All nurses are required to complete continuing education courses during the licensure/renewal period, November 1 through October 31 each year.
ANNUAL RN AND LPN CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS FOR RENEWAL
Pursuant to Kentucky Administrative Regulation 201 KAR 20:215, validation of CE/competency must include one of the following:
(Options CANNOT be combined to equal fourteen (14) contact hours):
- Proof of earning fourteen (14) approved contact hours. Completion certificates are required; Completion certificates must include: name of nurse, course title, date of completion, contact hours awarded, provider information, and who the provider is approved by to offer nursing CE. The KBN accepts CE from providers approved to offer nursing CE by the KBN, another state board of nursing, or one of the national nursing organizations listed in 201 KAR 20:220 new link
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/kar/titles/201/020/220/ : OR
- Proof of earning seven (7) approved contact hours, and a nursing employment evaluation satisfactory for continued employment. Completion certificates are required for the seven (7) contact hours and the
KBN Continuing Education Nursing Employment Evaluation Form completed and signed by the nurse's supervisor including the employer's name, address, and phone number verifying satisfactory employment covering at least six (6) months of the earning period (November 1 - October 31) This form is available in the document library. OR
- Current national certification or recertification related to the nurse’s practice role in effect during the entire period, or initially earned or renewed during the period (does not include clinical certifications such as ACLS, PALS, NRP, etc...); OR
- Successful completion of a post licensure academic course at a college, university, or postsecondary vocational institution. Must be relevant to nursing practice. (e.g. nursing course designated by a nursing course number) or applicable to the nurse’s role and beyond the prelicensure curriculum) The course must have been completed during the earning period with grade of "C" or higher, or a grade of "pass" on a pass-fail grading system awarded. Calculation of contact hours: One (1) semester or trimester hour of academic credit = 15 contact hours; One (1) quarter hour of academic credit = 12 contact hours. A transcript is required; OR
- Participation as a preceptor for at least one nursing student or new employee. Must be for at least 120 hours, have a one-to-one relationship with student or employee, during the earning period. The nurse may precept more than one student during the 120 hours. Preceptorship shall be evidenced by submission of a
Preceptor Continuing Education Verification Form completed by the educational institution or preceptor’s supervisor. This form is available in the document library. OR
- Publication of an article in a peer-reviewed, health related journal. A copy of the article is required; OR
- A nursing continuing education presentation that is designed and developed by the nurse presenter, presented to nurses or other health professionals, is evidenced by a program brochure, course syllabi, or a letter from the offering provider identifying the licensee as the presenter of the offering; and offered by a provider approved pursuant to 201 KAR 20:220. The number of contact hours earned shall be twice the number of contact hours offered to presentation attendees; OR
- Completion of a nursing research project as principal investigator, coinvestigator, or project director. Must be qualitative or quantitative in nature; utilize research methodology, and increases knowledge resulting in improved outcomes or changes in behavior. Submission must include a project abstract and a summary of the findings.
Selecting CE - Which CE Providers are approved or accepted by KBN?
The KBN accepts continuing education from KBN approved CE providers.
The KBN also accepts nursing continuing education courses from providers approved by other state boards of nursing or by one of these national nursing organizations listed in
201 KAR 20:220 Section 2(5)
What is not accepted for continuing education requirements?
Any pre-licensure general education courses, or activities that are designed to provide information related to the work setting: on-the-job training, orientation, BLS/CPR [basic cardiopulmonary life support], or equipment demonstrations are not accepted for continuing education.
Annual APRN CE Requirements for Renewal
An APRN's board certification satisfies the fourteen (14) contact hour requirement needed for RN licensure renewal (national certification), as long as the APRN certification was initially attained during the licensure period, has been in effect during the entire licensure period, or has been renewed during the licensure period. If these requirements are met, APRNs do not need to earn 14 contact hours of CE to renew their RN licenses. Pharmacology CE: All APRNs must complete at least five (5) contact hours of approved pharmacology CE each licensure/earning period. CE Certificates should reflect specific pharmacology contact hours awarded. To qualify as pharmacology, content shall include drug-specific information, safe prescribing practices, safe medication administration, prescribing methodologies, new regulations, or similar topics. Objectives for the contact hours related to pharmacology shall be identified. Casual mention of medications or medical treatments shall not qualify. APRNs with a CAPA-CS: Pursuant to 201 KAR 20:215(5)(1)(b), of the five (5) approved pharmacology contact hours required for APRN licensure renewal, one and one-half (1.5) of these contact hours must be in the dual subject of pharmacology and either pain management or addiction disorders each licensure period. (Amendments to regulations 201 KAR 20:215 and 201 KAR 20:065 are being reviewed and pending.) In addition to the standard methods of CE approval, APRNs are allowed to use continuing medical education (CME) credits for pharmacology (provided the credits are pharmacology-related), if the provider offering the course is recognized by their national certifying organization (e.g. AANP, ANCC, etc...)
Annual SANE CE Requirements for License Renewal
In addition to the nurse’s annual continuing education requirements, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) credentialed nurses are required to earn five (5) contact hours of approved sexual assault CE each licensure period (November 1st – October 31st) required by 201 KAR 20:411, Section 8. Forensic medicine or
domestic violence CE will meet this requirement.
These hours may count as part of the required fourteen (14) contact hours of continuing education needed for renewal of the RN license. On the following page, you will find a list of KBN Approved Providers offering SANE CE Courses
Continuing Education Records
Maintain all continuing education records for at least 5 years. All documents related to these courses including announcements, presentation schedules and completion certificates should be maintained in your own records. You will not need to send them to the Board unless selected for the
CE Audit.
Nurses may use CE Broker to maintain CE records electronically. All nurses have access to a Free Basic Account with
CE Broker. The only account necessary to store CE documents electronically and to comply with a CE Audit.
Annual continuing education records should not be submitted within the KBN Nurse Portal.
Additional information on CE Broker is available on the CE Broker Tracking and Reporting page at
https://kbn.ky.gov/education/Pages/CE-Broker.aspx
One-Time Content Specific CE Requirements
Information on one-time mandatory content specific CE requirements is available on the following page, you will find information on
https://kbn.ky.gov/continuing-education/Pages/Content-Specific-Continuing-Education-CE-Courses.aspx