 | P: 573.636.4623
F: 573.636.9576
info@missourinurses.org
Missouri Nurses Association
P.O. Box 105228
1904 Bubba Lane
Jefferson City, MO
65110
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General Questions
Q: How do I apply for nursing contact hours through MONA? I assume that there is an application to complete but how can I get a copy?
A: You can obtain a copy of the application either by accessing the website at www.missourinurses.org and downloading a copy or by contacting the MONA office and requesting that a copy be mailed or emailed to you.
Q: What is the process an applicant goes through to receive nursing contact hours for an activity?
A: The applicant will need to complete an education activity application and submit it to the MONA office along with three additional copies, at least 45 days prior to the date of the first offering. Applications received after the 45-day deadline will not be reviewed. The application review process begins when the application is received in the MONA office. The MONA staff scan the application for completeness, identifying any missing information. The purpose of this review is to identify gaps in the material submitted. Review by the staff does not assure subsequent passage of the application by the CE Approver Unit subcommittee.
Next, the application is sent to a subcommittee of three CE Approver Unit Committee members. Each subcommittee member independently reviews the application utilizing the MONA criteria for approval. Each response to the criteria is thoroughly reviewed and rated. Evaluations are sent by the subcommittee members to the subcommittee chair who summarizes the subcommittee's decision. When the subcommittee's decision is received by the MONA office, a letter is sent to the applicant, giving the subcommittee's decision and sharing any comments made by the subcommittee for strengthening the educational design of the proposed offerings or the administrative structure. For educational activities, the number of contact hours to be awarded are assigned by the MONA staff based on the formula of one contact hour for every 60 minutes of organized learning, either didactic or clinical.
Forty-five days are required to process each application. Although the time may seem excessive to the applicant, many variables impact on the review process. One unknown is the length of time the application, evaluation sheets, and letters are in the mail. A request for additional information also delays the application process. The time it takes the staff, subcommittee members, and subcommittee chair to process each activity is also a variable. Since all of the committee members are volunteers, the committee must apportion time to review the applications. They often must fit the review process in with other professional responsibilities. Complex, incomplete, or poorly written applications tend to be more time consuming and require a longer time to review than a well-prepared application.
Q: What address to I mail our application copies to and also whom do I make the check payable to?
A: Please make all checks payable to the Missouri Nurses Association. If you are using regular mail to send your application, use the following address: P.O. Box 105228, Jefferson City, MO 65110. If you are using FedEx or UPS services to send your application, use the following address: 1904 Bubba Lane, Jefferson City, MO 65109.
Q: I want to begin offering continuing education through my organization. Does your organization have any reference materials showing how to get started and how to receive approval to award nursing contact hours?
A: Yes. We have the 6th edition of the Continuing Education Excellence in Missouri: Provider Approval Manual for agencies seeking a blanket approval for courses offered within their facility and the 6th edition of the Continuing Education Excellence in Missouri: Education Activity Approval Manual for providers seeking approval of an individual activity or conference available for purchase. The cost for the Provider Approval Manual is $70.00/manual and the Education Activity Approval Manual is $25/manual. The manuals contain the how-to’s of planning and implementing continuing education activities, a chapter designed to assist applicants in completing the application for approval along with a chapter containing a copy of the application and all appropriate sample forms. You may order a copy at the MONA store. Or you may download a print copy of the CE Manual order form and mail it in with your payment today!
Q: If I choose to purchase the 6th edition of the Continuing Education Excellence in Missouri: Provider Approval Manual or Education Activity Approval Manual, are there any additional fees associated with approval?
A: Yes, as noted in our criteria, there is an application review fee. Note the following fee schedule includes fees for approval as a provider as well as approval of a single education activity.
- Single Education Activity
- 1-5 contact hours $150.00
- 5.1-11 contact hours $250.00
- 11.1-17 contact hours $350.00
- 17.1-23 contact hours $425.00
- 23.1-30 contact hours $500.00
- 30.1-100 contact hours $600.00
- 100.1 or more contact hours $750.00
- Provider Approval
- Single Agency Provider: $2,000.00
- Multi-Agency Provider: $4,800.00
Q: How long is the approval period?
A: If you are applying for approval of a single education activity, the approval period is two years. If you are applying for provider approval, the approval period is three years.
Q: What is the ANCC COA?
A: ANCC COA stands for the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. The ANCC accreditation system for continuing nursing education is a voluntary recognition process through which an institution, organization, or agency engages in a comprehensive analysis and review of its goals and processes for continuing nursing education and its capacity to achieve those goals and adhere to those processes over an extended period of time. The Missouri Nurses Association is accredited as an approver and provider by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
Q. In my agency, we usually only have time for a 30 minute program. Can we offer continuing education contact hours for these short educational activities?
