Yes, 64B9-5.003(8)(j), F.A.C. states "Providers shall furnish each participant with an authenticated individual Certificate of Attendance".

The Board of Nursing application requirements state the following must be included on the Certificate of Attendance: the participant's name, the CE Provider's name, the date, the title of the offering and the number of contact hours must be listed.

You may find a listing of approved educational providers in the Course Search provided to licensees at no cost. To access, go to https://www.CEBroker.com and click on the Florida Healthcare Licensees tab and select option 3.

ANCC organizations that are Statute/Rule approved do not display in this listing of approved educational providers unless also Board-approved.

There are four options to offer license renewal credit to RNs, LPNs, and CNSs. They are:

• Board-approved
• Board-approved as a CE Provider deemed equivalent to the American Heart Association or American red Cross, an American Heart Association Training Center, or an American Red Cross Training Center
• ANCC approved
• Colleges or University with a course directly related to Nursing

If you wish to apply to be a Board-approved educational provider, click on the Educational provider tab and select Register to Be an Educational Provider in the Florida column.

ANCC educational providers and Colleges/Universities may apply to be Board-approved, if desired.

There is one additional option to offer licensee renewal credit to ARNPs:

• Continuing medical Education (CME)

CME educational providers may apply to be Board-approved, if desired.

The course input allows courses to be submitted to these additional areas:

• HIV/AIDS as is required during the initial biennium licensed, if licensed by endorsement
• ACLS, PALS, NRP display as these certifications qualify for renewal credit as General renewal hours.
• General (Remedial course for those reapplying to take NCLEX) as routes to the Board for approval.
• Domestic Violence as is required every third biennium.
• Laws and Rules of the Board, Legal Aspects of Nursing, and Standard Precautions display as, Nurses often need to locate courses on these topics, Counts as General renewal hours.

Excess Medical Errors "rolls" to General. So, you do not need to worry if an attendee has previously completed the course. In this example, you record the course as 2 hours Medical Errors and 2 hours in the other appropriate subject area.

If you have one course that has both a classroom and home study portions and you only issue one course certificate when both portions are complete, the Board of Nursing considers this one course. The Board of Nursing defines a "live" course type as having the "opportunity for interaction" with an instructor. An example is the 20-hour course where the educational provider only issues a completed course certificate when the course is completed in full. Should an educational provider offer this course as 12 hours home study followed by 8 classroom hours, the full 20 hour course would be submitted as "live" as all content covered by the course has "opportunity for interaction" with a qualified instructor.

Nurses do not have a required minimum "live" or "anytime" type courses. However, other professions for which Nursing courses automatically qualify do have delivery method restrictions.

Live courses have the opportunity for interaction with the host. Live course delivery methods include: Broadcasted Interactive Events, Class, Conference, Lecture, Panel Discussion, Seminar, Telephone Conference, and Workshop.

Anytime course delivery methods include: Audiobridge via Telephone, Audiocassette, Computer-Based Training, CD Rom, Correspondence, Home Study, Mailed Material, Prerecorded Broadcast, and Videocassette/DVD. Anytime courses do not provide the opportunity for interaction with the host.

Educational providers submit course in half (1/2) hour increments. Sixty (60) minutes is one credit hour.

The minimum course length is one (1) hour.

The Board of Nursing does not accept courses approved by another MQA Board (we call those complementary courses).

No. Florida Board of Nursing courses do not require instructors to be submitted to the Board for approval.

At a minimum, please be sure to read:

64B9-5, F.A.C.

Section 456.033, F.S.

Section 456.031, F.S.

Section 456.025(7), F.S.

64B-5.001, F.A.C.

64B-5.002, F.A.C.

RNs, LPNs, and CNSs may be awarded "General" course credit by:

• Board approved educational providers
• College/Universities
  Note: The course must directly relate to Nursing.

ANRPs may also be awarded "General" course credit by:

• Continuing Medical Education (CME) educational providers

RNs, LPNs, CNSs, and ARNPs may be awarded "Medical Errors" course credit by Board-approved educational providers.

The course must cover the required course content listed in 64B9-5.011, F.A.S.

ANCC, CME, and College/Universities may award contact hours only if is also Board-approved and offering as a Board-approved educational provider.

RNs, LPNs, CNSs, and ARNPs may be awarded "HIV/AIDS" course credit by Board-approved educational providers.

The course must cover the required course content listed in 64B9-5.009, F.A.C. and section 456.033, F.S.

ANCC, CME, and College/Universities may award contact hours only if is also Board-approved and offering as a Board-approved educational provider.

RNs, LPNs, CNSs, and ARNPs may be awarded "Domestic Violence" course credit by Board-approved educational providers.

The course must cover the required course content listed in 64B-5.010 and section 456.031(1)(a), F.S.

ANCC, CME, and College/Universities may award contact hours only if is also Board-approved and offering as a Board-approved educational provider.

RNs, LPNs, CNSs, and ARNPs may be awarded course credit by Board-approved educational providers in the following subject areas:

• Laws and Rules of the Board
• General (Remedial course for those reapplying to take NCLEX)
• Legal aspect of Nursing
• Standard Precautions
• Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification
• Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) certification
• Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) certification

ANCC, CME, and Colleges/Universities may award contact hours only if is also Board-approved and offering as a Board-approved educational provider.

Yes, if the course directly relates to Nursing.

For approved undergraduate or graduate courses, each semester hour shall constitute fifteen (15) hours of continuing education renewal credit, and each quarter hour shall constitute ten (10) hours of continuing educational renewal credit. For example, a 3-hour college/university semester course would equal 45 hours of continuing education credit.

There is no maximum. Programs may last hours, days, weeks, or even months.

Use the following conversion:

• 60 minutes = one (1) contact hours
  
• 30 minutes = one-half (1/2 or .5) contact hours
  
• 1 academic quarter = 10 continuing education (contact hours)
  
• 1 academic semester = 15 continuing education (contact hours)
  
• 1 CME = 60 minutes or 1.0 continuing education (contact hours)

Yes. Successful completion of the following certification courses apply toward the General hours requirement:

• Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
• Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)
• Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP)

Yes, if the ACLS certification course is completed and a Card is issued. The fact the course is required by the employer does not preclude the course from qualifying for renewal requirements as the course is not employer-specific, i.e., these skills can be used in any RN job.

All course hours should be submitted no more than ninety (90) days following completion of the course.

Licensee records will be updated within 24 hours of the successful transmission of the course completion.

There is no need for a Nurse to report courses offered  by Board-approved educational providers. Board-approved educational providers are required to report. Avoiding duplicate continuing education entries is important for the Department to be able to rely upon the system for electronic continuing education audits.

RNs, LPNs, and CNSs have the ability to report the following:

• Continuing education by other than Florida-Approved CE provider.
• College or University Courses directly related to Nursing.
• Continuing education from an educational provider deemed equivalent to American Heart Association or American Red Cross
• Continuing Education from an American Heart Association Training Center or American Red Cross Training Center.
• Presenter of a Continuing Education Course
• Author of a Continuing Education Course

ARNPs have one additional reporting option:

• Continuing Medical Education (CME)

"Records of individual offerings shall be maintain for four years for inspection by the Board" per 64B9-5.003(8)(1),F.A.C.

Additionally, 64B9-5.003(8)(h),F.A.C., requires "System of record-keeping which provides for storage of individual offering information".

A letter to the Florida Board of Nursing is no longer required to update your Designated person. Instead, please change your primary contact in CE Broker for this Board. The Florida Board of Nursing receives notification the day the change occurs. Plus, the Department may view your primary contact listing online at any time.