14 Steps to Nursing CE Contact Hour Approval

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

All planners and presenters must declare whether

or not they have a conflict of interest. A “conflict

of interest” exists when an individual with a

financial relationship to a commercial interest can

influence nursing CE content. A presenter with a

conflict of interest must specify what that conflict

is and how it was resolved. A verbal

announcement must be made at the beginning of

the event or a written notification distributed to

each participant prior to the beginning of the

program. See Instructions p. 8.

2. FORM YOUR PLANNING

COMMITTEE

Must have at least two members,

one with BSN.

See Instructions p. 4

1 3. PROVIDE PRESENTER/

AUTHOR INFORMATION

See Instructions p. 7

2

Hint: Include

ANCC planning

expertise

Hint: Presenter

employed by industry

may present certain,

unrelated topics only.

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5. STATE

PURPOSE/GOAL

See Instructions p. 10

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NOTE: Activity topics

which do not support the

definition of continuing

nursing education are not

permitted, including

programs on financial

planning and retirement,

as identified by ANCC.

4. DISCLOSE COMMERCIAL

SUPPORT Keep education separate

from promotional activities and

disclose all commercial support of

educational activities. See

Instructions p. 10

WHAT DESIGNATES A COMMERCIAL INTEREST?

Industry contributions used to pay all or part of the

costs of CE activity.

A Commercial Interest :

1. Produces, markets, sells or distributes health

care goods or services consumed by or used on

patients;

2. Is owned or operated, in whole or in part, by

any entity that produces, markets, sells or

distributes health care goods or services

consumed by or used on patients.

3. Is not a non-profit 503(c) organization,

government, or a non-healthcare entity

COMMERCIAL SUPPORT

WRITTEN AGREEMENT

If you are receiving commercial

support, you must submit a

Written Agreement for

Commercial Support. Copy

available for download in the

application.

1. CREATE NEW APPLICATION

Level I: AORN Constituents

Level II: Non-profits and

Health Care Providers

Level III: Entrepreneurs or

National/Specialty Nursing

Associations; and certain

industries.

www.aorn.org/Education/CEAp

provalProcess/

Hint: Keep

it concise. Please

don’t restate

objectives.

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14 Steps to Nursing CE Contact Hour Approval

The journey to create meaningful education programs for nursing contact hours can sometimes seem like an obstacle course. In reality, the steps are

logical, and once mastered, can be completed easily. Always keep in mind that AORN supports your intention to create nursing continuing education, and

we will work with you to help you complete your journey to approval. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at 800-755-2676, x254 or 456.

6. WRITE OBJECTIVES

Describe expected learner-

oriented outcomes in

measurable terms (using

measurable verbs). Specify

a single action or outcome

per objective,

See Instructions pp. 11-12

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7. DEVELOP CONTENT

Must support outcome and be

directly related to the

objective. A topic outline of

material to be presented. Write

enough content to justify

allotted timeframe. Not a

restatement of your objective.

See Instructions p. 13

8. INCLUDE TEACHING STRATEGIES

Lecture, discussion, PowerPoint slides,

question & answer, demonstration,

etc. See Instructions p. 16

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NOTE:

One Contact Hour (CH)

= 60 min. ANCC doesn’t

recognize CEUs.

INCORRECT SAMPLE

Objective

Content

1. Describing the

symptoms and

risk for a

candidate for a

total hip

replacement.

The major

symptoms for a

candidate for

total hip

replacement

CORRECT SAMPLE

Objective

Content

1. Describe the

symptoms a person who

requires a

total hip replacement

may exhibit.

a. Arthritis – restricted

movement hip

b. Pain not relieved by non-

steriodal anti-

inflammatory medications

c. Pain not relieved by

physical therapy

d. Impact on ADL

2. Discuss the possible

complications following

total hip replacement.

a. Nerve damage

b. Infection

c. Failure of prosthetic

device

ANCC STATEMENT

This activity has been submitted to the

Association of periOperative Registered Nurses,

Inc. for approval to award contact hours. The

Association of periOperative Registered Nurses,

Inc. is accredited as an approver of continuing

nursing education by the American Nurses

Credentialing Center’s Commission on

Accreditation.

Activities that are approved by AORN are

recognized as continuing education for

registered nurses. This recognition does not

imply that AORN or the ANCC Commission on

Accreditation approves or endorses any product

included in the presentation.

Hint: Examples of

commonly used measurable

behavioral verbs include: classify,

compare, contrast, demonstrate,

describe, develop, differentiate,

discuss, explain, identify,

list, and name.

10. SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION Credit card payment required. See Fee Schedule.

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9. UPLOAD MARKETING

MATERIAL

ANCC accreditation statement

must be on all promotional

material BEFORE approval can be

granted. See Instructions p. 18

Hint: ANCC

considers its

accreditation

statement its

BRAND

s

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14. SUBMIT POST

ACTIVITY

Submit Post reports

online 30 days after

presentation or

monthly for repeated

programs.

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Copyright AORN, Inc. 2009

11. WAIT FOR PROGRAM REVIEW

The Continuing Education Approval

Committee (CEAC) members review

applications according to specific

ANCC criteria;

• Review time –

3-4 weeks.

• Rush reviews –less than 3 weeks

12. RECEIVE PROGRAM

APPROVAL

All programs are

approved for two (2) years

from approval date.

Records for each approved

educational activity will be

kept for six (6) years

online.

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REVIEW STATUS CATEGORIES

Approved: Program approved

Approved pending changes: Most applications are

sent back for changes that meet ANCC criteria. Please

make changes and resubmit for final approval.

Denied: Program denied approval

13. PRINT CERTIFICATE OF

ATTENDANCE

AND EVALUATION FORMS Once your application has been

approved, you may print out the

Certificates of Attendance and Evaluation

forms. Access your application by clicking

on “Submit your application” button as

you did before. Click on “Eval/COA

Forms” button.

Hint: All

correspondence is sent

via email to the Key

Contact listed in your

application.

ANCC STATEMENT ON CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE

This continuing nursing education activity was

approved by the Association of periOperative

Registered Nurses, Inc., an accredited approver by the

American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission

on Accreditation.

AORN recognized this activity as continuing education

for registered nurses. This recognition did not imply

that AORN or the ANCC Commission on Accreditation

approved or endorsed any product included in the

presentation. Hint: Records for each

approved educational

activity are stored for six

(6) years online in the

secure My Applications

area under your login

information.

All of your programs are stored in the

My Applications area at

/www.aorn.org/applications/CEAC/index

The Association of periOperative Registered

Nurses, Inc. is accredited as an approver of continuing nursing

education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission

on Accreditation (ANCC).

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