Continuing Education Accrual Period

The continuing education accrual period aligns with the licensure period.  The continuing education accrual period is the first day of the month following your renewal month through the day you renew your license.  

The licensure length varies for a licensee's first licensing period, beginning with the date of licensure or and ending on the renewal application deadline date.  Please review the table here for the continuing education requirements for your first renewal.

Contact Hour Definition and Equivalencies

Please note that the Board of Nursing measures continuing education in contact hours. 16.12.2.7C.(6) NMAC defines a contact hour as a unit of measurement to describe an approved, organized learning experience.

Contact hour calculations:

• 1 contact hour = 50 to 60 minutes of an organized learning activity
• 1 continuing education unit (CEU) = 10 contact hours
• 1 (semester) academic credit hour = 15 contact hours
• 1 (quarter) academic credit hour = 10 contact hours

Continuing Education Offered by Providers of Continuing Education

The continuing education must:

• Be designed to enhance your ability to practice in your area of practice.
• Last at least one contact hour (50 minutes). Every additional five minutes is one-tenth of a contact hour. An academic course can be converted to contact hours. A quarter credit is equivalent to 10 contact hours. A semester credit is equivalent to 15 contact hours.
• Be approved by a health licensing board or association or the provider of the continuing education must identify the objectives of the continuing education.
• Be taught by an individual qualified to teach the subject matter of the continuing education.

You must:

• Complete the continuing education during your licensure period.
• Obtain and keep the evidence of attending the continuing education for two years after reporting the continuing education.

The provider of continuing education must provide in writing:

• The objectives of the continuing education (objectives are not necessary if the continuing education has been approved by a health licensing board or association).
• The name of the instructor.
• The qualification of the instructor.
• The number of contact hours.
• The date of the continuing education.
• A statement of attendance at the continuing education.

General rules regarding continuing education

16.12.2.11       CONTINUING EDUCATION

C.         Approved continuing education.  To be acceptable in New Mexico, the CE activity must have been approved by a recognized approval body and must enhance the licensee’s scope of professional development as related to his/her activities in nursing.  The participant must receive a certificate of attendance which validates the number of approved CE hours awarded, name of the participant, sponsoring agency, approval body and date attended. Correspondence courses and home-study programs are acceptable, if approved.

      (1)        Recognized approval bodies for CE for nurses.

                  (a)        National or state recognized nursing organizations.

                  (b)        Other state boards of nursing.

                  (c)        New Mexico board-approved local monitoring systems.

      (2)        Other CE which may be accepted as approved CE for nurses:

                  (a)        academic credit, computation: one (1) academic credit equals 15 contact hours;

                  (b)        CE units (CEUs) or contact hours awarded by CE divisions within educational institutions of higher learning;

                  (c)        educational offerings approved through other generally recognized health care

or professional organizations as related to licensee’s nursing practice.

D.        Monitoring system. CE hours accrued through educational offerings approved by a local monitoring system shall be accepted as meeting the CE requirements for licensure in New Mexico but may not be accepted by other state boards of nursing as approved CE.

      (1)        Local monitoring systems must be approved initially and annually by the board of nursing. A guideline for the establishment and operation of a local monitoring system is available in the board office.

      (2)        The approval of educational offerings shall be determined on the approval criteria developed by the board.

E.         Certification or recertification in the registered nursing specialty area. Certification or recertification granted by a national professional organization which uses criteria designed to recognize competence in a specialized area of nursing practice may be used as approved CE. Verification of certification or recertification within the current renewal period is accepted in lieu of the thirty (30) hours of CE required for licensure.

[16.12.2.13 NMAC - Rp, 16.12.2.13 NMAC, 10/1/2016; A, 9/12/2017 A, 5/3/2018]