Nursing Home Administrator Continuing Education Program Guidelines

PLEASE READ AND RETAIN THIS DOCUMENT

General Criteria

48 CE credits are required unless you are notified otherwise.

To qualify for Continuing Education (CE) credit, all programs and/or activities must be:

  1. Relevant to the practice of nursing home administration in New York State;
  2. Presented at a level and from a perspective so as to be beneficial to a Nursing Home Administrator in the conduct of his/her official duties and responsibilities; and,
  3. Presented in a context applicable to the provision of care and services to residents in a residential health care facility.

General Guidelines

  1. CE credit will only be awarded for qualifying programs and/or activities completed after January 1st of each even numbered year which is the beginning of the two-year registration period. In the case of late registration, reactivation, or issuance of a license during the registration period, CE credit will not be awarded for programs and/or activities completed prior to the effective date of the late registration, reactivation or licensure, respectively.
  2. CE credit will not be awarded for repeating identical programs and/or activities during the same registration period regardless of approval by NAB/NCERS or other agencies.
  3. CE credit will not be awarded for attendance at sessions of the 100-hour pre-licensure course or similar programs regardless of approval by NAB/NCERS or other agencies.
  4. CE credit will not be awarded for attendance at trade shows or exhibits regardless of approval by NAB/NCERS or other agencies.
  5. Membership on and work with boards of directors, licensure boards, planning committees, health councils, and other similar professional or community groups will not qualify for CE credit regardless of approval by NAB/NCERS or other agencies.
  6. CE credit that exceeds the minimum number of hours required for registration renewal will not be carried forward to the subsequent registration period.
  7. CE credit will not be awarded for attendance at programs and/or activities if a sponsor is unable or unwilling to attain acceptable nursing home administrator licensure CE program approval, certify attendance, or provide the documentation necessary for program review.

Categories of Continuing Education Credit

Approved Programs

CE credit may be awarded for attendance at programs approved by the National Association of Boards of Examiners of Long Term Care Administrators/National Continuing Education Review Service (NAB/NCERS) or by state boards of examiners of nursing home administrators (or other state agencies having regulatory oversight of the practice of nursing home administration). A listing of NAB/NCERS approved programs is available on the NAB Internet web site at www.nabweb.org . Please bear in mind that not all programs are necessarily approved by NAB/NCERS or state boards for CE credit. If you are uncertain whether a specific program has been approved for Nursing Home Administrator [NHA] CE credit, please begin by confirming the approval status with the program sponsor by obtaining the approval/identification number and name of the approving authority. To be acceptable for CE credit by New York State Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators (BENHA), the approved program must also meet all BENHA established Nursing Home Administrator continuing education program guidelines for the registration period.

If any question remains as to a program's approval for CE, you may wish to verify approval directly with the approving authority. It is solely the licensee's responsibility to verify program approval for New York State NHA CE credit prior to choosing a program. Do not submit certificates of attendance or other documentation for any programs unless requested to do so by the NYS Department of Health or the NYS Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators [BENHA or Board].

Internal Corporate Provider

The BENHA will accept, on a limited basis, NAB/NCERS approved continuing education programs provided by corporate entities to their own employees at internal educational sessions which meet the BENHA continuing education objectives. The program must be educational in purpose and nature. As with all NAB/NCERS approved programs, approval must be obtained prior to the start of the program. It is the licensee's responsibility to determine if the program meets the BENHA CE program guidelines for registration.

CE credits from this category are included in the limited group in the Table below, which may not total more than 50% of the administrator's biennial requirement during the registration period. Please refer to the table found later in this document titled CE Credit Category Limits for further clarification of CE credit limitations.

Credit Bearing Coursework

CE credit may be awarded for appropriate graduate and undergraduate coursework completed at an accredited educational institution. The licensee must submit a course description to the Board for a determination as to the amount of credit, if any, that will be awarded. It is strongly recommended that the course description be submitted prior to participation in the course. Please be advised that CE credit will be awarded for coursework completed only if a grade of "C" or higher is attained for undergraduate level coursework or a grade of "B" or higher is attained for graduate level coursework. A course description and a transcript (a copy is acceptable) documenting successful completion of the course, the number of credit hours, and the grade achieved must be submitted to the Board by the licensee when requesting CE credit for coursework. This confirmation is to be submitted to the Board for review, and approval must be issued by the Board prior to adding to the CE Credit Report. Coursework will be reviewed and approved exclusively by the NYS Department of Health or the NYS Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators.

