Rule 610-X-10-.01 (4) of the Alabama Board of Nursing Administrative Code defines continuing education as “planned, organized learning experiences designed to augment the knowledge,  skill, and ability to enhance nursing practice and therefore improve health care delivered to the public.”

Acceptable content (610-X-10-.03) must be beyond the basic educational level for entry into practice of the individual licensee and includes:

• Clinical technology, procedures, and nursing implications.
• Specialty areas of nursing practice.
• Nursing practice related to care of the patient.
• Administration, management, and supervision in health care delivery.
• Social, legal, and ethical aspects of nursing.
• Nursing education.
• Nursing research, theory, and practice issues.
• Quality improvement and management, accrediting standards, and processes.
• Academic credit applicable to nursing that is earned from liberal arts, sciences, business, and general education courses obtained after initial licensure from an institution accredited by an educational accrediting body or that is earned in pursuit of a higher degree in nursing.
• Professional conduct.

Beginning October 1, 2002, as a part of the 24 Board-approved or Board-recognized continuing education contact hours for license renewal [610-X-4-.08]:

1. Certified Registered Nurse Practitioners (CRNP) and Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM) with prescriptive authority shall earn six contact hours of pharmacology content specific to prescriptive practice in the approved area for collaborative practice.
2. Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA) shall earn six contact hours of pharmacology.
3. Each new licensee is required to complete the four-hour mandatory class prior to his or her first renewal.

Follow the outlined steps:

1. Go to the Alabama Board of Nursing web site, www.abn.alabama.gov.
2. After entering the site, select the Alabama Nursing Resource Center, then select the Nursing CE tab.
3. Before selecting to view a class:
   • Test your system to determine readiness to view online courses.
   • Review Frequently Asked Questions, including system requirements.
4. Choose the mandatory class by selecting the (+) next to it. You will be required to log in at this point. Log in requires your Alabama nursing license number and the last four digits of your social security number as your pin number.
5. Select and view.
6. If you are required to complete the class, you must view each segment of the class to earn the four (4.0) contact hours of continuing education.

Any Alabama licensed nurse may view the online class and receive credit. If not licensed, you cannot receive credit. You may view the mandatory class for credit one time per renewal period.

Continuing education can be earned from activity(ies) provided or approved by an Alabama Board of Nursing approved provider of continuing education or a Board-recognized provider of continuing education.

Yes, if the continuing education is received from a recognized provider [610-X-10-.04(2)]. Continuing education must be from a Board-approved or Board-recognized provider.

To renew a license on active status to practice nursing in Alabama, registered nurses and licensed practical nurses must earn 24 contact hours from a Board-approved or Board -recognized continuing education provider [Chapter 610-X-4-.08]. If licensed by examination, reinstatement, or endorsement during the earning period the contact hours are prorated. A prorated chart is on the Board’s web site, www.abn.alabama.gov, under Alabama Nursing Resource Center, then select CE Audit & Info.

A contact hour is a unit of measurement of organized learning experience lasting fifty (50) minutes [610-X-2-.10(5)]. When attending a conference, workshop, or course that lasts a full day, contact hours are calculated on the basis of time spent in class/at presentations. Time spent for breaks, lunches, and general meetings is not counted as part of the contact hours.

The CE earning period runs from the day after the nurse renews his or her license until the end of the next license period. For example, an RN who renews her single state license on September 17, 2020, can begin earning CE for the 2022 renewal period from September 18, 2020 and continue to earn CE until December 31, 2022. If the same nurse chooses to wait and renew her license on December 31, 2020, she may begin earning CE for 2022 renewal on January 1, 2021.

No, contact hours cannot be carried over from one earning period to another.

Yes, nurses may view/edit their Individual CE Record at My Profile. Alabama Board of Nursing approved providers submit electronic records to the ABN of continuing education provided to licensed Alabama nurses [610-X-10-.06 (2) (e)]. The Individual CE Record reflects continuing education obtained from Board–approved providers (ABNP) for the current earning period.

Contact the continuing education provider. The provider will be able to tell you whether the class has been submitted to the Board. The provider will follow up with the ABN to resolve the problem if necessary.

Courses/activities attended by licensees in another state which are approved by another board of nursing are considered to be acceptable continuing education activities. The nurse will need to add these classes to his/her individual online continuing education record and upload the respective certificate(s) as proof of completion.

The Board has specified selected categories of courses or activities which have undergone appropriate review by other state regulatory agencies and professions are acceptable. Examples of acceptable categories include, but are not limited to, courses approved by the Board of Dental Examiners, the Alabama State Bar, the Board of Pharmacy, the Board of Social Work Examiners, the Board of Education, the Alabama Nursing Home Administration Board, the Psychology Examiners Board, and courses classified as Category I Continuing Medical Education by the American Medical Association.

The nurse’s Individual CE Record on the ABN website. Certificates, transcripts, or other documentation of attendance at, or completion of, continuing education activities may substantiate contact hours for license renewal. Nurses are responsible for maintaining their own continuing education records for at least four (4) years after completion of the approved CE activity.

Applicants who request reinstatement of a lapsed license must provide evidence of having earned 24 approved continuing education contact hours within the 24 months immediately preceding the date of the application. Nurses whose licenses are reinstated shall accrue for license renewal one contact hour for each calendar month remaining in the license period after reinstatement. Contact hours earned for reinstatement of a lapsed license cannot be used toward the continuing education requirement for the next license renewal period.

Yes, nurses may view their individual online CE records at the Board’s web site, www.abn.alabama.gov. Alabama Board of Nursing approved providers submit electronic records to the Board of continuing education provided to licensed Alabama nurses [610-X-10-.06 (2) (d)].  The individual online CE record reflects continuing education obtained for current and previous renewal periods.

Failure to meet continuing education requirements shall be cause for the license to lapse.

The Renewal process cannot be completed until documentation of at least twenty-four (24) contact hours of CE has been uploaded to your CE Record on the ABN website. Please follow the instructions provided prior to starting the Renewal process.

The Board conducts audits to determine compliance with requirements for continuing education for license renewal. An audit consists of a review of documentation of continuing education. The nurse will receive a letter of audit within 30 days before the renewal period. Nurses will be asked to submit records of continuing education activities/courses completed in the appropriate accrual period. The Board reviews individual online CE records for all nurses selected for audit.

Licensees failing to comply with requests for documents within the appropriate time must pay a late CE compliance fee. Current late CE compliance fees are:

• 1st time: $150.00
• 2nd time: $300.00
• 3 or more times: $600.00

Nurses failing to meet continuing education requirements are subject to disciplinary action by the Board as outlined in the Alabama Board of Nursing Administrative Code, Chapter 610-X-8 and Chapter 610-X-10, pursuant to the Code of Alabama, 1975, Section 34-21-25. Failure to meet continuing education requirements shall be cause for the license to lapse.

A nurse who fails to comply with requests for documents within the time specified or fails to evidence compliance will be selected for audit the subsequent renewal.

A registered nurse or licensed practical nurse who fails to comply with reporting requirements of the audit, requests for documents, or submits false, inaccurate, or incomplete evidence of meeting continuing education requirements will be subject to disciplinary action by the Board.

Each new licensee is required to complete the four-hour mandatory class prior to his or her first renewal.

The mandatory class must be completed prior to your first license renewal.

Yes, you may repeat the class for credit once per renewal period.

You will be able to check your online individual CE record when you have completed the class and verify the information. You can access your online individual CE record under My Profile at the Board’s web site www.abn.alabama.gov.