Healthcare CE
What counts as a continuing education activity in healthcare, who accredits it, and how to choose CE that meets license and board-certification requirements.
Nursing measures CE in contact hours (1 contact hour = 60 minutes of approved instruction). Physicians and pharmacists use credit hours. State boards and certification bodies specify how many of each you need per cycle.
Accredited CE must be free of commercial bias, disclose conflicts of interest, and undergo peer review. Be skeptical of free CE bundled with product marketing.
Any structured learning approved by an accredited provider — live courses, webinars, on-demand modules, journal clubs, conferences, simulation, or grand rounds. Must be issued by an accredited body (ANCC, ACCME, ACPE, etc.) to count toward licensure or board certification.
ANCC (nursing), ACCME (physicians), ACPE (pharmacy), CCMC (case management), AOTA (OT), APTA (PT), ASHA (SLP). Each profession's licensing board accepts CE from its accreditors.
Roughly. CME = physicians. CE / CEU = most other professions. Nursing uses 'contact hours' (1 contact hour = 60 minutes of approved instruction). Boards spell out which units they accept.