Take Free CEUs to keep your licensure
After working all your muscles off to become an RN, the road to success continues to be wider. The right thing to do is to keep abreast with the field you are working in that seems to change rapidly. Almost every week, new treatment is discovered, new drugs come out in the market, and new devices are used in your workplace. To keep your knowledge current, Continuing Education Units (CEU) should be obtained.
Some states require nurses to take CEUs on specific content like HIV and Domestic Violence to keep their licensure. There are also free nursing CEUs that are needed for continuing education hours and those that are needed to maintain your license. These free hours are available from a variety of sources.
But the number of hours required will depend on the state you are registered. If you are still unsure of the requirements you state asks for, you may check the nurses-neighborhood website to find your state board. Just as the hours vary, the requirements also differ from state to state.
Some states may ask you to take college classes as part of keeping the licensure. In Texas, the Board of Nurse Examiners may convert one academic credit hour to 15 contact hours. Those who took nursing classes in higher degree are qualified. Taking biology and math are no longer pre-requisites.
The Texas Board of Nurses also changed some requirements. Nurses should now take only CEUs that are focused on your area of practice. So, start checking on your state board of nursing if your state has changed some requirements.
AS you take free CEUs, here are some online sites that will aid you:
MediLexicon│ This is the largest online database for pharmaceutical, biotech, agrochemical, and medical abbreviations. It has over 57,000 terms listed in the site. And the best thing is it comes free of charge. You will also find the directory of pharmacy facilities, pharmaceutical companies, healthcare job agencies, government health departments, and scientific conferences database.
Epocrates│ This should come handy if you have an iPhone or any handheld device with a Palm OS. You can install it in your device and immediately have a drug reference. This serves as a mini PDR where you can also profile a list of drugs. You may freely download the regular version and it will automatically update once you’re connected to the internet.
Once you decide to take CEUs, make sure that the courses are approved by the state you are practicing your profession.
In my opinion, there is no need to wait until license renewal time to get your CEU’s. Sounds like a no-brainer, I know, but we have all noticed the increase in conference attendance the closer renewal time gets. People will go to most any conference up to three months before renewal, just to get CEU’s. This restricts their freedom in learning what is applicable to their situation. Check schedules, look at websites, talk with other therapists at other hospitals and see what CEU opportunities they know about. Ask if they know of CEU opportunities in your area.