The American College of Nurse-Midwives is the professional association for the Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) and Certified Midwife (CM). The Continuing Education Committee (CEC) of the ACNM has been assigned the responsibility for reviewing and approving all educational programs seeking ACNM CE credit. Only programs approved by either the CEC or organizations with which ACNM has approved CE reciprocity are awarded CEs officially recognized by the ACNM. This does not imply individual state recognition for nursing CEs.

 

Deadlines for Application

Programs 1-2 hours in length: Due 30 days prior to the program start date.

Programs longer than 2 hours: Due 45 days prior to the program start date.

Due dates ensure notification of program approval status prior to the program’s start date. Incomplete applications (e.g., lack of APA or AMA reference formatting) will delay the approval process.  While ACNM’s volunteer CNM/CM reviewers attempt to complete all CE applications prior to their presentation date, program approval prior to the anticipated start date cannot be guaranteed for applications received after specified deadlines. This applies as well to an application submitted prior to its deadline but returned to the sponsor due to an incomplete/incorrect submission and the corrected application was received once again and then sent out for review after the designated deadline.

 

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ACNM CE APPLICATION

 

Your Information

Each session must contain all outlined parts:

Part 1 Session Title

Part 2 Session Length and Pharmacology Minutes (if any)

Total contact hours (30-minute increments) and pharmacology minutes, if any (15-minute increments) should be specified for each program session based on the formula described in Determining the Number of CEs to be Awarded (page 7). Pharmacology content credit is to be included within the total CEs awarded.

●      Contact hours designated as CEs (e.g., 4 CEs equals 4 contact hours)

●      Pharmacology minutes designated as RxCEs (e.g., .25 RxCE equals 15-29 minutes)

The following activities should not be included when calculating contact hours for CE: breaks, meals, socials (presentation germane to the course during a meal function may be counted); meeting time devoted to business or committee activities, question/answer period >10 minutes per contact hour, announcements, introductions, welcoming speeches, reports, etc.; time for study, travel, assigned reading, or related activities outside the classroom or meeting schedule unless the activity is monitored and/or assessed while being performed or the learning is formally evaluated (e.g., multiple choice test at the conclusion of the activity).

Part 3 Teaching/Delivery Methods

Examples of teaching methods are lectures, home study, online - live or recorded, and panel discussions.    

Part 4 Learning Objectives

The learning objectives serve to clearly outline what the participant will learn as a result of attending this session.  List three to six objectives (as appropriate) for each 1-hour session. Sessions longer than 1-hour should have sufficient objectives to address all topics covered. Each objective must be stated in terms of learner outcome, i.e., “At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to ....”.  

Part 5 Content Outline of Session(s)

The outline should be relevant to each objective. The outline, objectives, and reference list must support each other and be directly related. For each content area, note the number of minutes designated to cover each of the session’s topics, noting any pharmacology minutes as well.

The learning objectives should provide a good indication in regard to the level of the content.  If the objectives only specify content covered within a basic midwifery education program then the program is not beyond core competencies. In order for a program to go beyond core competencies or to provide updated information, no more than 25% of the session should be a review and/or cover knowledge that has been in practice or can be found in professional literature published more than five years ago.

If the program consists of more than one session, each session must be presented separately from the others.  For example, a program contains three sessions.  Session 1 is presented in its entirety, then information for Session 2 and, finally, Session 3.

Part 6 Reference List

Each session must include a reference list to support the session topic.

A majority of the minimum number of required references for a session’s length must have been published in peer-reviewed journals within the last 5 years for a session to be considered. Additional references may include those not meeting the 5-year criteria and/or are from respected professional sources not peer-reviewed. Noted classics will be accepted. Articles published by the presenter may be included.

All references MUST be cited in either APA or AMA style. This criterion is not optional. Program submissions not meeting the minimum criteria and/or not formatted in APA or AMA style will be returned for correction without review. Once corrected, the program may be returned for review without penalty. Click here for an example of APA and AMA formatting.

Example:

●        1-hour presentation must include a minimum of 6 references (at least 4 of which have been published within the last 5 years in a peer-reviewed journal).

●        4-hour presentation must include a minimum of 10 references (at least 6 of which have been published within the last 5 years in a peer-reviewed journal).

●        8-hour presentation must include a minimum of 12 references (at least 7 of which have been published within the last 5 years in a peer-reviewed journal).

For presentations of a historical nature, discretion of the reviewer is permitted to determine if the literature cited reflects appropriate citations. It is recommended that references are included that have been published in peer-reviewed journals within the last 5 years which are relevant to the presentation, if available.  When historical methodology is used, many of the sources in the bibliography date from the period of study.  This is often true for many of the primary sources but may also relate to the secondary source material as well.  The author should give a clear and comprehensive explanation of the references and their significance to the study so that the reviewer will see that the reference material is relevant and appropriate to the presentation.   

Part 7 Faculty Bio-sketch
Examples of faculty include presenters, authors, editors, moderators, etc.  If the presenter’s expertise on the topic is evident from the CV, it is acceptable to simply attach the presenter’s CV. However, if the CV does not clearly reflect the presenter’s expertise, a bio-sketch (one page maximum) must be included that describes his/her professional knowledge base, skill, and/or experience related to the topic. The bio-sketch may be submitted in a narrative form and should include the faculty’s credentials, educational background, work experience, research, and publications/presentations relevant to the current topic being presented.    

Part 8 Prior/Other CE Approval

If any session currently being submitted for approval has received prior approval or approval from another organization, please indicate organization and/or ACNM approval number.

Part 9 Other required materials 

A. Program Evaluation Tool

B. Certificate of Attendance

C. Brochure or other promotional material

D. Mechanism for documenting attendance 

 

Upload Parts 1 - 7 for each session (if there is more than one)

By signing this form you agree to all terms regarding your CE submission to ACNM.