CEU = Continuing Education Unit and may be required by some states for you to renew your license.
For example, California nurses renew their nursing licenses every 2 years and as of 2023, the cost for a Registered Nurse license renewal is $190 and requires 30 CEUs. If you have not fingerprinted in the recent past or you are new to nursing, you will have to fingerprint as well. Other states, such as Idaho, recently passed legislation that no longer requires proof of CEUs and as of 2023. Registered Nurse license renewal cost in Idaho is $90 and since Idaho is a compact state, an Idaho RN license is valid to practice nursing in 36 states and 2 territories.
TIP: Remember, job-related expenses are most likely tax deductible, so keep all of your receipts. I am not a tax professional, so please speak with your tax professional about job related deductions for your state and situation.
OK – Let’s talk CEUs.
Why get them? How much do they cost? Can I get free CEUs?
CEUs is continuing education. As a nurse, you never stop learning. You learn on the job by doing, training and education through your job, and you always have options to keep learning outside of your job (but related to your profession). CEUs can be free, there are loads of free ones that you can search for online. However, I find that free CEUs tend to only be a fraction of an hour or a few hours at most. If you really want to bang it out, just pay for a course or an annual membership for unlimited CEUs and get a chunk of CEUs at once. For nurses in specialty fields, mandatory recertification in Cardiac Advanced Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), ONCC Chemotherapy recertification, just to name a few, also provide CEU hours.
Personally, I like www.rn.org which is $19.99/year (job-related expense) and I can pick and choose which topics are relevant to me or topics I want to learn more about. I have been using this for most of my nursing career. The modules on this site are pretty quick and to the point with a quiz at the end to show you have learned something to earn the credit. If you want more in-depth subjects there are plenty more out there from many different sources. Make sure that the CE provider is licensed in your state or it may not count.
If you want to TRAVEL and learn, there are nursing conferences in many destination places that are designed to give you those CEUs in a place that is also a fun place to stay and play. Some have the conference bundled with a hotel already for your convenience.
If you work in a company that offers continuing education reimbursement, you can use those funds to help pay for a learning vacation.
Imagine going to Hawaii for a nursing conference. For example, your work’s education fund allows $3000/year, of which $1000 can be used for travel. Well, that knocks off $1000 your out-of-pocket for air and hotel. And let’s say the nursing conference is for 2-days and costs $300 – that’s paid for or reimbursed through your education fund. You book your vacation for 5-days. 2 days of the hotel + air may be reimbursed through your education fund.
And more recently, there are nursing conferences at sea, such as NurseCon by Nurse Blake, so you can cruise and booze while you learn! These conferences may breakdown the conference and lodging expenses so that you can itemize on your education reimbursement request. I have seen a few others pop up also because there are so many nurses out there – I imagine this is a great money maker!
These education funds are usually ‘use it or lose it’ per year, so you might as well use it! Check your nursing contract for details. You will need to request and have the approved time off from your job and employer may need to pre-approve your choice of educational plan. I have quite a few co-workers who have enjoyed destination learning vacations and cruises, so this is not a myth! The only tricky part is getting the time off approved for you and your friends if you all work in the same area. After working at the same hospital for 25+ years, looking back, I wish I had taken advantage of this perk more. So, instead of regretting a missed opportunity, learn, earn, and have fun : )
Here are some links to get you started…and there are many, many more out there!
www.medscape.org CEUs for various practices, make sure you choose nursing CEUs
www.ahs.org (CPR, ACLS, PALS)
www.rn.com $48/year unlimited CEUs
www.rn.org $19.99/year unlimited CEUs
www.nursingcentral.com sells in bundles of 30 CEUs for about $40
www.thenurse.com various subscriptions available
www.nursece4less.com prices and packages vary by state
www.nationalnursesunited.org/ce-classes free to NNU members