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Q - How do I become a nurse (high school students) There are several Web sites devoted to helping you to learn more about the nursing profession and about becoming a nurses: Go to www.nursesource.org or www.discovernursing.com for more information. Q - What is included in my scope of practice? What is the scope of practice for an ____ nurse? Information about scope of practice and standards for most nursing specialties can be purchased at www.nursesbooks.org. Q - I'm an RN and want to go back to school for my baccalaureate. What funding sources are available to help me pay for my education? Go to www.discovernursing.com and click on How to learn about available scholarships and additional funding. Q - How do I find out about Scholarship Info Scholarship information can be found at www.discovernursing.com/scholarship_search.asp Q - Do you have any information about funds that are available for people interested in obtaining a nursing degree? Go to www.discovernursing.com and click on "How" to learn about available scholarships and additional funding. Q - I heard that due to the nursing shortage there is a "payback system" where one can get their degree as long as they work for a particular facility for two years. Can you provide me with the information? The Nurse Education Loan Repayment Program provides loan repayments totaling as much as 85 percent of the debt load of nursing students who agree to work for two or three years in a facility deemed to have critical shortage of nurses. This was expanded under the Nurse Reinvestment Act, signed into law on August 1, 2002, which adds a scholarship component for students already accepted into a nursing school and who commit to working for at least two eyars in a health care facility deemed to have a critical shortage of nurses. Funding for these programs is always contingent on congressional appropriations. For more information, go to www.bhpr.hrsa.gov/nursing/. Q - Tell me more about the career of nursing. Information about nursing as a career can be found at www.nursesource.org or www.discovernursing.com. Q - Send information about funding opportunities for nurse researchers. Information about grants funded through the American Nurses Foundation can be found at nursingworld.org/anf/nrggrant.htm Q - What data is available on nursing? The latest statistics on the nursing profession are available from the Division of Nursing at www.bhpr.hrsa.gov Q - I am interested in applying to a nursing program in the US. The American Nurses Association does not track this information. Try contacting the American Colleges of Nursing at www.aacn.nche.edu/ Q - How do I get a grant? For grants offered through the American Nurses Foundation for nursing research, go to nursingworld.org/anf/nrggrant.htm. For funding for nursing education, go to www.discovernursing.com and click on "How". Q - Do you have handouts about the direction and scope of nursing into today's health care area? No, but you should do a search on www.nursingworld.org for the specific topic you are looking for to see if there is information available. Q - I am a school teacher and want to share some information on nursing as a career, what is available? Go to the Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow Web site at www.nursesource.org to learn what teaching tools and information are available. Q - What evidence of the past do you still perceive in nursing practice today? If this is in regard to a paper/report for school, please note that the ANA is not resourced to assist students in their research. By perusing our Web site, www.nursingworld.org, you may find information useful for your research. If you are a member of the media, please contact our press office at (301) 628-5197 or e-mail rn=realnews@ana.org. Q - Request for history information on past nurses The American Nurses Association does not maintain historical information on past nurses, with the exception of those nurses that have been inducted into the ANA' s Hall of Fame. Go to nursingworld.org/hof/ for more information. Information about the history of nursing is maintained by the American Association for the History of Nursing, Inc. Go to www.aahn.org/. Q - Can you tell me if you have any information regarding salaries for nurses at Student Health Center at colleges and universities? Salary information for nurses in general can be found at the Division of Nursing' s Web site at www.bhpr.hrsa.gov. The ANA does not track salary information for nurses in specific specialties or practice settings. Q - What is ANA's definition of health? The ANA does not have a specific definition of health but its positions on many health care issues can be found at nursingworld.org/readroom/position/ Q - I am researching to find the answer concerning the use of HCFA for "modifiers" 80, 81 and 82. The American Nurses Association is not resourced to assist in research. For information on content managed by a particular organization or government agency, you need to contact that group directly. Q - What colleges or universities offer undergraduate courses to get an online BA in nursing? The American Nurses Association does not track this information. Try contacting the American Colleges of Nursing at www.aacn.nche.edu Q - Are there programs for non-nursing students who are interested in the NP program The American Nurses Association does not track this information. For information on NP programs, contact the American College of Nurse Practitioners at www.nurse.org/acnp Q - I am interested in finding out who the ANA believes are the nursing leaders of today. If this is in regard to a paper/report for school, please note that the ANA is not resourced to assist students in their research. By perusing our Web site, www.nursingworld.org and in particular searching under ANA Honorary Awards program, you should find information useful for your research. If you are a member of the media, please contact our press office at (301) 628-5197 or e-mail rn=realnews@ana.org. Q - I want to interview a nurse... The ANA does not arrange interviews with nurses for students. Contact your local school of nursing and the public relations office of your local hospital or long-term care facility to see if they can help you. If you are a member of the media, please contact our press office at (301) 628-5197 or e-mail rn=realnews@ana.org. Q - How can my organization become an ANCC accredited provider of CE for nurses? Go to nursingworld.org/ancc/accred/accred.html for information about ANCC accreditation. Q - Where can I find a list of accredited providers? Got to nursingworld.org/ancc/accred/orgs.html for lists of all accredited providers and accredited providers by state. Q - What is the difference between provider and approver status? A provider is an eligible organization credentialed by ANCC after having submitted to an in-depth analysis to determine its capacity to provide quality continuing education over an extended period of time. An approver is an eligible organization credentialed by ANCC after having submitted to an in-depth analysis to determine its capacity to approve quality continuing education over an extended period of time. For other key accreditation definitions, go to nursingworld.org/ancc/accred/orgs.html. Certification and Credentialing Q – How can I verify whether a nurse is certified by ANCC? Verifications may be ordered online from the ANCC website. Look for ANCC Online. You will need the certification number or social security number of the nurse for which you are seeking verification, and a Visa or MasterCard to pay the $ 30.00 verification fee. If you have any questions or need to pay by check, please contact ANCC's customer care center at 1-800-284-2378, and ask for the Verification Department. Q - What types of certifications are available? You can find a list of available ANCC certifications at: www.nursecredentialing.org/ancc/cert Q - What are the test dates and application deadlines? Some tests are administered by paper & pencil (P&P); the others are administered by computer-based testing (CBT). The P&P tests are offered in May & October each year. Click here for P&P dates & deadlines. The CBT tests are offered year-round. Q - How do I apply? Click here to go to the list of available exams, and then click on the exam in which you are interested. Review the eligibility criteria. If you are eligible please go to the application page and choose the correct catalog. You will find individual application/brochures available for many of the specialties, which are convenient and succinct. If you do not see an application/brochure for the certification you are interested in, please choose the appropriate catalog. All the certifications (with the exception of Advanced Diabetes Management [PDF] ) can be found in either the Advanced Practice Catalog [PDF] (for NP and CNS certifications), or the Specialty Nursing Catalog [PDF] (for all the others). ANCC encourages you to print the appropriate application pages and supporting documents from your desktop computer. Please note, when printing the catalog, that it is not necessary to print the entire document. You can select only the application pages you need. If you do not have access to a printer, you can order an application by fax, or you can submit a request to have a hard-copy mailed to you by filling out the online catalog request form at the bottom of the application page. Q - How do I learn about certification renewal? All specialties use the same certification renewal application, forms and process. Click here to review the basic information about certification renewal. You can download and print a copy of our Certification Renewal Catalog [PDF] from the application page on the ANCC website. If you do not have access to a printer, you can order a renewal application by fax, or you can submit a request to have a hard-copy mailed to you by filling out the online catalog request form at the bottom of the application page. Q - I am an ANCC-Certified nurse. If I have a change in my contact information (Email, phone, home address), how do I submit a change? ANCC ONLINE is a service introduced in September of 2006 that allows you to update your own contact information online. You can also order verifications of certification with this service. If you do not have access to the Internet, please contact our customer care center at: 800-284-2378. for other questions not answered here, please contact ancc's customer care center at: 800-284-2378, or go to the ancc website at: www.nursecredentialing.org.
