Continuing Education Requirements

Continuing education (CE) is one method a board of nursing uses to support continuing competence. It is not governed by one national nursing rule. Each state or territorial board establishes its own renewal cycle, hour requirement, mandatory subjects, accepted providers, documentation rules, and alternative competency pathways. Requirements may also differ among LPN/LVN, RN, and APRN licenses in the same state. Continuing competence is broader than CE hours alone. Depending on the jurisdiction, an approved national certification, academic credit, refresher course, documented practice hours, or another board-approved activity may satisfy part or all of the renewal requirement. Do not assume that a conference, employer in-service, journal club, simulation, committee role, mentoring activity, or self-directed reading counts simply because it was educational. Confirm that the board accepts both the activity and its provider before relying on it. The usual unit is the contact hour: 60 minutes of instruction. Some boards specify how partial hours are handled; Ohio, for example, permits rounding to the nearest quarter hour. Accredited nursing continuing professional development programs, including those accredited through ANCC pathways, also calculate contact hours...