Virginia accrediting body okays Radford online continuing education initiative for nurses

The Radford University School of Nursing (SON) was awarded approval status as a provider of continuing education in nursing by the Virginia Nurses Association (VNA).

The SON is now authorized to assess, plan, implement and evaluate continuing education (CE) offerings for the almost 100,000 nurses in Virginia who annually must complete it to maintain licensure. The VNA is the accredited approval body for the Commonwealth of Virginia by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.

The SON initiative is a direct response to the demand for lifelong learning and CE products from health care providers in today’s fast-changing health care industry. After a year-long effort, the SON program is now a peer-reviewed CE provider. The program will present an online catalog of courses by which registered nurses can keep abreast of contemporary trends, practice initiatives and current research and evidence. The Radford program will also partner with local, regional and national experts to develop and approve CE courses.

The Radford program will enable nurses to complete the online courses at their convenience via internet. The courses will feature experts and practitioners, including Radford nursing faculty, on topics relevant to today’s registered nurses. The program will permit nurses to conveniently achieve CE requirements for annual license renewal. Courses are offered at $15 per CE credit and Radford SON alumni will receive a 20 percent discount.

Nurses from across the state will soon be able to access a list of all courses and register on the School of Nursing homepage. For more information, contact Ginger Burggraf, the program’s lead/nurse primary planner at (540) 831-7714 or vburggraf2@radford.edu.