Continuing education is vital for Texas nurses who are required to demonstrate their competency for re-licensure by completing as many as 20 contact hours of continuing nursing education (CNE) every two years.

Yet as the application process for accreditation has become exceedingly rigorous, the number of fully accredited CNE providers in Texas has dwindled.

That is not a problem for nurses throughout the Texas Panhandle who have come to rely on Amarillo College for quality CNE programs. AC’s Center for Continuing Healthcare Education on March 23 was notified by the Texas Nurses Association that it has been granted reaccreditation as an Approved Provider Unit for Nursing Continuing Education, one of few remaining in the region.

AC’s application not only earned approval for another three years, but it was designated for “Approval with Commendation” – a rare mark of distinction that usually only a handful of such programs in the state receive annually.

“I’m proud of our staff for their phenomenal display of teamwork, and I am thrilled that Amarillo College is able to continue to provide continuing education opportunities for nurses that promote better healthcare outcomes throughout our service area,” Kim Crowley, AC’s associate dean of health sciences, said.

Crowley’s team prepared and submitted a massive 260-page application in January. Its approval gives the AC’s Center for Continuing Healthcare Education the authority and latitude to formulate and present conferences and educational events for licensed nurses without seeking individual program approval from the Texas Nurses Association.

“We can continue to be timely and responsive in meeting the needs of our nursing workforce,” Crowley said. “We can create what’s needed and offer it right here in our own backyard, so our working nurses don’t have to travel all over the state for the CNE contact hours they need.

“Our nurses benefit, and so do the patients in their care.”

AC’s Center for Continuing Healthcare Education delivered 121 different nursing education programs in 2015, events that offered 238 separate contact hours and drew 1,327 registered nurses and 2,417 participants in total. For more information about CNE programs, contact the Center at (806) 354-6085.

March 30, 2016