Massachusetts Report on Nursing - December 2020
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18 • <str<strong>on</strong>g>Massachusetts</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>Report</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong> <strong>Nursing</strong> November <strong>2020</strong><br />
CE corner-Spotlight <strong>on</strong> <strong>Nursing</strong> C<strong>on</strong>tinuing Professi<strong>on</strong>al Development<br />
Judy L. Sheehan, MSN, RN-BC<br />
ANAMASS Approver Unit Nurse Peer Review<br />
Leader<br />
Frequently asked questi<strong>on</strong>s<br />
What is the ANA Accredited Approver Unit?<br />
ANA <str<strong>on</strong>g>Massachusetts</str<strong>on</strong>g> is accredited as an approver of<br />
nursing c<strong>on</strong>tinuing professi<strong>on</strong>al development by the<br />
American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commissi<strong>on</strong><br />
<strong>on</strong> Accreditati<strong>on</strong> through November of 2023. As, the<br />
<strong>on</strong>ly accredited approver unit in <str<strong>on</strong>g>Massachusetts</str<strong>on</strong>g>, there<br />
are 33 provider units and over 64 activities that were<br />
approved by the ANA Mass Approver unit last year.<br />
That means that 46,961 c<strong>on</strong>tinuing nursing professi<strong>on</strong>al<br />
development certificates have been awarded with the<br />
ANA <str<strong>on</strong>g>Massachusetts</str<strong>on</strong>g> name and approval statement <strong>on</strong><br />
them as of last year.<br />
The approver unit also is active in advocating<br />
for the culture change/paradigm shift of moving<br />
c<strong>on</strong>tinuing educati<strong>on</strong> to C<strong>on</strong>tinuing <strong>Nursing</strong> Professi<strong>on</strong>al<br />
Development, thus broadening the development of<br />
the professi<strong>on</strong>al nurse. Faced with the pandemic,<br />
the approver unit moved forward into the virtual<br />
envir<strong>on</strong>ment to provide peer support and educati<strong>on</strong> to<br />
the many Professi<strong>on</strong>al Development Nurses during the<br />
covid-19 reality. The approver unit has held network<br />
meetings and webinars over the past m<strong>on</strong>ths and is now<br />
planning an <strong>on</strong>line series focused <strong>on</strong> finding ways to<br />
provide educati<strong>on</strong> in as adaptable a way as possible.<br />
Do we get CEUs or C<strong>on</strong>tact Hours when attending<br />
programs approved by ANA <str<strong>on</strong>g>Massachusetts</str<strong>on</strong>g> Approver<br />
Unit?<br />
Please do not use “CEU” when discussing professi<strong>on</strong>al<br />
development as it violates the copyright law. C<strong>on</strong>tact<br />
hour is used by the ANCC to denote the unit of learning<br />
acquired during an educati<strong>on</strong>al program. A c<strong>on</strong>tact hour<br />
is 60 minutes of learning time. “CEU”, copyrighted by<br />
a different organizati<strong>on</strong>, refers to 10 hours of learning<br />
time / <strong>on</strong>e CEU and is not allowed to be used by ANCC<br />
standards.<br />
When did the language change from nursing c<strong>on</strong>tinuing<br />
educati<strong>on</strong> to nursing c<strong>on</strong>tinuing professi<strong>on</strong>al<br />
development?<br />
The American Nurses Credentialing Center’s<br />
Commissi<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong> Accreditati<strong>on</strong> changed the language<br />
earlier this year. It is intended to reflect the reality of the<br />
professi<strong>on</strong>al development process, renewed focus <strong>on</strong><br />
adult learner needs and the changing landscape of clinical<br />
and professi<strong>on</strong>al educati<strong>on</strong>.
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