I get it. We all have good intentions when it comes to meeting our nursing continuing education (CE) requirements before our license renewal date. But life gets busy and time flies by. The next thing you know, your renewal date is looming and you haven’t even thought about your CE. You feel a lump in the pit of your stomach. Is there enough time to earn all the CE you need before the deadline?
Don’t worry! I got you covered. I’ll show you below how to earn some legit CE fast. And I’ll answer some other questions you might have about your CE requirements as a nurse.
How do I know how many nursing CEUs I need?
First of all, although nurses often refer to needing a specific number of CEUs to meet their continuing education (CE) requirement, state boards of nursing (BONs) actually require a specific number of contact hours, not CEUs, for license renewal. And there’s a BIG difference between contact hours and CEUs.
According to International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET), 1 CEU is equal to 10 contact hours (10 clock hours) of continuing education (CE).
However, some organizations incorrectly market educational programs for nurses by promising CEUs instead of contact hours. So it’s critical to make sure you find out how many contact hours an educational opportunity will be rather than trust any advertising of CEUs.
Most BONs require nurses to complete somewhere between 20-30 contact hours prior to license renewal, although some do not. To find out how many contact hours you need to complete (according to your BON) and in what time frame, see here.
How do you calculate CE hours?
The continuing education (CE) hours needed for nursing are easy to calculate.
1 CE hour means 1 contact hour, or 60 minutes.
Is a CE the same as a contact hour?
Yes. For nurse licensure, 1 CE equals 1 contact hour (or 60 minutes). But remember, 1 CEU equals 10 contact hours.
Be sure to double check how many actual hours an eligible educational activity is so you aren’t disappointed and short contact hours after the fact.
Some companies market continuing education activities using the acronym “CEU” when they really mean contact hour.
How long are nursing CE credits good for?
Nursing CE credits or contact hours are good until your next license renewal date. Most states require nursing licenses to be renewed every 2 years.
How do I track my nursing CE?
You can keep track of your nursing CE in a few different ways. You can use a mobile app, like Nurse Backpack. Or you may choose to keep track of CE credits as you earn them in a simple Google Doc or spreadsheet.
Companies that offer CE courses usually offer a place to keep track of all your CE in one place as well as on their site.
The important thing to remember is that you’ll need to have the details about the CE course or activity you completed in case you’re audited including the:
Date, title, and details of content covered in the CE course or activity
Number of contact hours
Name of the organization who provided the CE course or activity
Name of the accreditation body who accredited the course or activity for nursing CE purposes
If you had the course approved by your BON before you took it, be sure to write down the name of who you spoke to & the date (or keep the email)
What counts as CEUs for nurses?
The thing to keep in mind about nursing CE is that it must be directly related to nursing practice and usually, it must go above and beyond the basic knowledge and skills that an entry-level nurse should already possess.
Some examples of acceptable CE content (depending on your BON) include:
Advanced nursing knowledge and skills required to work in a nursing specialty area (such as the operating room, ICU, CCU, etc.)
First completion of some nursing certifications such as ACLS, PALS, and Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) (depending on your BON)
Advanced nursing education (such as coursework towards a BSN or graduate nursing degree)
Educational activities about the legal, ethical, or social aspects of nursing and patient care and professional conduct
Knowledge and skills related to nursing leadership, management, healthcare administration, and nursing supervision
Healthcare quality improvement and improved patient safety
Accreditation standards
Healthcare technology related to nursing practice and patient care such as electronic health records (EHR), telehealth, and clinical or patient procedures
Knowledge and skills related to nursing research, including identification of practice issues, application of theory, and dissemination of research findings
State CE requirements for nurses
There are lots of different ways to meet your CE requirements. In fact, some BONs have state specific CE requirements on certain topics during each renewal period or on a one time basis. This is required so that nurses remain up-to-date on important information relevant to nursing practice in their geographic area.
For example, the states below require nurses to complete accredited continuing education on the following topics:
Alabama (nurse practice rules & code)
Florida (domestic violence, drug diversion, workplace impairment, medical error prevention)
Iowa (child abuse, mandatory abuse reporting)
Kentucky (domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, Shaken Baby Syndrome)
Michigan (human trafficking, pain & symptom management)
Nevada (bioterrorism)
New Jersey (tissue & organ donation)
New York (child abuse, mandatory abuse reporting, infection prevention,
Ohio (nurse practice rules & code)
Oregon (pain & symptom management)
Rhode Island (substance abuse)
Texas (forensic evidence collection for ED nurses, geriatrics, tick-borne diseases)
Washington, DC (HIV/AIDS)
West Virginia (drug diversion, workplace impairment, mental health conditions common in veterans)
What doesn't count as a nursing CEU/CE?
