The Louisiana State Nurses Association is accredited as an approver of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation (ANCC COA). The ANCC Accreditation Program supports the lifelong learning needs of professional registered nurses by ensuring that educational activities are designed using criteria that are evidence-based and that are independent from commercial influence. Using the criteria defined by ANCC, the Louisiana State Nurses Association Continuing Education Approval Program has developed this application process for organizations seeking approval to award continuing nursing education (CNE) credit in the form of contact hours for an educational activity.
This document – LSNA Application Criteria – is based on the 2015 ANCC Primary Accreditation Application Manual for Providers and Approvers and explains the requirements and criteria for planning a CNE activity, describes the application process, and provides guidance in completing the LSNA Education Activity Application and related forms. Please read all instructions prior to completing the application. Organizations intending to apply for approval of an educational activity through LSNA are strongly encouraged to review both documents early in the planning process to better ensure the activity is planned in accordance with the ANCC & LSNA requirements and that all submitted documentation will meet the criteria. All criteria must be met and appropriate supporting documentation submitted prior to approval. LSNA approve individual education activities for a two-year period, during which the activity can be repeated multiple times as long as the presenter is the same and the educational content of the activity does not change/remains current.
The LSNA Individual Education Activity Application and all related forms referred to in this document, as well as examples of some completed forms, are available on the LSNA’s website at www.lsna.org Many of the forms provided are required.
You are also encouraged to email questions to should you have questions about the application criteria or application submission and review process.
Tips for Completing the Application
1. Read the entire application and ask questions
2. Complete each section of the application, and attach all forms and additional materials required. Do not leave any section blank. Incomplete applications will not be processed.
3. Please type directly on the application. Sections will enlarge.
4. Do not submit handouts, PowerPoint presentations or sign in sheets.
5. The completed applications should be submitted in one collated Word or Adobe .pdf file at least 60 days prior to the educational activity date. The file can be sent by email or mail on a flash drive and sent to: Dr. Debra Shelton, LSNA, 543 Spanish Town Rd, Baton Rouge, La 70802.
6. If you are unable to meet the deadline, an expedited application process is available up to 20 days before the activity date.
7. The IEA Payment Form has information on fees and the fee may be paid by check or credit card.
Application Review Process
o Upon submission of the application, applicants will receive a confirmation email indicating the application and review fee has been received.
o A quantitative review is conducted by the Nurse Peer Review Leader for completeness and identifying any missing information. If the application needs additional evidence, the applicant will be emailed requesting the information.
o After the additional information, has been received, the application is sent to two Nurse Peer Reviewers. These individuals are responsible for reviewing the application using ANCC/LSNA criteria for approval. Once the reviews have been completed and received by the Nurse Peer Review Leader, a decision is made – Deferred or Approved. If the application is deferred, the Nurse Peer Review Leader will ask for additional evidence, revisions or clarification, and work with the applicant as needed. Materials must be received within the specified time frame.
Once all application criteria have been met, the applicant will receive approval for presenting the activity prior to the activity start date. Retroactive approval is not authorized by LSNA or ANCC.
Approved: LSNA approval for an individual education activity is granted for a two-year period beginning the date of the first offering, during which the activity can be repeated multiple times as long as the presenter is the same and the educational content of the activity does not change/remains current. LSNA Nurse Peer Reviewers reserve the right to audit, without charge, any LSNA approved continuing nursing education activity for the purpose of monitoring compliance with ANCC/LSNA criteria
Denied/Not Approved: If there is insufficient documentation of how the criteria are being met, or if the content of the application does not meet the definition of continuing nursing education, the application will not be approved. If an application is not approved, the applicant may choose to resubmit or appeal the decision.
o Re-Submission: If approval is not granted, the organization may submit a revised application within thirty (30) days of notification of nonapproval and at least two (2) weeks prior to the first day of the educational activity. A $100.00 re-submission review fee must accompany the revised application. Only one (1) resubmission is allowed per application.
o Appeal: When an application is not approved by LSNA, the applicant has the right to appeal the decision. Contact hours cannot be awarded retroactively; therefore, any appeal process must be completed prior to the start of the educational activity. A copy of the appeal process is available upon request from the LSNA office. Changes and/or revisions may not be made to the application (or resubmission, if applicable) during the appeal process. The decision of the LSNA Approver Unit after the appeal is final.
Revocation of Approval: Activity approval and contact hours will be revoked if there is evidence that the criteria for approval were not adhered to as described in the application. Notice of revocation of approval is sent to the organization by the LSNA office within two weeks of the revocation decision. The organization is responsible for notifying all participants of the revocation of contact hours as soon as possible, but not later than one month following notification of revocation.
Applicant Eligibility Verification:
Applicants must complete the Applicant Eligibility information in the application and must meet all eligibility requirements. Complete all sections of the form. The following requirements and criteria must be met in order to apply for approval of an educational activity to award nursing contact hours:
• The applicant organization must not be a ‘commercial interest’ as defined by ANCC – “an entity that produces, markets, resells, or distributes healthcare good or services consumed by or used on patients or an entity that is owned or controlled by an entity that produces, markets, resells, or distributes healthcare goods or services consumed by or used on patients”. Exceptions are made for nonprofit or government organizations, non-healthcare-related companies, and healthcare facilities.
• The planned learning activity must meet the ANCC definition of Continuing Nursing Education – “a systematic professional learning experience designed to augment the knowledge, skills and attitudes of nurses, and therefore enrich nurses’ contributions to quality healthcare” (ANA, 2010).
