Earning your continuing education (CE) units doesn’t have to be a chore. Today, you can find many free nursing CE courses online. But how do you know which ones are worth it?
Here are some of the top free continuing education courses for nurses, plus some tips on how to choose the right courses for you.
Why You Need Continuing Education Courses
Continuing education units are a measure of the time that you have spent sharpening your nursing skills and keeping your knowledge fresh. They allow nurses to stay up-to-date on the latest evidence-based practice guidelines.
Continuing ed courses are also required by many state nursing boards to maintain your licensure in a particular state and for maintaining most specialty certifications. You can find out if and how many CEUs your state requires by visiting your state board of nursing.
The 5 Best Free Nursing CE Courses
Here are the top five free CE courses that you won’t want to miss.
1. Coronavirus: Everything You Need to Know
With the current ongoing pandemic, you can bet that this is a popular topic for continuing education. Learn what’s known about the coronavirus family, how they’re diagnosed, and what we know about treating them.
2. The One Hour Sepsis Bundle: How to Act in 60 Minutes
The Surviving Sepsis campaign states the goal for initiating interventions for sepsis is one hour. Learn about standard strategies for treating the leading cause of death in hospitalized patients in America and how you can help reduce treatment times.
3. Caring for Pediatric Patients: Developmentally Appropriate Interventions and Techniques
Caring for pediatric patients is challenging. It’s important to take into account the appropriate interventions during the developmental stage of the child, family responses, and culture. Pick up some expert tips and tricks about caring for children in each developmental stage, from infants to adolescents.
4. Opiates: How Nurses Can Help Curb the Epidemic
The opiate crisis in America is a public health emergency. Due to easy access to illegal and prescription opiates, approximately 130 Americans die of an opiate overdose each day. Learn how you can help change the course and curb this epidemic.
5. Nursing Documentation 101: How to Guard Your License
Documentation can be frustrating, but it’s a critical aspect of nursing practice. It’s essential for communicating with the treatment team and for defense against malpractice claims. This course looks at the elements of good nursing documentation, legal requirements, and common errors.
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How to Choose Your CE Topic
While some states have some required classes, nurses are mostly free to choose whatever CE topics interest them or apply to their field or specialty.
Consider the following factors when choosing CE courses:
- Is it a topic that will help you learn more about your current specialty?
- Is it a topic that might help you move to a different specialty?
- Is it a topic that might help your overall nursing practice (like communication or documentation)?
- Is it a topic you are genuinely interested in?
What to Look For in a CE Course
Regardless of whether CE courses are free or paid, there are several considerations to keep in mind when determining whether or not a CE program is worth your time.
Continuing education hours can only be awarded by programs that have been approved by an accrediting board. These include most states’ boards of nursing and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
Confirm how the program will provide you with documentation of your contact hours. Your best bet is to get a printable certificate immediately on completion. If your license renewal date is quickly approaching, you may not want to wait for a program to email you or, worse, snail mail you a certificate.
Find Free Nursing CE Courses in One Place
Want to know the best part about all of the CE courses listed? You can take all these courses with our 7-day free trial on Incredible Health. That’s right. You can get all 5 of these online, ANCC accredited courses (plus many more) from Incredible Health. So start your free trial today!
