Q. My agency does not have registered nurses on planning committees for nursing continuing education activities. Can we still apply to VTL Center for PD for NCPD approval?
A. No. VTL Center for Professional Development will not review any application submitted for Individual Education Activity approval if there are no registered nurses serving on the planning committee. According to the criteria, planning committees must have a minimum of a Nurse Planner and one other planner to develop each educational activity. The Nurse Planner must be an RN with a minimum of a baccalaureate degree in nursing, be knowledgeable of the NCPD process and responsible for adherence to the ANCC criteria. One planner, i.e., Content Expert, needs to have appropriate subject matter expertise for the educational activity being offered. The Nurse Planner and Content Expert must be identified.
Q. A number of speakers for our conference have submitted resumes. May we collect these resumes instead of the VTL Center for PD Planner/Faculty Financial Relationship Form included in the individual education activity application?
A. A resume is not a substitute for the is not a replacement for the VTL Center for PD Planner/Faculty Financial Relationship Form. A resume, as structured, does not provide information on an individual’s current or past financial relationships for the Nurse Planner to evaluate in relation to the content of the educational activity. The Provider may accept resumes to use for biographical data on the presenter, or to support the presenter being the subject matter expert. But the provider should determine another method for identification, evaluation and mitigation of relevant financial relationships for each presenter. The VTL Center for PD Planner/Faculty Financial Relationship Form and the Planner/Presenter Financial Relationship Identification and Mitigation List were designed to assist providers with the collection of financial relationship information. Completed forms should be kept in the activity file, and submitted with the Individual Education Activity application or as part of an Approved Provider’s sample activity files during the provider renewal process, as directed in the application requirements. VTL Center for PD reserves the right to request submission of individual Financial Relationship forms during the course of the review process.
Q. Must a Presenter/Author of a NCPD activity be a Registered Nurse?
A. The presenter/author of an educational activity is not required to be a Registered Nurse. The planning committee should determine whether a proposed presenter/author is a content expert on the topic to be presented based on the individual’s education, experience, expertise, professional achievement, credentials, publications, etc. It is also considered best practices that the presenter is familiar with the target audience and is skilled with the teaching strategies chosen to meet the learning outcomes.
Q. Our Nurses Association district or region offers educational activities at each of our monthly meetings. Should we apply for approval for each educational activity or would provider approval be more appropriate?
A. If the district/region plans to offer a number of educational activities over a three-year period, it may be more cost effective and time efficient to submit an application and receive provider approval. This allows the district/region to offer educational activities that include seminars, workshops, a lecture series, or individual educational sessions during a three-year period and award nursing contact hours to participants. Or the district/region can submit an application for each educational activity individually using the criteria for approval of an educational activity if they are offering only a few activities.
Q. It is not clear to me if the rules regarding the approval statement say that it needs to be on a separate line or just a self-contained sentence.
A. The approval statement must be a self-contained sentence. It does not have to be on a separate line from other text.
Q. Must the Individual Education Activity “submitted-for-approval” statement stand alone, or can it be on the same line as other information?
A. The submitted-for-approval statement can be on the same line as other information.
Q. When/Where do we have to use the final VTL Center for Professional Development approval statement?
A. The VTL Center for PD approval statement must be provided to learners:
- Prior to the start of every educational activity, and
- On each verification of completion/certificate.
The VTL Center for PD approval statement cannot be altered or added to in any way.
Q. What is the appropriate way to list the approval statement and the contact hours on the certificate? We typically list these items in the same sentence. Is that still appropriate?
A. The individual education activity approval statement must be separate from the number of contact hours awarded to participants. You are required to indicate the number of contact hours the participant received for attending the activity and include the approval statement, but they cannot be included in the same sentence.
Approval statements must be listed word for word. No additional words, phrases or statements, or abbreviations may be attached to or included with the approval statement. If the activity has a multi-disciplinary audience and multiple approvals have been achieved for each discipline, each approval statement must be listed separately. For example, if the American Society of Radiologic Technologist has also approved the program for RT’s, another separate approval statement (written according to ASRT requirements) should be listed on another line.
Q. We would like to advertise that we are seeking NCPD approval through VTL Center for PD but aren’t sure what statement to use. Is there a pending approval statement somewhere?
A. We do offer a submitted-for-approval statement that can be used by an Individual Education Activity applicant who would like to begin advertising the event prior to the approval decision. The submitted-for-approval statement is provided in the Individual Education Activity application as well as in the Application Instructions document. The statement should be listed word for word, and adjusted to include the specific contact for questions.
Please note, the applicant must have either submitted their application or contacted the VTL Center for PD office about their intent to submit an application, prior to distributing promotional materials containing the submitted-for-approval statement. The statement often triggers inquiries from potential learners to the VTL Center for PD office to confirm that contact hour approval is being sought.
Q. Will other states accept VTL Center for Professional Development approval of nursing contact hours for re-licensure?
A. Usually, but not necessarily. Approval from VTL Center for PD 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 has mandatory continuing education requirements, then check with that state’s Board of Nursing. It is always best for the RN learner to contact the state’s board of nursing or other professional licensing body when one’s intent is to attend an educational activity to use the contact hours for re-licensure. The ANCC and VTL Center for PD 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 criteria or VTL Center for PD NCPD approval process; for example, the topics and content provided may be restricted by the state board of nursing.
Q. Our Oncology Nursing Society chapter often invites expert nurses to present who are on the speakers’ bureaus of drug manufacturers. What should we do to maintain compliance with ANCC criteria for disclosure and commercial support?
A. If the speaker’s content includes clinical content, the speaker may complete the IEA Financial Relationship Form and disclose all financial relationships. The Nurse Planner must then evaluate the relationship(s) listed and document the mitigation strategy used, if appropriate. It is the responsibility of the NP to validate the nature of the financial relationship, as employee of ineligible companies/ organizations are not allowed to participate. The provider must inform learners of the relationship in print prior to the activity. Slides and handouts must be free from company logos and advertising. According to criteria, presentations must give a balanced view of therapeutic options, and use of generic names of drugs is preferred; if trade names are used, trade names from several companies should be used. Communication with the presenter about these guidelines is key.
Q. I am trying to respond to the criterion related to commercial support. We are not holding exhibits or receiving money from pharmaceutical companies; therefore, we are not receiving commercial support for the activity. However, the activity is being sponsored by another company. How do I respond to the criterion?
A. If the company providing you with monies or in-kind donations is not an ineligible company/ organization as defined by ANCC, you are not required to provide information about that sponsorship on the application. Mark that no commercial support was received for the activity. It is the responsibility of the Nurse Planner to validate that the company providing support is not an ineligible company/ organization.
