Continuing Nursing Education Program Approval

IMPORTANT: THE UPDATED 2009 GUIDELINES, APPLICATION, AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION ARE AVAILABLE.

• All applications submitted on or after March 1, 2009 must use the new application and forms, and follow the new criteria outlined in the Guidelines.
• Prior to March 1st, if the former application is used the corresponding fees must be submitted, and the program will be evaluated according to the criteria listed in that Handbook.

Introduction

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) is committed to professional development activities that assist critical care nurses in contributing to the care of acute and critically ill patients and their families. Our Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) Program Approval staff reviews a variety of course offerings to verify that they meet professional education standards. Programs may provide participants with contact hours for: (1) voluntary certification or recertification requirements, such as CERPs (including Synergy); (2) institutional continuing education requirements; and (3) renewal of licensure (check with your State Board of Nursing).

AACN's CNE Program Approval activities are not affiliated with, or accredited by, any other nursing organization. "AACN approval" signifies that the program has undergone review by AACN staff and has met our requirements. AACN does not guarantee that other organizations, institutions, or state boards of nursing will accept contact hours from AACN-approved programs.

The CNE Program Approval option provides approval of a single educational program for one year. The program may be presented an unlimited number of times during the approval period.

Highlights of our updated Program Approval Process:

• The Provider Status offering is discontinued effective January 2008
• Non-AACN forms are not permitted
• Contact hours are awarded by CNE rather than CE
• New Synergy CERP categorization effective 2010 is added
• New blackout dates are included
• The processing fees and timelines for standard and RUSH! approval are revised
• RUSH! Service is no longer available for self-paced programs
• Provisional approval is no longer available
• Typed applications are strongly preferred

The current CNE Program Approval Guidelines and Supporting Forms are available as Microsoft® Word documents. Click on the following links to download each one.

Required Reading:

• CNE Program Approval Guidelines 2009

Required Forms -- All organizations seeking approval must submit the following documents:

• Application Cover Sheet
• Program Information Form – along with a copy of the learning evaluation tool
• Bibliography/Reference List
• Biographical Data Form

Additional Forms:

• Form D (for self-paced learning programs)
• Program Evaluation form
• CE Certificate Template

Please review the updated CNE Program Approval Guidelines thoroughly to become familiar with all of our current policies and procedures, even if you have been approved as a sponsor in the past. The application, supporting documentation, and processing fees are all required before a program will be considered.

If you have any questions please email programapproval@aacn.org or call 800-809-2273 x332.

We look forward to receiving your application.

For certification questions please send an e-mail to certcorp@aacn.org.