Unfortunately, there are many educational activities that nurses must complete or remain certified in that do NOT count towards CE contact hours. And some activities may not count even if they are related to nursing or your professional growth.
Some examples of activities that don’t usually count toward nursing CE include:
College or university courses that are not nursing specific, such as anatomy and physiology, and math and science courses
Professional conferences, conventions, trade shows, and meetings. However, specific seminars at a professional conference that relate directly to nursing may count
Completing more than one course or educational activity on the same content for your renewal period
Learning activities completed for personal interest or self-improvement, to earn an income, or for job search purposes
CPR, which is considered a basic requirement for nurses. Although recertification is mandatory, BONs don’t accept it as meeting CE requirements
Certifications such as Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Life Support (PALS) and Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) may be counted towards your CE requirements the first time you take them. However, most BONs will not accept recertifications or renewals of these courses for your CE requirements
Category I CMEs (continuing medical education) courses accredited for physicians and dentists are NOT usually granted CE credit by BONs. Some states like California may grant nurses CE credit for certain CME offerings but be sure to inquire with your BON first
Workplace in-service programs, nursing orientations, and nurse residency or internship programs.
If you plan to take a course or activity and want it to count towards your CE requirement, be sure to contact your state BON first and ask if it will be recognized towards your CE requirements. Just because you receive a certificate for completing an activity, or because a vendor tells you it will count towards your CE requirements, doesn’t necessarily mean your BON will agree.
What's the quickest way to earn nursing CEUs/CE?
Obviously it’s ideal to give yourself lots of time to meet your nursing CE requirements. Doing so will help reduce your stress levels, give you time to think about what you really want to learn, and help you retain the information better.
But if time has gotten away from you and you find yourself in a pinch to complete your CE before your license renewal date, here are some quick and easy ways to meet your CE requirement.
1. Take some free CE credits
Some professional nursing associations offer CE credits for their members.
For example, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has an online Continuing Education Activities library with more than 300 different free CE offerings for its members. Right now, for a limited time, AACN is offering these CE courses for free to nurses at this link.
Free nursing CE credits recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation (ANCC) are also available through these links below:
2. Book a cruise conference and earn CE credits
Yes, you read that right! If you need a vacation but just haven’t had a chance to get away, why not consider booking a cruise where you can work on building your professional network while earning most, if not all, of your CE credits?
With cruise conferences designed to meet continuing education needs of healthcare professionals, you can earn roughly 12-21 accredited contact hours while being pampered on a cruise. Just be sure to check with your state BON to find out if the cruise conference you’re interested in qualifies for CE credit before you book it. Then find some nursing colleagues who want to go with you and pack your bags!
Here are some other accredited cruise CE options you might want to check out:
If a cruise doesn’t interest you but a vacation to Hawaii or Africa does, companies like Destination: Earth may rejuvenate you and let you cross CE requirements off your “to do” list.
3. Complete an accredited CE course for a fee
If your state BON requires you to complete some of your CE contact hours reviewing specific topics such as how to recognize and report child abuse, human trafficking, or better help patients with pain management, you might need to search around to find an accredited CE course specific to your needs and pay a fee to complete it.
There are lots of online sites that offer accredited CE courses specific to your nursing specialty and even state-specific renewal packages. And going this route to complete your CE doesn’t have to be expensive.
For example, for $35, Nurse.com provides a customized CE package of 20 contact hours for nurses in Illinois that covers specific CE content required by the state BON. On top of that, no test completion is required, the content is ANCC accredited, and you receive a certificate right away after completion.
Sites like NursingCEUs.com charge a flat fee of $19.79/year and allow you to complete as many CE courses as you like for free for a year. This includes unlimited courses, testing, retesting, and immediate completion certificates.
Some other online sites that offer CE credits for a fee include:
4. Inquire about CE credits with professional associations you belong to
If you’re a member of a professional association related to your practice, they may have CE offerings you can take as well. Most professional associations require a yearly membership fee but if you’re able to complete some of your CE requirements through the association as well, all the better since you’ve paid that fee already.
Meeting your nursing CE requirements might be something that has fallen off your radar—until now. Save yourself some stress. Don’t get caught last minute trying to earn all your CE credits. Put it on your to-do list today and find a nursing colleague to do it with you so you can hold each other accountable to get it done. Then use one or more of the ideas above to make it happen.
About the author
Leona Werezak MN, BSN, RN
Leona Werezak MN, BSN, RN has worked as a nurse in a variety of positions at the bedside for 13 years and as a nurse manager. From there, she began teaching nursing in BSN programs for the next 20 years.