outlined
steps:
-
Go to the Alabama
Board of Nursing web site,
www.abn.alabama.gov.
-
After entering the
site, select online courses.
-
Before selecting to
view a class
-
Test your
system to determine readiness to view online courses.
-
Review
Frequently Asked Questions; including system requirements.
- Select View Current CE Courses offered by ABN. You
will be required to log in at this point. Log in requires your Alabama nurse
license number and the last four digits of your social security number as your
pin number.
- Select and view.
- If you are required to complete the class you must
view each segment of the class to earn the four (4.0) contact hours of
continuing education.
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Q. Can anyone take the
class and receive credit or is it only for the nurses who must complete
the class?
Any Alabama licensed
nurse may view the online class and receive credit. If not licensed,
you cannot receive credit.
You can view the
classes multiple times, but credit hours will be earned for only one
viewing
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Q. How can I earn continuing
education for license renewal?
Continuing education
can be earned from activity(ies) provided or approved by an Alabama
Board of Nursing approved provider of continuing education or a
Board-recognized provider of continuing education.
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Q. Will I receive
credit for continuing education activities not obtained from a
Board-approved provider?
Yes, if the continuing
education is received from a recognized provider [610-X-10-.04(2)b].
Continuing education must be from a Board - approved or Board -
recognized provider.
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Q. How many contact hours
of continuing education are required for license renewal for registered
nurses and licensed practical nurses?
To renew a license on
active status to practice nursing in Alabama, registered nurses and
licensed practical nurses must earn 24 contact hours from Board-approved
or Board recognized continuing education provider [Chapter
610-X-4-.08]. If licensed by examination, reinstatement or endorsement
during the earning period the contact hours are prorated. A prorated chart is on the Board’s
web site,
www.abn.alabama.gov.
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Q. What is a contact hour?
A contact hour is a
unit of measurement of organized learning experience lasting fifty (50)
minutes [610-4-2-.10]. When attending a conference, workshop or courses
that last a full day, contact hours are calculated on the basis of time
spent in class/at presentations. Time spent for breaks, lunches and
general meetings is not counted as part of the contact hours.
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Q. What is the
earning period for accruing continuing education?
Continuing Education Earning Period: Two-year period of time during
which contact hours shall be accrued. The license renewal year for
licensed practical nurses occurs every odd year. The license
renewal year for registered nurses occurs every even year. Effective
January 1, 2009, the earning period for registered nurses shall be
the same as the license period. Effective January 1, 2008, the
earning period for licensed practical nurses shall be the same as
the license period.
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Q. If I earn more than twenty-four contact hours of
continuing education during the earning period, can the hours be used
for the next renewal?
No, continuing
education cannot be carried over from one earning period to another.
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Q. Does the Board maintain a record of my continuing
education?
Yes, nurses may view
their individual online CE record at the Board’s web site,
www.abn.alabama.gov. Alabama Board of Nursing approved providers
submit electronic records to the Board of continuing Education provided
to licensed Alabama nurses [610-X-10-.03(2)]. The individual online CE
record only reflects continuing education obtained from a Board –
approved provider for the current earning period.
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Q. Can I edit my
online continuing education record?
Nurses can edit
information they have entered in their online individual CE record.
Information submitted by ABN - approved providers cannot be edited by
the nurse.
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Q. My individual online continuing education record
does not list all the classes I have taken from an Alabama Board of
Nursing approved provider. What should I do?
Contact the continuing
education provider. The provider will be able to tell you if the class
has been submitted to the Board. The provider will follow-up with the
ABN to resolve the problem if necessary.
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Q. Will continuing education courses/activities
attended in another state count toward license renewal?
Courses/activities
attended by licensees in another state which are approved by another
board of nursing are considered to be acceptable continuing education
activities. The nurse will need to add these classes to their
individual online continuing education record.
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Q. Will the Board of Nursing accept continuing
education credit granted by another profession?
The Board specified
that selected categories of courses or activities which have undergone
appropriate review by other State regulatory agencies and professions
are acceptable. Examples of acceptable categories include, but are not
limited to, courses approved by the Board of Dental Examiners, the
Alabama State Bar, the Board of Pharmacy, the Board of Social Work
Examiners, the Board of Education, the Alabama Nursing Home
Administration Board, the Psychology Examiners Board, and courses
classified as Category I Continuing Medical Education by the American
Medical Association.
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Q. What records/documents are required to substantiate
earned continuing education contact hours? Who keeps the documents?
Certificates,
transcripts, or other documentation of attendance at, or completion of,
continuing education activities may substantiate contact hours for
license renewal. Nurses are responsible for maintaining their own
continuing education records for at least four (4) years after
completion of the approved CE activity.
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Q. What happens if a licensed nurse fails to meet
continuing education requirements?
Failure to meet
continuing education requirements shall be cause for the license to
lapse.
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Q. How many contact hours of continuing education are
required for reinstatement of a lapsed license?
Applicants who request
reinstatement of a lapsed license must show evidence of having earned 24
approved continuing education contact hours within 24 months preceding
the date of the application. Nurses whose licenses are reinstated shall
accrue for license renewal one contact hour for each calendar month
remaining in the
license period after reinstatement.
Contact hours earned
for reinstatement of a lapsed license cannot be used toward the
continuing education requirement for the next license renewal period.
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