Q - What events are going on in my area? ANA is not resourced to track this information. It is suggested you contact: the ANA constituent member association (CMA) in the state in which you reside and/or practice and the schools of nursing which are located nearby. They are generally the best sources of information about education or other events going on in you geographic area. To contact your CMA, go to www.nursingworld.org and click on Constituent Member Associations. In regard to events covering your clinical nursing practice area, contact the nursing specialty organization that focuses on your area of nursing practice. All specialty organizations that the ANA is affiliated with can be found at www.nursingworld.org/affil/. Q - What is the relationship between the American Nurses Association (ANA) and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)? The authority for accreditation of continuing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) derives from the formal action of the 1974 ANA House of Delegates. That year, ANA established a system for accreditation and approval of continuing education in nursing. This system continues today as a voluntary peer review recognition system. Over the years, the structure of the accreditation system evolved. In 1991, ANA' s Center for Credentialing Services became the ANCC, a separately incorporated subsidiary, and the Board of Accreditation became the Commission on Accreditation (COA), which continues to be the accrediting body today. ANA' s standards continue to guide ANCC COA and its program. ANA is accredited as a provider of continuing education in nursing by the ANCC' s Commission on Accreditation since August 1996. For more information on ANCC, go to nursingworld.org/ancc/inside.html. Q - What is the history of ANA' s Provider Unit? In 1982, the ANA Provider Unit became accredited by ANA' s Center for Credential Services and the Board of Accreditation. Over the years, it has experienced several evolutionary changes from being part of the Department of Field Services, to part of Marketing and Communications, to part of Constituent Affairs to its current status as the Center for Continuing Education and Professional Development within the Department of Nurse Advocacy Programs. Q - What is ANA' s Provider Unit' s current mission and focus? The ANA Provider Unit believes it is responsible for assisting and supporting professional nurses as they pursue different opportunities for lifelong learning directed toward maintaining and increasing competence within their own areas of nursing practice. Continuing professional nursing competence is essential for the provision of safe quality health care to all members of society. The staff of the Provider Unit incorporate the roles of educator, facilitator and change agent, consultant, leader and researcher, as it creates all of the learning activities to provide direct support to professional nurses throughout their careers and to the profession of nursing. Q - What type of information does ANA require for record keeping? ANA follows the guidelines set forth in the "ANCC Manual for Accreditation as a Provider of Continuing Nursing Education 2001-2002" (p.28). ANA' s planning packet is completed in collaboration with the program planning committee early in the beginning stages of the planning process. Q - What does an individual who is interested in speaking at your national workshops or biennial convention have to do to become a speaker? For ANA' s Biennial Convention, all speakers are asked to complete the Call for Proposal Form (CFP), which is generally posted on www.nursingworld.org in mid-January of the odd year immediately preceding the scheduled Biennial Convention in the even year. These proposals are reviewed by the Convention Education Planning Committee (CEPC) who are nominated by their respective groups and appointed by ANA President. The CEPC develops the final program. Only the key note and plenary session speakers are invited. For other workshops, the potential speaker is asked to complete ANA' s biographical form, send in two (2) letters of recommendation from nursing and health care organizations that have sponsored the conference programs at which the potential speaker has served as a keynote, education session or workshop speaker, and a copy of its final program. Q - As resources become increasingly limited, what can a speaker expect from the ANA Provider Unit? The Call for Proposal for the Biennial Convention clearly spells out what ANA will or will not pay related to the speaker' s expenses such as travel, hotel, per diem and honorarium. Currently, ANA only pays expenses for those speakers who have been invited to present a keynote or a specific plenary session. ANA does not pay any expenses for its speakers or poster presenters. ANA does offer these individuals the opportunity to take advantage of a reduced speaker/poster presenter registration fee or free registration on the day of their presentation only. Q - What are the differences between an independent/self-study module and a long distance learning course? Generally, a long distance learning course is developed by university or college as part of a requirement for a formal undergraduate or graduate degree or certification program. The course generally lasts for a designated four-to-six-week or semester period. Opportunity is provided for registrants to interact with the instructor either live during the session presentation or via chat rooms or telephone conference call within designated hours. The structure of ANA' s ISM includes the components of an abstract, purpose, objectives, article, references, multiple choice post-test and feedback section that explains why the correct answer is correct and why the other options are incorrect. These explanations are based solely on the information presented within the text of the article. The references identified for each ISM are to be used for supplemental purposes only. ANA allows the registrant to retake the post test as many times as necessary to achieve a passing grade of 75 percent. These ISM should take approximately 1.5 to 2 hours to complete. Q - If the ISM is grant funded, what roles do the grant funder, the authors and the provider unit planner have in the development of an ISM? ANA