CEN-RO/Air-RO by CEs
CEN/CFRN Renewal Option by Continuing Education

BCEN developed the CEN-RO/Air-RO program with the main emphasis being renewal through the usage of continuing education (CE). CEN-RO/Air-RO requires an eligible CEN/CFRN to earn 100 contact hours of CE. CE can be described as an educational experience beyond initial licensure, based on recognized teaching and learning principles.

General Guidelines

• CE should have a clear and direct application to the practice of emergency nursing.
• A minimum of 100 contact hours must be submitted; 75 of the contact hours must be in the CLINICAL category, and up to 25 may be in the OTHER category. It is acceptable to have more than 75 of the contact hours in the CLINICAL category.
• For continuing education to be eligible to use for renewal, it must have occurred during the four-year period of certification. For example, if your CEN/CFRN expires March 31, 2004, your four-year period of certification is from April 1, 2000 until March 31, 2004.
• It is recommended that CE logs and the CEN-RO/Air-RO application be sent to the BCEN office at least three months and no more than six months prior to your expiration. CEN-RO/Air-RO applications with expiration dates for the following year will not be processed until that year.
• CEN-RO/Air-RO applications that are submitted to BCEN beyond the certification expiration date will not be accepted.
• Applications with incomplete information or insufficient fees will receive a notification letter. CEN-RO/Air-RO applications are processed according to when they are received by the BCEN and the certification expiration date.
• Candidates who successfully meet all program requirements will have their CEN/CFRN credential renewed for the following four years. Candidates who do not meet the CEN-RO/Air-RO program requirements must register and pass the CEN/CFRN exam to maintain their credential.
• It is the responsibility of the candidate to identify the number of CLINICAL and OTHER hours of CE activities using the following CEN-RO/Air-RO guidelines. BCEN will make the final determination as to category and acceptability of submissions.
• The only documentation necessary to send with your application is the CE Verification Log.
• All CEN-RO/Air-RO fees are nonrefundable.

Eligibility Requirements

• Currently a CEN/CFRN.
• Current unrestricted license as a Registered Nurse in the United States or its territories or Canadian provinces or territories at the time that the CEN-RO/Air-RO CE Log is submitted.
• Meet the requirements of completing 100 contact hours of continuing education.

Application Procedure

To renew using CEN-RO/Air-RO by CE, the following needs to be submitted 3-6 months prior to your CEN/CFRN expiration date:

• CEN-RO/Air-RO Application with the appropriate fee
• CEN-RO/Air-RO by CE Verification Log

Measurement of Continuing Education Hours

Different terminology is used for continuing education credit. CEN-RO/Air-RO uses the measurement of contact hours in which one contact hour equals 60 minutes. Following are some guidelines to assist in determining contact hours:

• 1 contact hour equals 1 CECH, 1 CERP, 1 CEARP, or 1 CME
• 1 CEU or continuing education unit equals 10 contact hours
• 1 academic semester credit equals 15 contact hours
• 1 academic quarter credit equals 10 contact hours
• 1 academic trimester credit equals 12 contact hours

Clinical Category

This category includes any educational offerings that primarily contain information applicable to direct practice in the clinical area. The program content must be primarily focused on knowledge the nurse can apply in providing direct care to an individual patient or community. Examples include topics such as: "Care of the Patient with a Temporary Pacemaker," "Teaching Diabetic Patients," or "Interpreting Lab Values."

Acceptable accredited college courses include educational offerings that have a clinical focus. Examples: Nursing 410: "Care of the Adult Patient," Nursing 601: "Burn/Emergency Trauma Nursing," or "Pathophysiology."

Other Category

This category includes any educational offerings related to the professional practice of nursing and the emergency care system. Examples include topics such as "Developing A Quality Improvement System," "Legal Aspects of Emergency Care," or "Public Relations in the E.D."

Accredited college courses that focus on the nonclinical aspects of nursing must be categorized under OTHER. Examples would include: "Medical Ethics," "Leadership and Management."

