Select from the following questions
General
Disclosures
Contact Hours
Contact Hour Requirements [Related to Pharamcotherapeutics]
Determine Ability to Award Contact Hours
How Contact Hours are Awarded
Educational Design
Incorporating Previously Developed Content Into Educational Activities and Awarding Continuing Education Credit
Accreditation Statement
Accreditation Logo
Commercial Support/Vested Interest
Confidentiality of Records
Co-Provider
Approver Units
Approvals
Accredited Organizations Approaching a Problematic Time: the Warning Signs
Record Keeping
Miscellaneous
General
Q: What is the accreditation process for providers and approvers?
A. Accreditation of continuing nursing education is a voluntary recognition process. An institution, organization or agency submits to an in-depth analysis to determine the capacity of the entity to provide, or in the case of the approver, approve quality continuing education activities for nurses. return to top
Q: How long is the accreditation?
A. New applicants can receive 2 years accreditation, during which time progress reports may be required to address any areas of non-compliance with criteria. For returning applicants, the period of accreditation is 4 years (or possibly a 1 year probationary period if non-compliance with criteria is significant). return to top
Q : Can international organizations apply for ANCC accreditation?
A. Yes, any organization responsible for the overall development, implementation, evaluation, and quality assurance of continuing nursing education may seek accreditation as a provider. This includes international organizations whose headquarters are located outside the United States. return to top
Disclosures
Q. If a speaker cancels on the day of the conference can another presenter be substituted even though the provider has none of the required documents for this substitute?
A. Yes, as long as all required diclosures and documentation are made to the audience
Q. What are the requirements regarding electronic signatures
A. Electronic signatures will be accepted. return to top
Contact Hours
Q: Can contact hours be awarded to participants who are not nurses?
A. Yes, anyone who attends may receive a certificate and contact hours. However, the target audience must include RNs. return to top
Q: Can a presenter earn contact hours for the conference at which she/he is presenting?
A. Presenters and authors can only receive contact hours for portions of the activity they attend but do not present. return to top
Q. How do you calculate contact hours for online or home study programs?
A. These hours must be calculated in a logical and defensible manner. One approach often used is the pilot study. Another approach sometimes used with written materials online is a recognized formula using data such as word count and level of reading and level of technical difficulty. return to top
Q: Can nurses who participate in pilot testing receive ANCC contact hours?
A. Yes. return to top
Q: Can contact hours be awarded to participants of ACLS and PALS certification courses?
A. For initial certification, advanced skilled courses such as ACLS and PALS, ANCC contact hours can be awarded. As of June 1, 2011, ANCC contact hours cannot be awarded to nurses attending these courses in order to renew their certification in the subject area unless new material is added to course. Contact hours may be awarded to new content only.
Contact hours may not be awarded for BLS and other basic courses (either initial or renewal), they do not meet the definition of continuing nursing education.
Contact hours can be awarded for Instructor courses including BLS, ACLS, PALS or similar courses. return to top
Q. How can I calculate and award contact hours for poster sessions (such as at a convention or multi-day CNE event)?
A. To award contact hours for poster sessions, the same criteria must be followed as for any other CE activity, including a logical and defensible method of determining the number of contact hours to award. There are a number of options. The approach chosen depends on the location of the posters, the schedule of the conference, and the objectives of the poster session. Simply assigning time in the conference schedule is not sufficient. return to top
Q: When calculating the number of contact hours I find that the number is two digits past the decimal point, or more. For example, 1.666. What is the number of contact hours I should use?
A. You must round down to 1.66. Do not round up. return to top
Q. The minimum number of hours that can be awarded is now 0.5 Hour (that is, 30 minutes). Can we still award contact hours in 15 minute increments over one hour? E.g., 1.25 contact hours?
A. Yes. return to top
Contact Hour Requirements Related to Pharmacotherapeutics for Nursing Continuing Education
Information for re-certifying ANCC Certified Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS) and Nurse Practitioners (NP) – effective January 1, 2014:
25 of the 75 required contact hours must be in pharmacotherapeutics. If doubling the contact hour requirement to 150,
50 of the 150 contact hours must be in pharmacotherapeutics.
