District of Columbia Advanced Practice Registered Nurse CEUs

• District of Columbia APRN Standard Renewal Requirement: APRN licenses in DC must be renewed every two years by June 30 of even years, with a total of 24 contact hours required per cycle. The CE must include 15 hours of pharmacology, and 2 hours in

  LGBTQ or cultural awareness
  . Approved courses, academic classes, presenting, or authoring content may be used to fulfill these requirements, and all CEs must be from recognized providers or organizations.
  DC Board of Nursing

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• First-time renewal: APRNs renewing for the first time are exempt from CE requirements, except for the 2-hour COVID vaccination education requirement if licensed prior to August 11, 2021 (

  Continuing Education Methods PDF
  ).

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• Certification alternative: No alternative to the continuing education requirement by holding national certification—in addition to CE, APRNs must also maintain national certification in their advanced practice role and population focus.

  DC Board of Nursing

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• Immunization practice: Director’s Topics for CE can include vaccination and immunization-related education, and up to 3 required hours may include immunizations.

  DC Health PDF

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• Anesthesia: Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) must meet the standard APRN CE requirements; no additional CE mandates for anesthesia found.

  DC Health PDF

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• DEA / controlled substances: All DEA-registered APRNs must complete a one-time, 8-hour training on opioid/substance use disorder treatment per federal requirements, starting from June 27, 2023.

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• Other Certifications that nurses hold that needs to be renewed: DC law requires all APRNs to maintain current national certification in their advanced practice specialty as a licensure condition.

  DC Board of Nursing

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• Additional Information: With the goal of enhancing the protection and promotion of public health and in accordance with the rulemaking authority under D.C. Official Code § 3-1203.02(12), the Director has promulgated rules requiring licensed health professionals to complete at least ten percent (10%) of the their required total continuing education in the public health priorities of the District as determined and published every five (5) years or less frequently as deemed appropriate. The following topics have been identified as key public health priorities:

1. Responsible opioid prescribing and effective pain management;

2. Nutrition and obesity prevention;

3. Identifying and reporting abuse (child and adult), neglect (child and adult), human trafficking, and domestic violence;

4. Sexual health (including taking sexual history, discussing sexual experiences with patients, sexually transmitted diseases (including HIV/AIDS), HPV vaccines, connections to cancer, latent tuberculosis, safe sex, and birth control);

5. Ethics and appropriate patient interactions (i.e. boundaries, patient privacy, and communications including telehealth);

6. Smoking, vaping, and tobacco (including dangers, smoking cessation, and non-smoke tobacco products);

7. Preparing your patients for an emergency and handling vulnerable populations in an emergency;

8. Identifying impairment (physical or mental) in patients and providers (including complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act);

9. Vaccinations (including legal requirements and appropriate exemptions); and,

10. Implicit bias, cultural competence and Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in health and health care.

Each health professional licensing board shall disseminate the identified subjects to its licensees via electronic communication and through publication on its web page. Since the goal of this list is to engage and educate health professionals in the promotion and protection of public health, it is intended to be liberally interpreted by each health professional licensing board with regulatory authority over each license type.