Maintaining Clinical Competency Through CEUs

I talked with a civilian nurse over the weekend who said she had spent nearly $500 to complete enough CEUs to maintain her certifications over the past 2 years. I was flabbergasted. I hope no one else is spending a lot of money to get CEUs when there are so many free options available. Here are some that I use (and I passed this information on to her as well):

http://nursingworld.org/ce/cecatalog.cfm While many require fees, there are two free CEU courses here. Check back periodically for new free courses.

http://www.medscape.com You can establish a homepage based on your specialty; the site requires free registration. It also offers a CE tracker and you can add CE units completed from other sources to maintain an accurate count (great for supplementing your brag sheet when midterms and fitrep periods roll around)

http://www.medpagetoday.com This site also requires free registration and can track CE.

http://www.netce.com/search.php This site has two free courses: Sepsis and HIV. Check back periodically for new free courses.

http://www.jhasin.com/template.cfm?TEMPLATE=include_viewprograms.cfm This site from Johns Hopkins offers a variety of courses. The additional benefit is occasional monograph mailings that enable you to complete CE readings and tests while you're away from a computer.

http://www.mededtoday.com This web site is sponsored by NovoNordisk and has free CEUs for the Registered Nurse and the Nurse Practitioner on a variety of topics.

http://www.cme-today.com This site offers a subscription service for monographs and CEUs. You can also complete CEUs online.

http://www.pcna.net/ This site, sponsored by the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association provides several free CEUs and a host of additional information on cardiovascular health (considering joining!).

http://www.cmezone.com This website offers free CEUs on a variety of topics. Free registration.

Additional CEUs can be found at sponsoring pharmaceutical and hospital equipment sites. They include:
http://www.ahecme.com/
http://www.baxter.com/services/training_and_education/index.html
http://www.cmellc.com/

Make your nursing memberships count. See if free CEUs are offered as part of your membership benefits.

Another option that is becoming available is CE via MP3 or podcast. These allow you to listen through your MP3 player while you do other things.

No one should have to pay for CEU's---unless they want to.