This course will be discontinued February 15, 2012.  Please plan to complete the test before the end of that day if you wish to earn contact hours for it.

The purpose of this course it so summarize the major HIT and electronic health record initiatives, concepts, and regulations currently in place as well as a sneak peak at what lies ahead over the next several years. After participants study the information presented here, they will be able to:

• Outline the major characteristics of the information technology topics discussed.
• Summarize the clinical implications of the information technology topics discussed.
• Review the overall importance of the information technology topics discussed.

This course will be discontinued February 15, 2012.  Please plan to complete the test before the end of that day if you wish to earn contact hours for it.

The purpose of this course is to summarizes the critical, current issues in healthcare law and techniques that healthcare professionals can use to avoid healthcare litigation. After participants study the information presented here, they will be able to:

• To become familiar with legal terminology.
• To become familiar with the types of laws affecting hospitals and nursing practice including contract law, employment law, and malpractice law.

This course will be discontinued February 15, 2012.  Please plan to complete the test before the end of that day if you wish to earn contact hours for it.

The purpose of this course is to outline the major concepts of healthcare leadership and management that can be applied throughout and individual's career. It is important to learn and understand these concepts because leadership and management principles are typically not emphasized in healthcare education and training. Finally there are concepts unique to healthcare leadership and management that are not seen in other industries. After participants study the information presented here, they will be able to:

• Outline the major characteristics of the leadership topics discussed.
• Summarize the clinical implications of the leadership topics discussed.
• Review the overall importance of the leadership topics discussed.

This course will be discontinued February 15, 2012.  Please plan to complete the test before the end of that day if you wish to earn contact hours for it.

The purpose of this session is to equip registered nurses with teacher and evaluator skills required in the role of nurse educator. After studying the presented information, you will be able to —

• Identify the nurse educator role.
• Describe teaching, learning, and evaluation principles.
• Discuss teacher and evaluator strategies.

This course will be discontinued February 15, 2012.  Please plan to complete the test before the end of that day if you wish to earn contact hours for it.

The purpose of this session is to equip registered nurses with leader and scholarship skills required in the role of nurse educator. After participants study the information presented here, they will be able to:

• Identify nurse education trends.
• Discuss nurse educator leadership principles.
• Describe the role of nurse educator as scholar.

This course will be discontinued February 15, 2012.  Please plan to complete the test before the end of that day if you wish to earn contact hours for it.

To introduce the learner to the specialty of Nursing Professional Development (NPD), provide a brief history of nursing education and staff development, look briefly at the new Nursing Professional Development System Model presented at the 2009 NNSDO Conference, and discuss organizational culture and climate as they relate to NPD.

• Review some of the key historical events related to the establishment of Nursing Professional Development as a specialty practice
• Explore the components of the Nursing Professional Development System Model presented at the National Nursing Staff Development Organization’s (NNSDO) conference in 2009
• Describe the organizational culture, dynamics, mission, vision, values, goals, and objectives of a nursing staff development (continuing education) department

This course will be discontinued February 15, 2012.  Please plan to complete the test before the end of that day if you wish to earn contact hours for it.

To explores some of the theoretical foundations for principles of education, specifically in teaching and learning and the characteristics of adult learners. Three key leaders in education are presented with Bloom's Taxonomy and its application to writing objectives.

• Describe the characteristics of adult learning.
• Identify three domains of learning.
• Discuss three factors that influence transfer of learning to practice settings and implementation at point of care.

This course will be discontinued February 15, 2012.  Please plan to complete the test before the end of that day if you wish to earn contact hours for it.

To consider the ethical and legal issues attached to Nursing Professional Development: principles and ethics, copyright law, risk management, boundaries, and regulatory concerns. NPD specialists adhere to and support professional standards, e.g., licensure, accrediting bodies, and professional organizations. They employ and facilitate change that helps nurses actualize their profession at the point of care and within the global communities of practice.

• Describe three ethical issues in NPD and their implications for practice.
• Identify three boundaries to ethical practice in nursing education and staff development.
• Discuss regulatory considerations for ethical and legal practice.

This course will be discontinued February 15, 2012.  Please plan to complete the test before the end of that day if you wish to earn contact hours for it.

To guide the learner into the issues and trends of Nursing Professional Development, i.e. continued NPD specialty competencies in all six roles/functions. As more innovative practice and excellence and excellence initiatives (e.g., IHI, TCAB, Magnet Recognition Program) unfold, credentialing, practice based on evidence, and evidence-based practice reflected in safer, more effective and efficient patient outcomes provide ever growing opportunities for NPD specialists to influence health care today and tomorrow.

• Discuss how technological advances influence nursing professional development.
• Explore two key issues and trends addressed by NPD Specialists (eg, continued competency, practice and excellence initiatives, credentialing, practice based on evidence).
• Describe three functions of the NPD specialty (eg, orientation, in-service, competency management, clinical affiliations, preceptor development, continuing education).

This course will be discontinued February 15, 2012.  Please plan to complete the test before the end of that day if you wish to earn contact hours for it.

The purpose of this course is to outline the most common causes of medical errors and ways to avoid them in everyday practice. Decreasing medical errors not only will improve the quality of healthcare delivered but will also help to decrease the number of healthcare malpractice cases that occur.

• Outline the major characteristics of quality assurance -medical error topics discussed.
• Summarize the clinical implications of quality assurance -medical error topics discussed.
• Review the overall importance of quality assurance -medical topics discussed.

This course will be discontinued February 15, 2012.  Please plan to complete the test before the end of that day if you wish to earn contact hours for it.

The goal of this program is to explore ways to implement new shared governance models and revitalize already established but waning ones. After participants study the information presented here, they will be able to:

• Describe a checklist for designing a shared governance model
• Explain the implementation process for organizational and unit-based structures
• Identify how to formulate bylaws.

This course will be discontinued February 15, 2012.  Please plan to complete the test before the end of that day if you wish to earn contact hours for it.

The goal of this program is to identify the roles of managers in a shared governance model. After participants study the information presented here, they will be able to —

• Describe differences between managers’ roles in traditional and shared governance healthcare organization.
• Discuss the manger’s role in supporting the cost, return on investment, and participation in a shared governance model.
• Identify managers’ role in ensuring essential education for themselves and staff.

This course will be discontinued February 15, 2012.  Please plan to complete the test before the end of that day if you wish to earn contact hours for it.

The goal of this program is to explain how managers and staff can implement a mechanism for appropriate peer review with a shared governance model. After participants study the information presented here, they will be able to —

• Define the tenets of professional practice
• Describe the role of shared governance in self regulation
• List six principles of nursing peer review and its role in professional practice