Auditing of Credit Bearing Coursework

CE credit may be awarded for "auditing" a credit-bearing course offered by an accredited educational institution. The licensee must submit a course description to the Board for a determination of the amount of credit, if any, that may be awarded. It is recommended that the course description be submitted prior to auditing the course. To receive CE credit, the licensee must audit the entire course and submit to the Board confirmation from the educational institution of the course level (i.e., graduate or undergraduate), the total number of sessions in the course, the number of sessions attended by the licensee, and the course description. This confirmation is to be submitted to the Board for review, and approval must be issued by the Board prior to adding to the CE Credit Report. Coursework will be reviewed and approved exclusively by the NYS Department of Health or the NYS Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators.

Non-credit-bearing courses offered by an accredited or non-accredited educational institution will not be reviewed by the Board for CE credit. The administrator should request these programs seek prior approval from the National Association of Boards of Examiners of Long Term Care Administrators/National Continuing Education Review Service (NAB/NCERS) or, if out of state, by state boards of examiners of nursing home administrators (or other state agencies having regulatory oversight of the practice of nursing home administration) in order for CE credit to be granted upon completion of the course.

Teaching, Publishing

CE credit may be awarded for eligible teaching activities and publishing in the Core of Knowledge areas. Documentation of these activities must be submitted to the Board for review and approval prior to including them on the CE Credit Report. These programs and/or activities will be reviewed and approved exclusively by the NYS Department of Health or the NYS Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators.

Continuing education credits can be awarded for teaching activities either directly in the field of nursing home administration or relevant or of value to nursing home administrators. The number of teaching credits to be awarded is calculated on the total number of hours of presentation time, with additional hours awarded according to the activity's relationship to nursing home administration. For example, an 11 week course in health care administration taught at an accredited college which meets for 2 hours each week would receive 22 continuing education credits, or the total hours of presentation. A course in nursing home administration taught at an accredited college with the same amount of presentation time would be eligible for 66 continuing education credits, however the 50% limitation would reduce the actual award to 24 credits.

CE credits from this category are included in the limited group in the Table below, which may not total more than 50% of the administrator's biennial requirement during the registration period. Please refer to the table found later in this document titled CE Credit Category Limits for further clarification of CE credit limitations.

For further information regarding these categories, please contact the Board.

Preceptorship

CE credit may be awarded for service as a preceptor in the Board's Administrator-in-Training (AIT) Program. Preceptor credit is awarded upon the successful completion of a Board-approved NYS AIT program. AIT programs will be reviewed and approved exclusively by the NYS Department of Health or the NYS Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators.

CE credits from serving as a preceptor are limited to not more than 50% of the administrator's biennial requirement during the registration period. Please refer to the table found later in this document titled CE Credit Category Limits for further clarification of CE credit limitations.

For further information regarding these categories, please contact the Board.

Home Study Courses

Home-study courses and home-based learning, including on-line or internet provided programs or courses, which meet the General Criteria and are approved in advance by the National Association of Boards of Examiners of Long Term Care Administrators/National Continuing Education Review Service (NAB/NCERS), or by state boards of examiners of nursing home administrators (or other state agencies having regulatory oversight of the practice of nursing home administration), will be eligible for CE credit.

CE credits from this category are included in the limited group in the Table below, which may not total more than 50% of the administrator's biennial requirement during the registration period. Credit will not be awarded for home study courses or programs repeated within two consecutive registration periods (4 years total).

It is the Administrator's responsibility to ensure that s/he does not exceed the allowable number of home-study/home-based learning CE credits during the registration period.

The NYS Board only accepts home study courses approved by NAB/NCERS or by state boards of examiners of nursing home administrators or other state agencies having regulatory oversight of the practice of nursing home administration.

Ce Credit Category Limits

CE Category CE Credit Limits Per Registration Period
Approved programs No limit
College Credit-Bearing Course Work No limit
Serving as the Preceptor for a NYS BENHA-approved AIT program May not exceed 50% of total required CE hours
  • Home study/Self-study/On-line/Correspondence or Internal Corporate program
  • Teaching and Publishing
Combined, may not exceed 50% of total required CE hours

Appeals

Requests for staff reconsideration of determinations and appeals to the Board regarding the awarding of credit for all CE categories must be received in writing no later than 90 days from the date of completion of the program or activity. The request should clearly state the basis of the appeal and the amount of CE credit the licensee believes should be awarded. The licensee will receive a written determination regarding his or her request/appeal.