• A registered nurse with a current, valid license and a minimum of a baccalaureate degree in nursing must serve in the role of the Nurse Planner for the activity. This nurse must be involved in all aspects of planning, implementing, and evaluating the learning activity, and must have authority to implement and maintain all accreditation criteria as specified by the Midwest MSD.
• Any organization serving as a Joint Provider (formerly co-provider) of the educational activity (working with the provider organization to plan, implement, and evaluate the continuing nursing education activity) must not be a commercial interest organization.
In Section 5 – Statement of Understanding - of this section, you must type in your organization where it states, “click to enter text”. Electronic signatures are acceptable. Credentials are required as well as the date.
If the information meets the eligibility requirement of ANCC/LSNA, continue with your application. If not, the application is ineligible for approval.
Nurse Planner Attestation: must be completed. The Nurse Planner must be a RN and have BSN or higher degree.
Educational Design Processes: All sections of the application will expand as information is typed in the box. Description of the Professional Practice Gap
The process of planning begins with identifying when CNE or IPCE might be a desired intervention to address a change
that has been made to a standard of care, a problem that exists in practice, or an opportunity for improvement. Once an educational intervention is determined to be appropriate, a Nurse Planner is engaged to begin the planning process. CNE Activities are developed in response to the unique educational needs of the target audience. Each activity is based on a needs assessment that may be conducted by a variety of methods. Sources of supporting evidence of needs assessment data survey data, literature reviews, past activity evaluations, etc. A summary of the supporting evidence is needed for the application.
The Nurse Planner starts by analyzing data that validate the need for the educational activity. This analysis forms the basis of a professional practice gap, or the difference between the current state of practice and the desired state of practice. It is important to note that a professional practice gap may exist for registered nurses or health care teams, regardless of the practice setting; if there is a difference, then this difference is a problem in practice or a gap. Professional practice gaps are not limited to clinical practice and may also exist in areas of professional work such as administration, education, and research.
A Gap Analysis Worksheet is one tool that is used for developing the Professional Practice Gap. A copy is required for all IEAs and should be attached to the application. The form should be online, if not, contact Dr. Debra Shelton for assistance.
Once the Professional Practice Gap has been identified – a planning committee is formed:
The Nurse Planner and one other planner plan collaboratively the activity. A Content Expert must also be on the committee. The Nurse Planner or other planner can be the content expert. A target audience member is not needed. Nurse planners contribute oversight and must be actively involved in both the planning and the analysis of evaluation data for the educational activity. The Content Expert ensures that information posted is appropriate for the topic and is for RNs. The planning committee assures the qualifications of the faculty member(s) are appropriate and adequate.
If the activity is designed for Advanced Practice RNs (APRN) – the planning committee needs to have a APRN on the committee, if the activity is related to APRNs prescriptive authority, the APRN on the committee needs to have prescriptive authority.
The Nurse Planner and Planning Committee conduct a needs assessment to determine the underlying educational needs of registered nurses, or members of the health care team, that contribute to the gap. The Nurse Planner and Planning Committee evaluate what registered nurses or members of the health care team do not know (knowledge deficit), do not know how to do (skill deficit), or are not able to do in practice (practice deficit). A backward-planning process as described by Moore, Green, and Gallis (2009) is a useful method for determining the educational needs and targeting the educational activity appropriately to address the gap.
Once the educational need has been identified - the target audience for the activity is identified. (The activity must be developed on an education level for Registered Nurses.) Other health care team members can attend and receive certificates.
Describe the type of needs assessment that was used to determine the Gap Analysis and Target Audience.
Describe the gap that the activity will address. The Current State comes from the Needs Assessment, what is the current state for participants, the agency or in nursing practice. The Desired State is what should be desired or achieved by the participant, agency or nursing practice. The Gap is the difference between the two states. This gap can be due to knowledge – doesn’t know; due to skills – doesn’t know how; or due to practices – not able to show or do in practice.
Effective Design Principles
The educational activity must be developed with an identified learning goal (purpose) and learning outcome for which the activity is designed to address. Content must be congruent with the learning goal (purpose) and educational objectives. Teaching-learning strategies are congruent with the objectives and content. (See Educational Activity Planning Table)
Learning Outcome(s)
The Nurse Planner and Planning Committee then develop the desired learning outcome for participants in the target audience. A learning outcome is written as a statement that reflects what the learner will be able to do as a result of participating in the educational activity. The learning outcome must be observable and measurable. The outcome addresses the educational needs (knowledge, skills, and/or practices) that contribute to the professional practice gap, and achieving the learning outcome results in narrowing or closing the gap. A learning outcome may be assessed over a short term or long term. There may be more than one learning outcome for an educational activity. Each outcome should have one measurable action verb and specify what the learner will know or do during or as a result of the activity.
The identified gap in knowledge, skills and/or practice will determine the number of learning outcomes for the activity.
o For an educational activity lasting eight hours or less, with a single focus, 1 – 2 learning outcomes are appropriate. The learner will typically be required to attend the entire activity to achieve the outcome and be awarded contact hours.
o For an activity lasting more than eight hours, or with multiple tracks/concurrent sessions, one of two methods may be used:
o Broadly written, overarching learning outcomes that apply to the entire activity. This approach works best when the entire activity has a single focus in topic or subject matter. A single Educational Planning Form may be utilized.
o Outcomes written that are specific to each track or topic focus. This approach works best when outcome measures will vary depending on the educational level or practice setting of nurses attending i.e. “advanced” tracks, or when participants can attend concurrent sessions so that some outcomes will apply and others will not, depending on which sessions are attended. Each session or track should be documented on a separate Educational Planning Form.