These 25 (or 50) pharmacotherapeutic hours do not need to be formally accredited/approved provided the certified nurse meets the requirements for Category 1 contact hours (at least 51% of the total number of contact hours must be in your certification role and specialty and at least 50% must be formally approved)
If an educational program includes pharmacy content, please refer to equivalency tables in above link/brochure to determine the number of pharmacotherapeutic hours that could be counted towards re-certification. Align calculation with the agenda or content (e.g. 60 minutes of a 2 hour presentation was devoted to pharmacotherapeutics = 1 contact hour).
The educational presentation or conference agenda may be submitted as evidence to validate the contact hour calculation. A narrative note describing pharmacology content within agenda may be necessary to validate content.
The same hours submitted to renew certification may be submitted to a State Board of Nursing for re-licensure.
Pharmacotherapeutic content does not need to be presented by a nurse for the hours to be eligible for re-certification however the presenter must have content expertise in pharmacology.
Providers
If a provider is developing content to meet the ANCC pharmacotherapeutic hour requirement, content must specifically address pharmacotherapeutics.
Pharmacotherapeutic content does not need to be presented by a nurse for the hours to be eligible for re-certification however the presenter must have content expertise in pharmacology.
When developing the content for an educational activity, it is recommended that the provider delineate the number of pharmacotherapeutic contact hours.
Existing continuing education courses/programs that include pharmacotherapeutic content may be reviewed to calculate the appropriate number of pharmacotherapeutic contact hours.
When a speaker develops content for an educational activity, it would be advised that pharmacotherapeutic contact hours contained within the presentation be calculated at that time. return to top
** Pharmacotherapeutic content may include but is not limited to drug specific information, safe prescribing practices, safe medication administration, prescribing methodologies, new regulations or similar content.
How Contact Hours are Awarded
There are several ways allowed by ANCC to award contact hours for successful completion of continuing nursing education.
Commercial interest entities are not eligible to apply. Commercial interest entities are defined as any entity either producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing healthcare goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients or that is owned or controlled by an entity that produces, markets, re-sells, or distributes healthcare goods or services consumed by, or used on patients.
Option One - Apply to become an ANCC accredited provider. The initial accreditation term is for two years. The application fee ranges from $5,000 to $9,500 depending on type of organization, re-accreditation is four years. The organization will be invoiced for the annual fee when applicable.
A crucial component of the eligibility criteria is a "Lead Nurse Planner" must be involved in the planning, implementation and evaluation of each CE activity. The Lead Nurse Planner must have a graduate degree. If the graduate is not in nursing then the baccalaureate must be in nursing. Other components for eligibility are:
- At least three (3) activities need to have been developed, implemented and evaluated using ANCC criteria.
- It is also required that the provider unit has been operational for at least six (6) months using ANCC criteria.
RN licensing boards nationwide acknowledge and accept contact hours from accredited providers. The state licensing boards of California and Iowa have 'caveats' on their acceptance. The Board of Nursing of these states stipulates"if the provider ENTERS their state (CA or IA) and presents an activity, the provider must also apply to the State's Board of Nursing for approval, in order for nurses from CA and IA to use contact hours for renewing their licenses."
The CA Board of Registered Nursing considers internet learning and other types of home study to be out-of-state, unless the provider is located in CA, contact them directly at 916-322-3350 for an extended explanation of their requirements. The Iowa Board of Nursing considers internet and other types of home study to be in-state, contact them directly at 515-281-3255 for an extended explanation of their requirements. Remember, the licensed RN is responsible for checking with their licensing board(s) regarding contact hour requirements.
The cost of the 2009 ANCC Accreditation Application Manual has been reduced to $58, plus shipping and handling. You can order the manual online by visiting www.nursesbooks.org, click on the "Specialties" tab, and select "ANCC CE/Accreditation".
Please visit the Accreditation home page for updates on the release of the 2011 Accreditation Manual.
A listing of ANCC accredited organizations can be found at www.nursecredentialing.org/AccreditedOrganizations.aspx.
If interested in the above (option 1), contact Barbara Feild at Barbara.Feild@ana.org.
Option Two - Maintain approved providership through an Amercianc Nurses Association (ANA) constituent member association (CMA) that is an accredited approver through ANCC. CMAs are state nurses associations (do not confuse them with state licensing boards) and develop their own business plans therefore; the application and other associated fees can differ from the ANCC Accreditation Application and associated fee(s). Visit the Accredited Organizations page to find an accredited approver.
