General
Q. What is accreditation for providers and approvers?
A. Accreditation 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 continuing nursing education activities (provider), or approve other organizations or individual continuing nursing education activities (approver). return to top
Q. How long is accreditation valid?
A. New applicants can receive 2 years accreditation, during which time progress reports may be required to address any areas of non-compliance with accreditation criteria. For returning applicants, the period of accreditation is 4 years.
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, including international organizations. return to top
Disclosures
Q. When a speaker cancels at the last minute may we substitute another presenter, even if the required documents are not in hand?
A. Yes, as long as the provider has ensured that evaluation of conflict of interest and resolution (if required) have been met and all required disclosures are provided to learners/participants.
Q. Are electronic signatures acceptable?
A. Yes. 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 of completion and contact hours.
Q. Can presenters and authors earn contact hours for a conference at which she/he is presenting?
A. Yes, only for activities they attend but do not present.
Q. How do you calculate contact hours for online or home study programs?
A. Contact hours must be calculated in a logical and defensible manner. One approach is to conduct a pilot study. Another approach is to use a formula word count, level of reading comprehension, and level of technical difficulty.
Q. Can nurses who participate in pilot testing receive ANCC contact hours?
A. Yes. return to top
Q. How are contact hours for poster sessions (such as at a convention or multi-day CNE event) calculated?
A. Contact hours may be awarded for poster sessions using a logical and defensible method. Options may include but are not limited to having the learner attest to time spent viewing posters; pilot testing the number of posters that can be viewed within a time period and sign off sheet or similar for poster presenters to validate that the learner actually viewed the poster; or pilot testing the number of posters that can be viewed within a time period and submission of an evaluation form for each individual poster, contact hours commensurate with time viewed.
The approach chosen depends on poster location, conference schedule, and objectives of the poster session. Simply assigning time in the conference schedule is not sufficient.
Q. When calculating contact hours should we round up or down (ex: 1.666)?
A. You must round down to 1.66. Do not round up. return to top
Contact Hours: Pharmacotherapeutics
Effective January 1, 2014, ANCC-certified Clinical Nurse Specialists and Nurse Practitioners must complete 25 of 75 required contact hours in pharmacotherapeutics. If doubling the contact hour requirement to 150, 50 of 150 contact hours must be in pharmacotherapeutics.
These 25 (or 50) pharmacotherapeutic hours do not need to be formally accredited/approved if 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 conversions listed below to determine the number of pharmacotherapeutic hours eligible for re-certification. Align calculation with the agenda or content (e.g. 60 minutes of a 2 hour presentation devoted to pharmacotherapeutics = 1 contact hour).
- 1 contact hour = 1 CME or 0.1 CEU or 60 minutes
- 1 academic semester credit = 15 contact hours
- 1 CEU = 10 contact hours
- 1 academic quarter credit = 12.5 contact hours
Submit the presentation or conference agenda to validate the contact hour calculation. A narrative note describing pharmacology content may also be required. Presenters must possess expertise in pharmacology and are not required to be a nurse for hours to count towards re-certification. Hours submitted to renew certification may also be submitted to a State Board of Nursing for re-licensure.
Providers Developing Pharmacotherapeutic Content
Content to meet the pharmacotherapeutic hour requirement must specifically address pharmacotherapeutics. This may include, but is not limited to, drug specific information, safe-prescribing practices, safe medication administration, prescribing methodologies, new regulations or similar content. Presenters must possess expertise in pharmacology and are not required to be a nurse for hours to count towards re-certification.
Delineate the number of pharmacotherapeutic contact hours on the agenda or other marketing materials provided to learners. Review existing continuing education courses with pharmacotherapeutic content to calculate appropriate number of contact hours. return to top
Who May Award Contact Hours?
Commercial interest entities are ineligible.
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.
1) ANCC accredited providers
To be eligible to apply for Provider Unit accreditation, an organization
must:
- Be one of the following types of organizations:
ANA Organizational Affiliate
College or University
Constituent and State Nurses Association (C/SNA) of the ANA
Federal Nursing Service (FNS)
Healthcare facility
Health-related organization
Multidisciplinary educational group
Professional nursing education group
Specialty Nursing Organization (SNO)
National nursing association/organization
- Be administratively and operationally responsible for coordinating the entire process of planning, implementing, and evaluating CNE activities
- Have a Lead Nurse Planner who holds a current, valid license as an RN and a master's degree or higher with either the baccalaureate or graduate degree in nursing (or international equivalent)
- Have a Lead Nurse Planner who has a uthority within the organization to ensure compliance with the ANCC Accreditation Program criteria in the provision of CNE
- Have a Lead Nurse Planner who is responsible for the orientation of all Nurse Planners in the organization to the ANCC accreditation criteria
- Ensure that all Nurse Planners hold current, valid licenses as RNs and a baccalaureate degree or higher in nursing (or international equivalent)
- Ensure that a Nurse Planner understands the ANCC accreditation criteria and actively participates in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of each educational activity
- Be operational for a minimum of six months prior to application
- Initial applicants must have assessed, planned, implemented, and evaluated at least three separate educational activities provided at separate and distinct events with the direct involvement of a qualified Nurse Planner; that adhered to the ANCC accreditation criteria; that were each at least one hour (60 minutes) in length ( contact hours may or may not have been offered); and that were not co-provided.
