How to Offer CEUs at Your In-Service Without Becoming an Accredited Provider
You do not need your own accreditation to offer CEUs. You sponsor a course from a provider that is already accredited, and your attendees take that course online for credit. Your talk itself does not earn credit, and you should not tell the room that it does.
Becoming an accredited continuing education provider means applications, fees, qualified course planners, evaluations, certificates and records kept for audit. A few national companies do all of that in-house. Everyone else offers CEUs by sponsoring courses from a provider that already holds the accreditation.
Get your own presentation approved. An accredited provider or a licensing board reviews the session ahead of time, and you keep sign-in records and evaluations afterward. This suits a signature talk you give all year. It is slow for a one-off event.
Sponsor an accredited online course. The course already carries the credit. You present on the same topic, hand out the course, and each attendee completes it later and downloads a certificate. Nothing needs approving, because you are not the education provider.
Step by step
Choose a topic the room asked forAsk the department director or staff educator what the team is dealing with this month, and offer two or three topics.
Match it to a course approved for the people attendingA mixed room of nurses, social workers and case managers needs a course approved for all three. In Pulse you can filter the catalog by discipline before you choose.
Print the QR flyerDownload the course flyer from your dashboard, with your company name on it, and put a copy on each table or at the sign-in.
Describe it accuratelyTell the room there is a free accredited course on today's topic and they can scan the code to get it. Do not say the session itself counts for credit.
Follow upYour dashboard shows who opened the course. Anyone who missed the flyer can be sent the course by email afterward.
What to say, and what not to say
Say: "There is a free accredited course on this topic. Scan the code and it will be in your inbox."
Do not say: "This lunch counts for one CEU." The lunch does not. The course does.
Do not promise that a particular board will accept the course. The courses are accepted by most boards for the disciplines listed, and each professional's board has the final say.
People say "CEUs" loosely. Licensing boards count contact hours, and that is what each certificate shows.
Frequently asked questions
Does my presentation or lunch-and-learn earn CE credit?
No. Your presentation stays yours. The credit comes from the accredited online course you sponsor, which each professional completes on their own time and receives a certificate for. That keeps the education independent of the sponsor.
Do attendees need an account?
No. They scan the code, enter their name and email, and the course arrives by email. They can register later if they want to keep their courses in one place.
Which professionals can get credit?
Nursing courses are ANCC-accredited, which most state boards accept. Social work courses are approved through ASWB ACE (provider #2082), which most states accept; New York is the exception. Case managers can apply the courses to ACM and CCM renewal under the ACMA and CCMC reciprocity agreement. Some courses are also approved for physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech-language pathology through the Texas boards, which other state boards may accept by reciprocity. Each professional's licensing board has the final say.
What does it cost to sponsor a CEU?
$15 per CE credit hour, billed only when a professional opens the course. A one-hour course is $15 and a two-hour course is $30. Sending, QR flyers and bulk sends are free, there is no subscription or per-seat fee, and each rep's first opened course is free.
Can I get my own talk accredited instead?
Sometimes. That is a separate process run by an accredited provider or a board, and it takes planning time before the event. Sponsoring an existing course is the quick route, and nothing stops you from doing both.
Create a free rep account and send one course to a professional you already know. After that it is $15 per credit hour, billed only when a course is opened.
All CE is provided by H.I.S. Cornerstone Continuing Education — ANCC-accredited provider, ASWB ACE provider #2082, serving healthcare professionals since 2007. Always confirm acceptance with your own licensing board.