The School of Nursing is an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the Illinois Nurses Association which is an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
The School of Nursing offers a range of continuing education offerings to meet the needs of registered nurses who seek to expand their professional nursing knowledge.
Many nurses have heard or read that the new 2007 Illinois Nurse Practice Act will mandate 20 hours of continuing education (CE) for RNs and LPNs in order to renew one’s license. THIS MANDATE DOES NOT BEGIN WITH THE 2008 RN RENEWAL. In a presentation to the members of the Illinois Coalition for Nursing Resources on February 8, Michele Bromberg of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation noted that the new continuing education requirement may begin with the 2010 RN renewal, but could be implemented later than the May 2010 renewal.
Rules for implementing the new practice act have not been written and approved. Until this occurs, probably not before October 2008 according to Ms. Bromberg, the date for implementation of the new CE mandate will be continue to be “to be announced.” She also noted that the requirements for RNs and LPNs will be similar to those currently in place for advanced practice nurses (APNs) in Illinois. These requirements are based on the requirements of the American Nurses Credentialing Center for renewal of specialty certification.
To read the new Illinois Nurse Practice Act, go to http://www.idfpr.com/dpr/WHO/nurs.asp. You can also find the current CE requirements for APNs on this web page. Continue to review this webpage for information about the new rules for implementing the NPA. The current rules which are posted are based on the 1997-1998 nursing act.