RN licensing board acknowledgement is the same as stated in option one above.
Option Three - Apply to an ANCC Accredited approver (CMA as indicated above or a specialty nursing organization that has earned the ANCC approver accreditation) to have a specific educational activity approved for two years. The RN licensing board caveat is the same as in option one. Processing an application for approval typically takes about 6 – 8 weeks. The note below does not pertain to this approval.
An eligibility requirement for option two and option three is the Lead Nurse Planner must have an baccalaureate in nursing. return to top
Please note: Provider units that offer the majority of their educational activities to nurses outside their region or state adjoining their region (use the DHHS regions: www.hhs.gov/about/regions), must apply to be accredited providers (option one). This pertains to approved providers only (option 2), not to approved activities (option 3).
Education Design
Q: Can only the designated Lead Nurse Planner do the planning?
A. There can be any number of planners of an activity – a Lead Nurse Planner must be one of them. The planning committee is made up of at least two people, one nurse may represent more than one role, the content expert, and the Lead Nurse Planner must be represented. You may find that two planners are enough, or you may need additional planners. Only one planner, the Lead Nurse Planner must have a baccalaureate in nursing and a valid nursing license. return to top
ANCC Guidelines for Incorporating Previously Developed Content Into Educational Activities and Awarding Continuing Education Credit
When planning educational activities, Nurse Planners may identify previously developed content that would be appropriate to meet the learning needs of the intended target audience. The purpose of these guidelines is to provide flexibility for Nurse Planners to incorporate previously developed content while adhering to the ANCC Accreditation criteria. These guidelines are not intended to bypass the critical role of Nurse Planners in conducting needs assessments and planning, implementing and evaluating educational activities, but rather to allow Nurse Planners to incorporate previously developed educational content in a continuing nursing education activity which relates to the needs assessment and target audience.
Content that has been previously developed may be incorporated into educational activities awarding continuing nursing education credit according to the following guidelines:
The Nurse Planner and Planning Committee:
Have conducted an independent needs assessment of the target audience
Have identified previously developed educational content that meets the learning needs of the target audience
Have developed learning objectives for the educational activity independent of the learning objectives previously
developed for the content or have evidence why previously developed learning objectives did not require modification
Have evidence that the previously developed content is current, evidence-based, meets current standards or practice
guidelines or otherwise should be incorporated into the activity
Have evidence of revisions/deletions/additions required for the previously developed content OR evidence stating why
previously developed content did not require any revisions/deletions/additions
Ensures that the previously developed content is objective and unbiased; and excludes any promotional influence
Verifies that the previously developed content meets the definition of "continuing education" as described by the
American Nurses Credentialing Center's Accreditation Program
The Nurse Planner and Planning Committee may not "approve" a previously developed educational activity and award
continuing nursing education credit without complying with these guidelines. Failure to adhere to these guidelines may result
in loss of accreditation status. return to top
Accreditation Statement
Q. What does "stand alone" mean when referring to the accreditation statement?
A. It means this statement must not be combined with any other information and must be on a separate line from any other statement. It is not necessary to have blank lines around the statement.
For example:
State Nursing Association is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses
Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.
State Nursing Association is accredited as an approver of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses
Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.
Lake Wobegone Clinic is accredited as an approved provider of continuing nursing education by State Nursing
Association, an accredited approver of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's
Commssion on Accreditation.
This continuing nursing education activity was approved by State Nursing Association, an accredited approver of
continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.
Accreditation Logo
Q: Is it permissible to put the ANCC Accreditation logo on a certificate?
A. Yes, as long as it is in a less prominent place and smaller than the provider's logo. A number of ANCC Accreditation logo files can be found on the ANCC website and are available for download. return to top
Commercial Support/Vested Interest
Q. If there is no conflict of interest, does the provider or approver need to disclose that?
A. The provider and approver need to secure from presenters, planners and reviewers a statement regarding conflict of interest on a vested interest form whether there is one or not. This information must be disclosed to the learners even if there are no conflicts. return to top
Q. Our nurse planner is married to a man who works full time for a major pharmaceutical company. He owns stock and receives salary. When our nurse planner completes her disclosure, must we publish (disclose to the audience) this info for EVERY program we do of which she is a part or only those when this pharmaceutical company is financially supporting and/or exhibiting at?
