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Nursing is a career that keeps you learning for a lifetime. Not only do you have to
go to school to get your nursing license, but once you have your license and are
working in the healthcare field as a nurse, you have to keep taking classes to keep
your knowledge fresh in order to renew your license. However, fulfilling your CEU
requirement is not something you want to leave to the last minute, especially if you're
new to the nursing field. So how do you know when you should fulfill your CEU requirement?
When does your license need to be renewed?
The first thing you should find out for the timing of your CEU requirement is when
you'll need to renew your license. This will give you a starting time frame for meeting
your requirements. Chances are, you'll need to take any continuing education courses
before your license can be renewed, so finding out what day your license expires gives
you a deadline to work with.
What are the state guideliines for your CEU requirement?
Different states have different expectations for licensing, which includes your CEU
requirements. Be sure to talk to your state licensing board about what the state
requires of you. What is their timeline? Do you have to have your CEU requirements
complete before you can renew your license? Can you be enrolled in a class at the time?
Does your employer have any specific expectations?
Your employer may go by the state guidelines for CEU requirements, or your employer
may have another set of policies you'll need to adhere to. Make sure you know what
your employer expects of you as you look into signing up for courses and making plans.
Have more than one option ready
It's better to make plans to fulfill your CEU requirement early for lots of reasons.
Not only will it mean it'll get the requirements out of the way, but it also means
that if something comes up, you still have time to reschedule and meet any deadlines
you have. It's a good idea to know what the different options are for your requirements
before you settle on anything, just in case.
After you have all the information you need about when you have to fulfill your CEU
requirement, you can figure out what works best for you and make plans from there.
As with anything, it's best to plan to finish it early to give yourself room for error.
It's better to be prepared than to be scrambling at the last minute to renew your
license. After all, you never know what could come up to delay you. And as long as
you're prepared and organized, you should be able to meet your requirements and renew
your license without any hitch.
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