A: No, contact hours can only be awarded by MONA to educational activities 60 minutes or more in length. Programs of less than 60 minutes cannot be awarded contact hours.
Q. When calculating the number of contact hours I find that the number is two digits past the decimal point, or more. For example, 1.66. What is the number of contact hours I should use?
A: You can either award contact hours in the hundredths (i.e., two digits past the decimal point) or round down to 1.6. Do not round up.
Q: Why am I told that the term CEU is not the correct terminology?
A: CEU is not a generic term. Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are used in the International Association of Continuing Education and Training (IACET) system. Our approval program is for nursing contact hours. The contact hour and the continuing education unit are two completely different units of measure.
Q: I attended a course that was not approved by the Missouri Nurses Association or the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. Now how do I have this transferred into CE?
A: There used to be a process and/or a form a nurse could complete to have a course approved after the fact but this process no longer exists. It is now a requirement that all courses for nursing continuing education must be approved prior to the date of the offering. There can be no retroactive approval.
Q: Will other states accept MONA contact hours for relicensure?
A: Usually, but not necessarily. MONA’s approval is recognized by all other states that are accredited as an approver, as well as by some states requiring mandatory continuing education for licensure renewal. If the state is a mandatory continuing education state then check with that state’s Board of Nursing. It is always best to contact the state's board of nursing or other professional licensing body when one's intent is to attend an education activity to use the contact hours for re-licensure. The ANCC and MONA voluntary recognition systems are not related to mandatory continuing education requirements. States that require continuing education for re-licensure may have in place additional requirements that are not a part of the ANCC or MONA CNE recognition system.
Q: What do I do if I have lost my certificate of attendance for a MONA provided continuing education activity?
A: Please contact the MONA office staff to request another copy. The MONA staff will need your name, address, phone number, and the date and title of the activity. Staff will then verify that you were in attendance at that particular conference/ activity and issue you another copy of the certificate.
Q: How are nursing contact hours calculated?
A: The appropriate measure by which an approved learning activity is awarded credit is the contact hour. One contact hour is 60 minutes of an organized learning activity which is either a didactic or clinical experience or the time spent evaluating the activity. The minimum number of contact hours awarded is one (1). After the first contact hour, fractions or portions of the 60-minute hour should be calculated. Welcome, introductions, breaks and viewing of exhibits are not included in calculation of contact hours. Evaluation and any question & answer time is considered part of the learning activity and may be included in calculation of contact hours.
Q: I have a program that is less than one month away; can I get approval for this program?
A: Unfortunately, no. Per our criteria, all applications must be submitted at least 45 days prior to their presentation dates. This allows sufficient turn around time for our review process. MONA will do whatever it can to grant approval for an education activity within our policies. However, due to the numerous number of educational activities received, we must have at least 45 days to complete the review process. In addition, the ANCC COA will not allow us to grant retroactive approval (after the event). Therefore, we will not accept applications submitted after the 45 day limit.
Q: As an Approved Provider through MONA, I was recently asked if I could approve a program of an outside agency. Am I able to do this?
A: No. Approved Providers cannot approve any outside educational activities. If this happens there is a possibility that their Approved Provider status will be revoked. All inquiries should be forwarded to the MONA office.
An Approved Provider can only issue contact hours for education activities designed by that provider. Provider approval does not allow the provider to review education activities and award contact hours. Nor can an Approved Provider award contact hours for education activities provided by the agency if no member of the Approved Provider Unit has participated on the planning committee. If contact hours are to be awarded for an education activity, the designated lead Nurse Planner for the Approved Provider Unit must be involved in the planning of the activity from beginning to end. Key points for providers to remember are that Approved Providers provide but not approve activities. Approved Providers can only provide activities in which the Approved Provider Unit designated Nurse Planner(s) assume(s) an active role in the entire process, from planning through evaluation. Providers can never approve activities.
If an education activity is offered by two or more organizations (e.g., co-provided), the Approved Provider Unit or organization awarded provider approval by MONA may grant contact hours for the co-provided activity. However, the Approved Provider must have a co-providership policy that was included in the provider application submitted to MONA and that policy must be followed whenever co-providing occurs. It is also imperative that the education activity is planned and implemented with the direct involvement of at least one of the two nurse members of the agency's Approved Provider Unit.
Q: I have multiple disciplines (i.e. physicians, nurses, social workers) attending one of my educational activities. Can I give a certificate to all in attendance?