A. You will only need to disclose this information when it could cause - or could cause the perception that - a bias in the continuing education being planned or implemented. In other words, if the activity is related to a product or service of the pharmaceutical company, then this would need to be disclosed. An alternative might be that you train a second nurse planner who would direct the planning committees addressing the educational activities where there might be a relationship with the pharmaceutical company. return to top
Q. Can the sponsor logo be used on the certificate of completion?
A. No. return to top
Q. Can a commercial supporter require that only their clients be given credit for an activity?
A. No. return to top
Q. Is paying for food considered to be commercial support?
A. Yes. return to top
Q: Must we, as the accredited provider, limit the promotional activities of companies that are not considered commercial entities?
A. Yes. Promotional activities should never occur within educational activities – regardless of the nature of the company wishing to promote themselves or their product(s).
Example #1: A speaker has written a book related to the topic that s/he is addressing in the presentation.
Acknowledgement of the speaker's expertise in the area may be made but the speaker may NOT encourage the
learners to buy the book 'in order to learn more' or for any reason. Additionally, if there is to be a 'book signing', it
should NOT be mentioned before, during or subsequent to the educational activity and it should occur in an area
OTHER THAN the education area
.
Example #2: A not-for-profit healthcare entity agrees to sponsor education. They wish to include 'an invitation to
practice' at their hospital in the education material provided to the learner. While the not-for-profit healthcare entity
does not meet the definition of "commercial entity", the scenario in question mixes educational activity with promotional
activity. This is not allowed. The sponsor must be acknowledged but that acknowledgement cannot result in a promotion
of the sponsor. Learners should not feel "pressured" or marketed to by the sponsor of the program or should not receive
promotional information because they participated in a CNE activity.
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Confidentiality of Records
Q. At our conference, we would like to distribute a list of participant names and contact info to all who attend. Is this permitted?
A. Since the names of participants and their contact info is confidential information, it is permitted only if you secure approval before the conference from the individuals whose names are on the list. The registration form might include a question asking for this approval and providing an "opt out" checkbox for those who wish to deny permission. return to top
Co-Provider
Q. What is the difference between co-sponsor and co-provider?(co-sponosr is ACCME's term for co-provider)
A. Co-Providership is the planning, developing, and implementing an educational activity by two or more organizations or agencies. ANCC Accreditation criteria require that the accredited organization be fully responsible for the particular aspects of the process to assure adherence to all the ANCC criteria. A written co-provider agreement is required. return to top
Q. When a hospital is accredited or approved, but is part of a larger organization system, can they offer programs developed by the entire system under their name?
A. The provider unit can use their approved status only for those activities their provider unit plans, implements and evaluates. However, this provider can co-provide with other hospitals (either within the hospital system or without). return to top
For the Approver Unit Only
Q. Can co-provided activities be approved?
A. Yes. return to top
Q. Can a first time provider applicant submit a co-provided activity as one of the three sample activities?
A. No. return to top
Q. Can an approved provider co-provide?
A. Yes. return to top
Q. Must the "pending approval" statement stand alone, or can it be on the same line as other information?
A. The pending approval statement must stand alone. return to top
Approvers
Boundaries for Approved Providers
The boundary rule applies to approved providers only. It does not apply to individual activity applicants.
An organization must apply to ANCC if it targets more than 50% of its activities to nurses in multiple noncontiguous regions.
For this rule to apply, the organization must be marketing its activities to nurses in multiple regions regardless of the method of marketing (internet, flyers, print advertisement or similar). More than 50% of the activities must be marketed to nurses in multiple regions.
The actual audience make up (from local or multiple regions) does not determine whether the organization must apply to ANCC. How the organization has chosen to market its activities is the determining factor. The audience make up, however, may provide evidence for the Accredited Approver in order to make an appropriate decision. The method of marketing also does not determine whether an organization must apply to ANCC, but may provide additional evidence.
Examples:
An organization provides 100 activities annually and advertises them within a five (5) hospital system using a web based link on its intranet. Only nurses from the local state attend.
- Eligible to be an approved provider – marketing all activities to nurses within a local region
An organization provides 100 activities annually and advertises 60 of them through a national publication. Only nurses from the local state attend.