- Not be a commercial interest entity
- Be in compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations that affect the organization's ability to meet ANCC accreditation criteria
- Disclose previous denials, suspensions, and/or revocations of ANCC accreditation or accreditation/approval by any other organization
Purchase the Primary Accreditation Application Manual for complete eligibility requirements.
Initial accreditation is for 2 years; re-accreditation is 4 years. The application fee is $5,000 to $9,500 depending on organization type and size. Learn how to apply
Recognition by Licensing Boards
RN licensing boards nationwide acknowledge and accept contact hours from accredited providers. However, the California and Iowa licensing boards caveat their acceptance, stipulating "if the provider ENTERS their state 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 home study to be out-of-state, unless the provider is located in CA. For complete details, contact them directly at 916-322-3350.
The IA Board of Nursing considers Internet and home study to be in state. For complete details, contact them directly at 515-281-3255.
Find an Accredited Provider
2) Approved provider via ANCC accredited approvers
To be eligible to apply for Approved Provider status, an organization must:
- Be one of the following types of organizations:
C/SNA of ANA
College or University
Healthcare Facility
Health-Related Organization
Multidisciplinary Educational Group
Professional Nursing Education Group
SNO
- Be administratively and operationally responsible for coordinating the entire process of planning, implementing, and delivering CNE
- Identify one Nurse Planner who will act as the Primary Nurse Planner and serve as the liaison between the ANCC Accredited Approver and the Approved Provider unit
- Have a Primary Nurse Planner who holds a current, valid license as an RN and a baccalaureate degree or higher in nursing
- Have a Primary Nurse Planner who has a uthority within the organization to ensure compliance with the Accredited Approver criteria in the provision of CNE
- Have a Primary Nurse Planner who is responsible for the orientation of all Nurse Planners and key personnel in the organization to the Accredited Approver criteria
- Ensure that all other Nurse Planners in the Approved Provider unit hold current, valid licenses as RNs with a baccalaureate degree or higher in nursing
- Ensure that each CNE activity has a qualified Nurse Planner who is an active participant in the planning, implementing, and evaluation process
- Be operational for a minimum of six months prior to application
- Initial applicants must have assessed, planned, implemented, and evaluated at least three separate educational activities provided at separate and distinct events with the direct involvement of a Nurse Planner; t hat adhered to the Accredited Approver criteria ; t hat were each a minimum of one hour (60 minutes) in length (Contact hours may or may not have been offered); and that were not co-provided.
- Not be a commercial interest entity
- Marketing the majority ( > 50%) of their CNE activities to nurses in their local geographic region; if marketing > 50% of their CNE activities to nurses in multiple regions, or in states other than those within or contiguous to a single region, they may not be an Approved Provider and must apply to ANCC as an Accredited Provider through the accreditation process ( based on the DHHS regions: www.hhs.gov/about/regions )
- Be in compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations that affect the organization's ability to meet Accredited Approver criteria
- Disclose previous denials, suspensions, and/or revocations
Providers that offer the majority of educational activities to nurses outside their region or state adjoining their region (use the Department of Health and Human Services regions: www.hhs.gov/about/regions ), must apply to be accredited providers.
Find an Accredited Approver
3) Apply to an ANCC accredited approver to accredit a specific educational activity for 2 years.
Those interested in submitting a CNE activity for approval from an Accredited Approver must complete the eligibility verification process and meet all eligibility requirements. The Accredited Approver is responsible for ensuring that the applicant is eligible to apply. To be eligible to apply for activity approval, the applicant must:
- Be administratively and operationally responsible for coordinating the entire process of planning, implementing, and delivering the CNE activity
- Have a minimum of one Nurse Planner
- Nurse Planners must have a current, valid licensed as an RN with a baccalaureate degree or higher in nursing
- Ensure a qualified Nurse Planner is an active participant in the planning, implementing, and evaluation process of the CNE activity
- Have a Planning Committee with a minimum of one Nurse Planner and one other planner to plan e ach educational activity. The Nurse Planner is knowledgeable about the CNE process and is responsible for adherence to ANCC criteria. One planner needs to have appropriate subject matter expertise for the educational activity being offered.
