CRRN Renewal Requirements

To renew CRRN certification, you must meet the following requirements at the time of application:

Have a current, unrestricted RN license
Complete 1000 hours of rehabilitation nursing experience within your 5-year certification period
Complete at least 60 points of credit that meet the published criteria within your 5-year certification period (points of credit MUST be completed within the 5-year certification period, not after selected for audit)

If you already have completed your 60 Points of Credit, you are ready to complete your online renewal application.

Standard verification: You are currently employed as a nurse by a third-party (e.g. hospital, doctor’s office, rehabilitation facility, insurance company). Standard verification is appropriate.

Alternative verification: You are in independent practice and do not have a CRRN colleague or supervisor, or you have left a paid position to provide rehabilitation nursing services to a family member. Alternative verification is appropriate.

Renew Online

Program policies and procedures are available for your reference.

Ways to Earn Points of Credit

Specific criteria are in place for each category. Be sure to review the full requirements prior to submitting your renewal application.

Continuing education

One contact hour (60 minutes) is equal to 1 point of credit. Of the continuing education points, two-thirds must be approved for nursing contact hours by a national or state nursing organizations. All contact hours must be related to rehabilitation nursing practice. Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) programs and programs intended to meet mandatory annual review requirements (e.g., CPR, bloodborne pathogens, fire and safety) may not be used toward CRRN renewal. Up to 60 points of credit will be accepted in this category.

Presentation of rehabilitation nursing content to nurses and other healthcare professionals

To qualify, the presentation must be delivered within a structured framework of teaching and learning for which national or state nursing organization-approved contact hours have been awarded. The following are acceptable activities and their point values:

Presentations

Two points for each nursing-approved contact hour awarded to attendees.

Paper or case study presentation

Two points for each original paper or case study presentation

Poster presentation

Two points for each original poster.

A maximum of 12 points will be accepted in this category.

Academic coursework

Academic coursework is defined as work for which one receives academic credit at the graduate or undergraduate level that is related to rehabilitation nursing. One credit hour is worth 4 points of credit (e.g. a 3 credit-hour course is worth 12 points). A maximum of 48 points will be accepted in this category.

Publication

Publication or acceptance of an original rehabilitation nursing-related manuscript in a professional journal or as a chapter in a text for healthcare professionals. Your name must be published as author to qualify. One publication is worth 12 points of credit. A maximum of 36 points will be accepted in this category.

Community service

Volunteer activities in which you participate that are intended to educate the public, improve the quality of life for physically disabled or chronically ill people, or improve the practice of professional rehabilitation nursing. Activities for which you receive payment for your services in excess of $75 or activities that are considered part of your employment are not acceptable community service activities. A maximum of 10 points will be accepted in this category.

The following are acceptable activities and their point values:

Publication of an article or chapter text

Publication of an article or chapter text on a healthcare-related topic in a general interest or consumer publication. Each original manuscript will be awarded 2 points

Presentation

Presentation of a healthcare-related topic to a public audience in a formal setting. Each original presentation will be awarded 1 point.

Volunteer leadership in a healthcare organization

Leadership in a volunteer capacity of a local, state, regional, national, or international professional healthcare organization. To qualify, you must have served as an officer or board member for at least 1 year. Each leadership activity will be awarded 1 point. If serving a multi-year term, you may not receive credit for each year served.

Review board participation

Serving in a formally-appointed capacity to review the original work of others as a content expert such as on an editorial board, research or program grant application review committee, continuing education approval unit review panel, or abstract review committee for a term of 1 year will be award 2 points.

National or state nursing organization approval

Definitions

National nursing organization: an association or other organization focused on one or more aspects of nursing which operates on the national level in the US. Most groups that meet this definition will refer to nursing in their names. Interdisciplinary organizations do not meet this definition.
State nursing organization: a state board of nursing, state licensing body for nurses, or state nursing association. Local chapters of national nursing organizations do not meet this definition.

Continuing education activities are considered nursing-approved if they fall into one of the following categories.

The activity was provided by a national or state nursing organization.
The activity was approved by a national or state nursing organization.
The activity was provided by an organization accredited to provide nursing continuing education contact hours by a national or state nursing organization.

Most organizations that meet our definition of a nursing organization have the word “nurse” or “nursing” in their name.

Programs that are designed to meet the continuing education requirements of a board of nursing but are not specifically provided, approved, or accredited by a national or state nursing organization are not considered nursing-approved.

Related to rehabilitation nursing

Consider the RNCB definition of rehabilitation nursing:

Rehabilitation nursing is a specialty practice area within the scope of professional nursing. It involves the diagnosis and treatment of human responses of individuals and groups to actual or potential health problems resulting from altered functional ability and altered lifestyle.

The goal of rehabilitation nursing is to assist individuals with disabilities and chronic illness in the restoration, maintenance, and promotion of optimal health. The rehabilitation nurse is skilled at treating alterations in functional ability and lifestyle resulting from injury, disability, and chronic illness.

Rehabilitation nurses provide comfort, therapy and education, promote health-conducive adjustments, support adaptive capabilities, and promote achievable independence. Rehabilitation nurses provide holistic, comprehensive, and compassionate end-of-life care, including promotion of comfort and relief of pain.

It is the content, rather than the title, provider, or approver, that determines whether an activity is related to rehabilitation nursing. Activities do not need to be offered or approved by ARN to be considered related to rehabilitation nursing.