594 JOURNAL OF EMERGENCY NURSING 27:6 December 2001

N U R S E E D U C A T O R

Did you know that obtaining approval to offercontinuing education contact hours (CECHs)for your educational program through ENA has

been made easier than ever? The ENA national EducationCommittee and ENA Department of Education havemade changes during the past 2 years to streamline theprocess. The new CECH Guidelines—6th edition (April2001) and an application for obtaining CECHs throughENA are available online at the ENA Web site(www.ena.org). Look under “Programs and Meetings” andthen under the subheading “Continuing Education” onthe bar on the left side of your screen. You can also call theENA National office at (800)900-9659, ext 4116, andrequest an application from the Educational ServicesDepartment. The application itself has been made muchsimpler to read and complete.

Possibly the most important part of applying forCECHs is good planning and beginning that planningearly. A suggested timeline for developing a CECH pro-gram is included with the application guidelines. Theapplication should be sent to ENA no later than 6 weeksprior to the date of your program to avoid additional fees.Fees increase when the application is received after the 6-week deadline, and they increase dramatically when theapplication is received within only 2 weeks of the program.A copy of the fee schedule is included with the applica-tion/guidelines.

The CECH application

You will need to include 2 typed copies of objectives, anoutline, and the speaker’s biographical information foreach module (ie, the speaker’s current position, education,

Obtaining CECH

Approval Through ENA: The Process

has been Made Easier

Author: Robin Walsh, RN, BSN, CEN, CCRN, Leverett, Mass

Section Editor: Anne Phelan Bowen, MS, RN

Robin Walsh is a member of the 2001 national ENA EducationCommittee.

For reprints, write: Robin Walsh, RN, 76 Cushman Rd, Leverett, MA01054; E-mail: Rwrn627@aol.com.

J Emerg Nurs 2001;27:594-6.

Copyright © 2001 by the Emergency Nurses Association.

0099-1767/2001 $35.00 +0 18/9/118575doi:10.1067/men.2001.118575

December 2001 27:6 JOURNAL OF EMERGENCY NURSING 595

NURSE EDUCATOR/Walsh

a summary of professional experience related to the pre-sentation, and qualifications specific to the presentationsuch as previous presentations, related publications, orclinical expertise). Submitting a curriculum vitae and/orresume is not necessary. The application form and bio-graphical data form may be filled out right on the com-puter, and then printed out and mailed in. A minimum ofone Planning Committee member must be a registerednurse, preferably an ENA member.

Possibly the most important part ofapplying for CECHs is good planningand beginning that planning early.

If you are using a non-ENA evaluation tool or certifi-cate of completion, copies of these items should also beincluded with the application (a copy of the ENA evaluationtool is included in the application packet). The marketingtool for your program (ie, a brochure, flyer, or pamphlet)also must be submitted; however, the most recent draft is

fine. Before the program is approved, promotional materialmay read, “ENA Continuing Education Contact Hourshave been applied for”; after approval, the material mayread, “Program has been approved by the ENA for (insertNo.) Continuing Education Contact Hours.”

The application fee, which is determined by the totalnumber of CECHs, must accompany the application. OneCECH is equal to 50 minutes of lecture time. CECHscannot be awarded retroactively.

How is my application reviewed?

The application must be submitted in its entirety before itcan be processed. Items required are the completed 3-pageapplication form, a program module for each presentationin the program (ie, objectives and outline), a biographicaldata form for each speaker and each member of thePlanning Committee, the marketing brochure, the evalua-tion tool and certificate (if ENA forms are not being used)and the application fee. A checklist is provided with everyapplication packet (Table 1). An ENA Education

CHECKLIST __________________________________________________

All of the following documents must be submitted in duplicate. Request for CECH mustbe received a minimum of 6 weeks prior to the date of the program. Late applications

may be denied CECH. CECH will not be retroactively awarded.

Attach this checklist to the front of your application.

❑ CECH application❑ Program/presentation module (one form for each presentation in the program)❑ Biographical data form for activity coordinator (resume or curriculum vitae not acceptable)❑ Biographical data form for each member of Planning Committee (resume or curriculum vitae not acceptable)❑ Biographical data form for each speaker (resume or curriculum vitae not acceptable)❑ Evaluation tool (if not using ENA’s)❑ Certificate (if not using ENA’s)❑ Marketing pamphlet❑ Payment for application fee

FIGURE 1Checklist of items needed to obtain CECHs.

596 JOURNAL OF EMERGENCY NURSING 27:6 December 2001

NURSE EDUCATOR/Walsh

Department staff member reviews every application toensure that all the necessary information is included andthen sends it to a member of the Education Committee,who reviews the content, objectives, outlines, and speakerinformation. Be sure to include the activity coordinator’scontact information (phone number[s] and/or an E-mailaddress) so the reviewer can contact that person should anyquestions arise. Objectives need to be measurable andrelated to the outline content; they need to reflect what itis that you want your participants to accomplish. Verbssuch as “describe,” “define,” “recognize,” “apply,” “com-pare,” and “distinguish” are ideal. Concepts from Bloom’sTaxonomy are included in the application packet. Thereviewer then returns his or her checklist to the EducationDepartment, noting whether the activity is approved ornot approved. If approved, the number of CECHsawarded (clinical or other) is included. Once the activityhas been reviewed and approved, the certificates of com-pletion for the participants are sent to the activity coordi-nator, as well as any suggested changes in the wording ofobjectives made by the reviewer.

The application form and biographi-cal data form may be filled out righton the computer, and then printed outand mailed in.

Tips for the application process

1. Begin the process early. Remember that the applicationmust be sent to ENA at least 6 weeks prior to the activity. A late fee will be added to applications re-ceived after that date, and CECHs cannot be awardedretroactively.

2. Provide 2 typed copies of all necessary documents.3. Use the checklist (Figure 1) to ensure that all necessary

documentation is included with your application.4. Objectives should be measurable and related to the out-

line content.5. The outline should include the following:

• Name(s) of the speaker(s)• Presentation title• Date/time of the presentation

• Method (eg, lecture, discussion, handouts)• Objectives• Time frames

6. Contact the ENA Educational Services Departmentstaff at (800)900-9659, ext 4116, with any questionsor problems before you submit your application.ENA encourages ENA state councils, chapters, and

individual emergency nurses to provide education to emer-gency nurses and others. We hope that we have made theprocess easier. You may call ENA Associate Director ofEducation Donna Massey, RN, MSN, at (800)900-9659,ext 4085, with comments or questions.

Submissions to this column are welcomed and encouraged.Contributions may be sent to:

Anne Phelan Bowen, MS, RN12 Harrington St, East Falmouth, MA 02536

508 540-4108 • Jamerican4@aol.com

Correction

Due to a typographical error, the answer to question 1 in the CENReview Questions section of the October issue (2001;27:476-7)(“A person who sustained blunt trauma to the right eye...with atentative diagnosis of a blow-out fracture....”) was inadvertentlylisted as B (hyphema, which is characterized by photophobia,blurred vision, and blood in the anterior chamber of the eye). Thecorrect answer is A (“Double vision, numbness to the right cheekand upper lip, and inability to look upward”). We regret any con-fusion.