A: MONA approves contact hours for registered nurses (RNs). You may distribute attendance certificates to the other professionals. They can then present that certificate to their certifying agency, and it will be up to that agency to determine if they will accept the certificate as proof of professional education.
Q: I was told that two RN’s are no longer needed as planners? Is this correct?
A: No. It is required that the educational activity is planned collaboratively by at least one designated nurse planner and one other planner. The designated nurse planner(s) must hold at least a baccalaureate degree in nursing have been oriented to the ANCC COA/MONA educational design criteria, and been directly involved in planning and evaluating the educational activity. The planning group must contain representatives from the following areas: relevant content expertise; target audience, and; responsibility for adherence to ANCC COA/MONA educational design criteria. The CE Approver Unit Review Committee will review the expertise of the planning committee to ensure criteria are met.
Q. Can contact hours be awarded to those individuals who are involved in the pilot testing of an educational activity?
A: No. Individuals who participate in the pilot testing of an educational activity should not receive contact hours for their participation. Pilot testing is important in demonstrating the effectiveness of the teaching or learning materials used in the educational activity and in determining the number of contact hours awarded. The pilot study focuses on critiquing the design of the educational activity and not on the achievement of learning by the participant.
Q: How many objectives should be included in a program?
A: There is no required number of objectives. It is suggested that there should be approximately 2-3 objectives per 60 – 90 minute presentation.
Q: I want to present an ongoing activity that could possibly be presented once a month. Do I need to submit a new application each time?
A: No. After an activity has been approved you can present it as many times as you wish during your two-year approval period without submitting a new application. Once the approval period has expired, you will submit a new application for approval of the activity and will be issued a new approval number. We ask that you let us know of your intent to provide an ongoing activity within the application. You will make note of any changes made throughout the two-year approval period and provide evidence in your new application that the material has been updated and the changes have been documented.
Q. Can contact hours be awarded if the individual only attends a portion of an educational activity?
A: A provider needs to determine whether partial credit can be awarded for an educational activity and should have internal policies in place to make a sound decision when these situations occur. If the educational activity is designed to have individual sessions each with its own objectives, contact hours may be awarded only for those sessions attended. If a specific number of contact hours are awarded for attending an entire educational activity, the provider of the educational activity needs to determine if partial contact hours should be awarded, again, based on the provider's own policies and criteria for verifying participation and successful completion of an educational activity. Generally, participants who are absent for a portion of the formal presentation should be held to the same standard as those who attend the total educational activity. The provider must be able to describe how learners were informed of the requirements for completion (ANCC COA, 2006, p. 35).
Q. Am I able to seek commercial support for my educational activities?
A: Yes. Funds from a commercial source should be in the form of an educational grant to the provider of the education activity and must be acknowledged in all printed materials and brochures. The money received will go directly to you as the provider and then you will pay the presenter directly. The provider will maintain control of the educational content and disclose to the learners all financial relationships or lack of, between the commercial supporter and the provider or presenters. (See the 6th edition of the Continuing Education Excellence in Missouri: Provider Approval Manual and Education Activity Approval Manual for detailed information.)
Q: My approval period expired and I had a scheduled education activity. Can I still give contact hours for this activity?
A: No. If you were not approved by MONA at the time of the activity, them you cannot award nursing contact hours for that program. We cannot issue retroactive approval. You can still choose to distribute a “Certificate of Attendance.” This includes the name of the participant, title of the program, date and location of the activity, and the name and address of the provider. But, any reference to approval by MONA cannot be included on the certificate. Sometimes certifying bodies accept these certificates but refer to your specific requirements.
Q: What is the difference between co-sponsor and co-provided?
A: The term co-sponsor is typically used when an organization provides some type of support i.e. name, site or financial, but is not involved in the planning or design of the activity. Co-providership is a formal agreement between two organizations to co-develop an activity and must be planned and implemented with direct involvement of the Nurse Planner of the organizations.
Q. What should I do if my agency decides not to pursue contact hour approval once an application has already been submitted?
A: An application can be withdrawn by the applicant at any time in the review process prior to the time a decision is made by the MONA CE Approver Unit Committee review team. If the application is withdrawn during pre-review (prior to submission to the MONA CE Approver Unit reviewers), the application and fee will be returned minus administrative costs. Once the review is initiated (e.g., the application is sent to the reviewers) the fee is non-refundable. The withdrawn application will be returned to the applicant.
If after reviewing the above FAQ’s you still have questions, please do not hesitate to contact Sara Fry, Continuing Education Coordinator, by email at sara@missourinurses.org or Voice: 573-636-4623 ext 224.
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