Continuing Education

As a traveler, I'm finding it kinda difficult to come up with CEUs (for CCRN and CNRN recert) without breaking the bank.  Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks!

I am not a nurse but can tell you that several of the leading allied health companies offer free online CEUs for their travelers (with very limited courses).  Not so sure about nursing but would think that they would offer similar benefits.  As a P.T. in Washington State I need 40 hours of CEUs by the end of this year!!  No big deal...just an ENTIRE WEEK of WORK! 

Good luck and let the community know if you find a good resource.

Wes,
WA will also accept book and article reviews to meet their con-ed requirement for PT.  I believe you can count upto 10 hours per review.  The same maybe true for RN's.  It is worth checking with licensing board.

Thanks Colleen!  10 units of book/article review would REALLY help!  I will check with the state board.  I never would have thought of that without your tip.  I owe you one.

I imagine that every staffing agency will reimburse for CEUs.  Our company can actually front you the money and either payroll deduct or work in that reimbursement into the contract and at that point it would be a wash. 

There are several sites that you can pay a yearly fee and get as many CE's as you want. They don't always have a multitude of topics and the courses are usually just a couple of credits. I can list the ones I know of if anyone is interested. I also find it very refreshing going to the annual ENA conference. I have to renew my CEN every four years and have never had any trouble getting enough CEs.

Kelly

I have used HomeCEUconnection.com several times.....its seems decent....although prices are still kinda high....but since our company reimburses....not a big deal. But I like that they do have a WIDE variety of courses available.

I operate an online CE business that's accredited for nurses, OTs, and PTs (CA and NY). We have a good selection of courses, including many of the state-mandated courses such as WA HIV and Oregon Pain Management. Our prices are very reasonable and we strive to offer courses with high academic standards. www.ATrainCeu.com

How do you decide if a CE website has good quality courses? Is it important to be able to read the course before registering? What topics are important to travelers?

Because of my credentialling requirements, I look for courses in critical care, especially neuro (critical care and M/S neuro) related.  Also, because if the amount of credits required, I also take into account the cost of the CEUs.

http://www.myfreece.com/

I have used "myfreece.com" for several years and not had any problems from any states. Contrary to the name it is NOT a free site, however it is VERY affordable. Currently a 1 year membership is $29.95. What puts this site above the rest? Cost, tons of courses, they list the CE hr value, you can test BEFORE reading the article, unlimited test tries, they cover many job disciplines, they store your completed tests on your account, You can print certificates for completed tests if you need to, they list "required" CEs for states that have mandatory ones, and they are accepted by all states now.

I knocked out 24 CE hours worth in 2 hours just by testing first. Some courses I didn't even have to read. My general rule was, "If I can't pass it in 3 tries, THEN I'll read the info."  There is no point in studying what you already know...

I will throw one possible monkey wrench in the mix, though. Some states will only allow a "set" amount of online CE hours. Check with your state(s) to find out if they require a certain amount of classroom hours!!!!

CEUPROFESSORONLINE.COM

Just have to check and make sure they are valid for your state. 28 bucks for a years worth of Credits. 
Sounds like a pretty good deal for the nursing field. 

Best of luck to you. 

If you are a member of AACN, all of the CEU's on their site are free. You can also keep track of what you have in each category which is nice, especially for CCRN renewal..