has strict "Guidelines for Commercial Support of Nursing Continuing Education," approved by ANA's Board of Directors. The authors of the ISM sign the ANA Vested Interest Disclosure Form. This form is also signed by speakers/faculty presenting at any of ANA' s provider-directed CE activities. The provider unit must ensure the CE topic/issue of the ISM is clearly, objectively and correctly presented. No product or device is endorsed. Often, if the grant funder is a federal agency, it will have specific data and program information that it wants to have included as part of the ISM. This information is reviewed by the author, provider unit and subsidiary grants project director to determine its relevance for inclusion and compliance with the fore mentioned guidelines for commercial support. Q - What are the differences between an online ISM and an ISM offered in a professional journal? Generally the components of the ISM are the same and include abstract, purpose, objectives, text, references and post test. The ISM in a journal:
The ISM on ANA' s Web site:
Q - What is the process used to create an ISM from a workshop or education session which has been audio or video taped? Generally, if there is enough interested demonstrated in the workshop or education session, ANA will:
Q - How does a provider of an ISM verify that the individual nurse who has registered for the ISM, successfully passed the nursing post test and earned the provider unit' s nursing continuing education contact hour certificate is really the person he/she says they are? ANA recognizes passwords, registration information and the answers to the post-test can be shared. At this point, ANA relies solely on the honesty of the individual nurse and assumes the individual abides by the Code of Ethics for Nurses, which states "The nurse owes the same duties to self as to others, including the responsibility to preserve integrity and safety, to maintain competence, and to continue personal and professional growth." Q - How does the nurse planner participate in the development/planning, implementation and evaluation of multiple provider directed (PD) conferences, workshops or conventions? At ANA, the Continuing Education Staff Advisory Committee (CESAC) is responsible for oversite and serves in an advisory capacity for all of ANA' s CE activities. This committee, which is chaired by the Adminstrator of the Provider Unit, has representatives from the different ANA departments, organizational units, and subsidiaries that initiate the CE activity related to the focus, theme, type, funding source and scheduling. Other representatives are from communications, marketing, meeting services and online services. This committee meets at least twice a year. The planning of each CE activity begins with the Administrator (Nurse Planner) working with CESAC representatives to complete the planning packet. Following this, the Nurse Planner becomes involved in the meetings of the Program Planning Committee throughout the planning process. Q - What guidelines do you provide speakers in relation to the development of handouts and slides? ANA is responsible for the duplication of the speaker' s handouts and mailing them to the conference site. The number of pages is based upon the length of time of the session. For example, a 50-minute session - the handout can be up to four single pages; for a two-hour session -eight pages; longer courses - up to 16 pages. Faculty also have the option of duplicating and bringing their own handouts with them. ANA asks the speaker to:
Pointers are also given regarding the development of slides/overheads. Q - Whom should a nurse call to determine if a CE program is being or was provided by an ANCC COA accredited provider? It is suggested the nurse confirm this status of the association or organization providing the CE activity before paying the money to register and attend the activity. Certification and licensing boards and employers generally want their required CE activities to be provided by an ANCC COA accredited provider. They may not accept the CE credits/contact hours issued by a non-accredited provider. The nurse can confirm the status by accessing the Directory of ANCC COA accredited providers at www.nursingworld/ancc/ or by calling (301) 628-5263 or 5753. Q - What are the differences between co-providership and co-sponsorship? Co-providership is generally much more complex and requires a formalized signed letter of agreement that clearly outlines each party' s responsibilities, costs, expenses/revenue, timeline and expected deliverables. Co-sponsorship is generally handled by sending a formal letter to the Executive Offices describing the planned CE activity and requesting ANA to provide an expert speaker, sponsor a reception, have an exhibit, make a financial contribution or just lend its name and logo. Q - Where can I locate the list of states that require the following: CE for license renewal; CE for re-entry into practice; and/or CE for advanced practice registered nurses? The American Journal of Nursing www.ajnonline.com and the Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing www.slackinc.com/allied/jcen/jcenhome.htm conduct annual surveys to determine the list of states that require continuing education credits and selected courses for nurses and advanced practice nurses in their states. This information is generally published in the January or February issues of these journals each year. Q - How can I find out what courses are being offered in my state that are not on a Web site? ANA is not resourced to track this information. It is suggested you contact: the ANA constituent member association (CMA) in the state in which you reside and/or practice and the schools of nursing which are located nearby. They are generally the best sources of information about education or other events going on in you geographic area. To contact your CMA, go to www.nursingworld.org and click on Constituent Member Associations. In regard to events covering your clinical nursing practice area, contact the nursing specialty organization that focuses on your area of nursing practice. All specialty organizations that the ANA is affiliated with can be found at www.nursingworld.org/affil/.
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