Can you believe that 2021 is almost over? The continued stress and strain of the pandemic, increased workloads and case volumes, staffing shortages, vaccine mandates, and political frenzy all seem to have come together to make the year just fly quickly by. Although I know we’ve all felt every grueling hour during the extra longs shifts at work, I feel like we’ve just not had time to notice the months passing by because we’ve been so stressed and so busy. At least, that’s the case for me. But it’s definitely been a rough year for everyone.

With the end of the year approaching, bringing with it the hustle and bustle of the holidays plus the stress and busyness that’s already present, I find myself scrambling to get everything completed for recertifying my CNOR. Yes, I should have done a better job at keeping up with everything. And yes, I’ve had 5 years, so I can’t really blame the pandemic for my procrastination, but, the fact still stands that I have until December 31st to earn all of my continuing education (CE) contact hours or points, and I’m pretty far behind! So if you’re like me and have a tendency to put things off, don’t forget about renewing your license or completing your continuing education (CE) requirements for your certification!

Nursing license renewal requirements vary by state. In Alabama, for example, we all renew every two years, in the even years – so don’t worry Alabama friends! Our licenses don’t have to be renewed until 2022. But, CNOR recertification requirements are the same across the country, and they can sneak up on you if you’re not careful. So today I’m going to go over the renewal requirements and give you some great links for free CE resources if you, like me, are still trying to get all of your CE credits before the end of the year.

CNOR Recertification Requirements

Perioperative nurses only have two options for certification credentials: the CNOR and the CNAMB. I hold the CNOR credential and I am currently working on completing all of the steps necessary for recertification. To recertify, perioperative nurses must:

• Hold an active CNOR credential and current, unrestricted RN license
• Work full- or part-time in perioperative clinical practice, nursing education, administration, or research
• Have worked a minimum of 500 hours in perioperative nursing within the accrual period. Of those 500 hours, 250 hours must be in the area of education, administration, research, or clinical practice that impacts intraoperative patient care. (Source: CCI Recertification Eligibility Requirements)

Accrual Period

This is the area that confuses or surprises most people. All of your recertification activities (continuing education, coursework, or points accrual) must be completed by Dec. 31st of the 5th calendar year that you hold your certification. For example, I earned my CNOR in 2017. So my accrual period for recertification activities is from Jan. 1, 2017 to Dec. 31, 2021. I’m not eligible to renew my CNOR during this time, but all of my CE’s or points have to be accumulated by Dec. 31st of this year. I’ll be eligible to recertify in 2022. You can determine your own accrual period on CCI’s website by clicking here.

CNOR Recertification Methods

There are two different options available for recertification. You can recertify with professional activity points or with continuing education contact hours. You are no longer able to recertify by taking the exam, you must choose either the points option or the CE option for recertification.

To recertify with professional activity points, you must earn 300 points during your accrual period. There are so many different ways to earn points – listening to podcasts (including First Case!), filling out crossword puzzles, reviewing case studies, precepting, teaching, writing, etc. Did you know that you can earn all 300 points on CCI’s website for free? The folks at CCI are fantastic, and they’ve done a great job making the recertification process as simple as possible. You can check out the CCI store for free points opportunities here.

While you’re looking around in the CCI store, be sure to check out the First Case podcasts that are available for 10 points per episode! We’re working hard to get more of our episodes approved for points, so keep listening, and keep earning those points!

You can also still recertify with continuing education contact hours. This option is being phased out, but it is currently still available. You need 125 contact hours in order to recertify this way.

CNOR Recertification Cost

You can submit the online application beginning January 1st of the year that you are eligible. If you submit your application between January 1st and July 1st, the cost is $325. If you submit it July 2nd – December 31st, the cost is $375.

Some facilities reimburse the cost of recertification, so make sure you check with your facility to find out if this benefit is available to you!

5 FREE Continuing Education and Points Resources

When you first earn your CNOR, 5 years of earning points or CE’s seems like an eternity – until you’re at the end of your 5th year and realize you still need 75 CE’s in order to renew. *a-hem* Obviously I’m preaching to the choir here, but, if you’re looking for free ways to earn points or CE’s, I’ve got you covered today!

#1. CCI

I already mentioned this earlier, but CCI provides all of the resources necessary to earn points! And they’re free! Just go to the store or their resources page and check them out. You can submit articles you’ve written, classes you’ve taught, presentations you’ve given, or even committees that you’ve served on for points. And if you have a question about something you’ve done, just give them a call. I have spoken with them a couple of times, and they are very polite and super helpful. They also have a recertification guide that you can download as well.

#2. AORN

Ok, I realize joining AORN isn’t free, but if you’re a member, they provide free access to over 200 free contact hours. The AORN Journal provides several CE articles every month, and you can go back through previous journals and earn the CE’s from those as well. Being an AORN member also provides a host of benefit to you professionally that you miss out on if you’re not a member. Plus, they have some really good member discounts as well.

#3. Pfiedler

AORN has partnered with Pfiedler, and you don’t have to be an AORN member to earn CE’s through Pfiedler’s website. Just create an account and start learning! They have a variety of courses to choose from in many different learning formats.

#4. OR Today

OR Today offers free webinars on their website that are approved for nursing CE’s. They speak on many different topics, and they do a great job finding insteresting presenters to provide the education. They have a webinar coming out on November 11th with Amanda Heitman, BSN, RN, CNOR, covering the role of OR educators. We also interviewed her for the First Case podcast and her interview was fantastic! I’m looking forward to watching this webinar when it releases. And when her podcast episode releases, I’ll provide a link for that, too!

#5. Beyond Clean

Beyond Clean is the sister company for First Case. I work closely with the team at Beyond Clean, and I can tell you that they are serious about education. And they’re serious about providing it for free, too. We’re getting ready to offer two co-sponsored events (Beyond Clean + First Case) in November and December – and I will be cohosting these events! They’re free, and you will be able to get free nursing CE’s for joining us for these live, virtual events. When I have more information, I’ll provide the links. But for now, I had to give you the teaser so you could get as excited about them as I am!

What I can offer you now is a free 1 day virtual conference starting at 9AM ET on October 29th. It’s called Validated: The Science of Sterile Processing Efficiency. The topics are geared toward sterile processing, but the entire event is approved for 7 nursing CE’s! And how many of us in the OR would benefit from a better understanding of sterile processing? If you can’t make it that day, you can always catch it on demand later, so make sure you get registered for this exciting, and free, event!

Beyond Clean also has a CE Credit Hub where you can access over 75 hours of free CE’s for nursing. Definitely check that out if you’re looking for a large number of CE’s!

Educate yourself and keep learning!

I hope this helps clear up any confusion or questions you have about your CNOR recertification. Take advantage of the free CE opportunities available to you, and don’t let the end of the year sneak up on you! Feel free to comment if you have any questions or if you have any other free CE opportunities to share with everyone!

Until next time,

Melanie

Read more!

If you’re considering earning your CNOR and want to read about my experience with a CNOR prep course, you can read about it here!

Tune In!

You can also listen to our podcast interview with Wendy Zander about the CNOR and the prep course she teaches here.