- Not eligible to be an approved provider – marketing greater than 50% of activities to nurses in multiple regions
An organization provides 100 activities annually and advertises 10 of them through a national database of CE activities. Nurses from multiple regions attend the 10 activities. Nurses from the local area attend the other 90 activities.
- Eligible to be an approved provider – marketing less than 50% of activities to nurses in multiple regions
An organization provides 100 activities and states that it advertises them in only within a small, local nursing publication. Nurses from the local area attend.
- Eligible to be an approved provider – marketing all activities to nurses within a local region
An organization provides 100 activities annually and states that it advertises them only within a small, local nursing publication. Nurses from multiple regions attend.
- Would require further investigation. Nurses attending from multiple regions seems to contradict small, localized advertising.
return to faq
Commercial Product Companies
Q. I understand that, as of August 1, 2009, commercial interest companies can no longer apply for accreditation. Can they apply for approval?
A. No. Nor can they apply to have their activities approved. However, there is an alternate form of accreditation. The Nursing Skills Competency Program (NSCP) offers accreditation for programs that utilize both knowledge-based testing and skill observation methods of participant outcomes in nursing skills.
Q. Can commercial interest companies that are currently accredited or approved as providers continue with their status unit it expires?
A. No. New regulations became effective July 31, 2009. On August 1, 2010 (1 year following the effective date of this regulation), the accreditation status of the currently accredited commercial interest organizations have been terminated.
Q. What is a commercial interest company?
A. Commercial product companies include:
Any entity either producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services consumed
by, or used on, patients or
An entity that is owned or controlled by an entity that produces, markets, re-sells, or distributes health care
goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients.
Exceptions are made for some non-profit or government organizations and non-health care related companies who have adequate firewalls. return to faq
Accredited Organizations Approaching a Problematic Time: the Warning Signs
There are sometimes "warning signs" of an accredited organization approaching a problematic time. The following list is provided as a tool that may be used by the accredited organization to identify a time when the organization might provide particularly close watch and care of the accredited CNE unit. These "warning signs" are based on evidence collected by the Accreditation Program and have been validated by other continuing nursing education accreditation bodies.
The presence of:
- a major change in the organizational structure (includes change in ownership, mergers, acquisitions, significant change in job responsibilities, etc.).
- significant staff turnover (either in numbers of staff, e.g. 50%, or in key personnel, e.g. nurse planner).
- changes in key personnel (nurse planner, in some cases this may include the administrator and/or the administrative assistant).
- presence of conflict of interest (including commercial support).
- presence of complaints lodged against the accredited organization.
- incomplete or unacceptable interim, annual, or other reports or updated self-study.
- lack of appropriate actions toward CNE unit goals.
The items listed above are not necessarily definitive—but have been found useful and valid in identifying possible problematic times. They are provided to assist the accredited organization.
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Record Keeping
Q. Recordkeeping no longer requires participant addresses but does require "unique identifier information". What are examples of this identifier?
A. Identifier information might be the last four digits of the participants social security number (never the full number, license number or credit card number), birth date OR address. Some organizations have a system that automatically generates a unique identifier number for a new learner. It is a way to track an individual participant that conceals the identity of the participant from office staff, other participants, or others. Only the Nurse Planner or his / her designee has the key to identify which Unique Identifier Code matches with each participant.
Miscellaneous
Q. What is probation?
A. When the COA determines that a re-accrediting application is only 60-74% compliant, the COA will award probationary status for one year. The applicant will submit a progress report, undergo a second site visit (at their expense) and the COA will review them again. If the applicant is at least 75% compliant this time, three more years accreditation will be awarded (for a total of four years). return to top
Q: Do expiration dates only have to be on enduring materials?
A. Yes. return to top
Q. What is the value of ANCC accreditation status vs. California Board of Nursing approval? (It seems that other accreditation might be a cheaper and easier way to be approved)
A. ANCC accreditation and approval is recognized by all BONs with the following exception: the CA and IA BONs will not recognize an provider's CE if that provider enters those states to offer their CE, without the respective BONs approval. If the provider does not go into the states of CA or IA, then those BONs will recognized the provider's contact hours awarded (this is true for internet courses and other home study courses as well). Please contact the CA and IA BON's for their specific regulations. return to top