The BCEN recognizes there are accredited CE programs, which consist of multiple lectures, such as national/regional symposiums, or CEN/CFRN review courses. Although a CE provider or approver may categorize the CE courses, it is the CEN’s/CFRN's responsibility to ensure the appropriate categorization of CE on the CE Log.

Non-Acceptable Sources of Continuing Education

• Academic course work not clinically or professionally related (e.g. English literature)
• Inservices less than 60 minutes in length
• Orientation
• BCLS/BLS Provider (CPR) courses.

Acceptable Sources of Continuing Education
Seminars and Independent Studies

• It is recommended, but not required, that CE obtained through seminars and independent studies be approved by an accredited nursing body. (This is because the CE certificate received from the program gives the essential information.) Examples of accrediting bodies are national associations such as the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA), American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), some state nursing associations and some state boards of nursing.
• Approvers are those groups that approve continuing education whereas providers are those responsible for development and delivery of the program. For example, a hospital may have a course and be the provider of the course. However, on the certificate, a statement would identify who approved their continuing education offering. Sometimes the approver and provider may be the same.
• Continuing education that has not been approved by an accredited nursing organization is acceptable if the content is beneficial to nursing and is a minimum of 60 minutes.
• Continuing Medical Education (CME) programs are specific to physicians, but because the educational content of a program approved for CMEs has a benefit to nurses, CMEs will be recognized for CEN-RO/Air-RO in either the clinical or OTHER category, dependent upon the content.

Accrediting Bodies

• Please note that BCEN is not an accrediting body. If you have questions related to the number of contact hours approved for a particular educational course or seminar or to have a course approved, contact an accrediting organization.

College Courses

• These courses can be used in both the CLINICAL and OTHER category, dependent upon their topic.
• A grade of "C" or better must be obtained for CEN-RO/Air-RO usage.
• The courses must be applicable to the practice of emergency nursing.

Delivering Presentations or Teaching an Accredited Nursing Course

• Each lecture may be used only once for CEN-RO/Air-RO.
• Each lecture must be a minimum of 60 minutes in length.
• The category of CLINICAL or OTHER will be determined by the content.

Publications - (Authoring the Chapter of a Book, Authoring a Book or Writing a Journal Article)

• The written piece must be of educational value and have references.
• The category of CLINICAL or OTHER will be determined by the majority of the content (or main theme) of the publication.
• Publications written by more than one author will have the allowable credit evenly distributed among all authors.
• Contact hours will be awarded in the following amounts:
  • Chapter of a book/online learning module - 10 contact hours
  • Authoring of a book to a maximum of 150 pages - 25 contact hours
  • Authoring of a book more than 150 pages - 50 contact hours
  • Authoring a journal article - 5 contact hours

Item Writing

• Item writing for professional usage such as a publication is acceptable for CEN-RO/Air-RO.
• Item writing for professional examinations such as the CEN/CFRN or NCLEX is acceptable for CEN-RO/Air-RO.
• Each item will be considered .5 contact hour and will apply to either CLINICAL or OTHER dependent upon content.

CEN-RO/Air-RO Audit

• Each month, a number of CEN-RO/Air-RO by CE Logs will be randomly chosen for verification. These candidates will be asked to submit documents from CE activities. Documentation for seminars should include certificates for those CE’s from an accredited provider and for non-accredited seminar activities, written documentation of attendance by the instructor or supervisor is acceptable. The documentation needs to include:
• Name of participant
• Dates of the course
• Length of activity (in hours)
• Title of the course
• A grade report if using academic credits
• If author of a book, a copy of the title page, number of pages, and table of contents.
• If authoring a chapter, a copy of the title page and table of contents with chapter name and author
• If published in a journal, a table of contents with title and author
• If an item writer, documentation from the editor or organization with the number of items in total and the number within each category of CLINICAL or OTHER.

Other supportive material may include syllabi, course outlines, handouts or other course materials. It is the candidate’s responsibility to maintain complete records in the event of being audited. Please note that verification cards will not be acceptable proof of attendance.