- Ensure the Nurse Planner is responsible for ensuring completion and review of Biographical/Conflict of Interest forms by each Planning Committee member and each faculty/presenter/author/content reviewer, to ensure appropriate qualifications and evaluation of actual or potential bias
- Not be a commercial interest entity
- Be in compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations that affect the organization's ability to meet ANCC accreditation criteria
- Disclose previous denials, suspensions, and/or revocations return to top
Find an Accredited Approver
Education Design
Q. Can only the Lead Nurse Planner plan education?
A. No, the Lead Nurse Planner is responsible for ensuring overall adherence of the Provider Unit to accreditation criteria. However, for every educational activity awarding contact hours, there must be at least one Nurse Planner and one other planner to plan e ach educational activity. The Nurse Planner is knowledgeable about the CNE process and is responsible for adherence to ANCC criteria. One planner needs to have appropriate subject matter expertise for the educational activity being offered. There is no limit to the number of additional individuals who may help plan the activity. return to top
Guideline to Use Previously Developed Content and Award CE Credit
Content previously developed may be incorporated into educational activities for continuing nursing education credit within the following guidelines: The Nurse Planner and Planning Committee must:
- Conduct an independent needs assessment of the target audience
- Identify previously developed educational content that meets the learning needs of the target audience
- Develop new learning objectives independent of any prior objectives for the content or possess evidence why previously developed learning objectives did not require modification.
- Possess evidence the previously developed content is current, evidence-based, meets current standards or practice guidelines Provide 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.
- Ensure the previously developed content is objective and unbiased; and excludes any promotional influence.
- Verify 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. The 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.
Examples:
- 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 Woods 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 Commission on Accreditation.
- This continuing nursing education activity was approved by State Nursing Association , an accredited approver 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. return to top
Commercial Support/Vested Interest
Q. Does absence of conflict of interest have to be disclosed?
A. Yes.
Q. Can a commercial interest entity's logo be used on the certificate of completion?
A. No
Q. Can a commercial supporter require that only their clients be given credit for an activity?
A. No
Q. Is paying for food or beverages considered to be commercial support?
A. Yes return to top
Confidentiality of Records
Q. May we distribute participant names and contact information to all conference attendees?
A. Since participant names and contact information is confidential, it is permitted only if you secure approval before the conference from 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.
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Co-Provider
Q. What is the difference between co-sponsor and co-provider?
A. Co-sponsor is the ACCME term for co-provider. Co-providership is two or more organizations that plan, develop, and implement an educational activity. The ANCC accredited organization is held fully responsible for particular aspects of the process to assure adherence to all the ANCC criteria. A written co-provider agreement is required.
Q. When a hospital is accredited or approved, and is part of a larger organization system, can they offer programs developed by the entire system under their name?
A. No. However, this provider can co-provide with other hospitals (either within the same hospital system or others).
For Approver Units/Approvals
Q. Can co-provided activities be approved?
A. Yes.
Q. Can a first time provider applicant submit a co-provided activity as one of the 3 sample activities?
A. No.
Q. Can an approved provider co-provide?
A. Yes.
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
Boundaries for Approved Providers
The boundary rule applies to approved providers only, not individual activity applicants.
An organization must apply to ANCC if more than 50% of its activities are marketed to nurses in multiple noncontiguous regions, regardless of the marketing method (Internet, flyers, print advertisement or similar).
The actual audience make up (from local or multiple regions) does not determine whether the organization must apply to ANCC. How the organization markets 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 marketing method also does not determine whether an organization must apply to ANCC, but may provide additional evidence.
Example #1:
An organization provides 100 activities annually and advertises them within a 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
Example #2:
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.
Example #3:
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.
Example #4:
An organization provides 100 activities and only advertises in 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.
Example #5:
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 seem to contradict small, localized advertising.
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Commercial Interest Companies
Q. Can commercial interest companies apply for approval?
A. No. Nor can they apply to have their activities approved. However, the Nursing Skills Competency Program offers course accreditation for programs that utilize both knowledge-based testing and skill observation methods of participant outcomes in nursing skills. Learn more
Q. What is a commercial interest company?
A. Commercial interest companies include:
- Any entity either producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients;
OR
- Any entity 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 nonprofit or government organizations and non-health care related companies with adequate firewalls.
Q. Do expiration dates only apply to enduring materials?
A. Yes. return to top
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. return to top
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.
- Contact hours awarded by the ANCC Accreditation Program are also recognized by some certifying agencies toward recertification.
- Accredited organizations have demostrated compliance with our regulations. return to top
Miscellaneous
Q: Do expiration dates only have to be on enduring materials?
A. Yes.
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