ORTHOPAEDIC NURSES CERTIFICATION BOARD
GENERAL RECERTIFICATION INFORMATION
Certification Designation
Use of the designation Orthopaedic Clinical Nurse Specialist Certified (OCNS-C®) or Orthopaedic Nurse Practitioner Certified (ONP-C®) is restricted to those nurses holding current certification by the ONCB®. Any nurse whose certification has expired may no longer use these credentials to denote certification. Nurses may apply for inactive or retired credentials in accordance with current ONCB policies.
Recertification
Unrestricted licensure as a registered nurse (RN) must be maintained through the certification period. Each certification period shall be 5 years.
Inactive or Retired Credential
If a certified advance practice registered nurse (APRN) has experienced personal injury, illness, or temporary disability; has responsibilities as a primary care giver to an immediate family member; has been affected by a catastrophic event (natural disaster); or has retired or anticipates retirement from nursing, that nurse may request a copy of the policy and application for the inactive/retired credential through the ONCB Web site (www.oncb.org) or by contacting the ONCB national office.
Notification
Recertification may be accomplished through continuing education or by examination. Recertification notices shall be mailed to the last known address of certified nurses in January prior to expiration of certification. Certified APRNs are responsible for notifying the ONCB national office of change of address. Recertification is the responsibility of the individual certificant. ONCB is not responsible for notices that fail to reach certified APRNs.
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Applications should be submitted as early as possible to avoid expiration of certification. Application processing requires a minimum of 8 weeks. The candidate who prefers to receive the recertification by June 30 must have applications in the ONCB national office by March 31. It is recommended all materials be mailed certified, with return receipt requested.
Recertification by Examination
For recertification through examination, the examination must be successfully completed prior to the date of certification expiration.
Recertification Continuing Education Deadlines
Completed applications must be postmarked by June 30 in the year of expiration. Applications postmarked after this date will not be processed and certification will expire unless the candidate has included the late filing fee of $35. For this additional fee, ONCB will accept late application until a September 30 postmark date. This extension is not for the purpose of obtaining additional contact hours. All continuing education contact hours must be completed by June 30. The late fee option may be utilized by those individuals who need additional time to submit the required fees and application. If this option is selected, the application packet must be sent with the appropriate recertification fee and the late fee postmarked by September 30.
Recertification by Continuing Education
With initial certification, contact hours may be accrued for recertification from the date of testing. If the certification examination is offered in conjunction with an educational program, the continuing education credit offered after the exam has been taken may be used toward recertification.
Accrual of continuing education credit for the next 5- year recertification cycle begins after January 1, with certification expiring on June 30. If the certified APRN has more than the required 125 contact hours for recertification, the credits obtained earlier in the 5-year period should be used for recertification and hours received after January 1 saved for the next recertification cycle. If a nurse plans to do this, however, he or she must also provide a copy of Forms A and B submitted for the prior recertification cycle so ONCB can verify that those credits were not used for earlier recertification. Contact hours for any one offering may not be split between one certification period and another certification period.
Candidates for recertification by continuing education must meet all eligibility requirements for certification including the required hours of work experience. Candidates are required to pay all recertification fees (NAON member with copy of membership card $255; nonmember $370). Fees for recertification through continuing education are nonrefundable. To certify by continuing education credits, all candidates must meet the eligibility requirements and attain 125 contact hours of continuing nursing education in accordance with current ONCB policies. Educational offerings must be listed in chronological order on Forms A and B from the date of certification to the present. The nurse who does not use the ONCB-supplied Forms A and B will be assessed an incomplete application fee of $30, which must be paid before further processing of the recertification. All offerings must be transcribed from personal or hospital CE records to Forms A and B.
The application fee must accompany the completed application. Incomplete and/or inaccurate applications will be returned to the applicant with a letter stating the deficiencies and are subject to audit. Corrected applications may be resubmitted with a $30 administrative fee.
Recertification through continuing education will be denied for any of the following reasons:
■ Falsification of application
■ Misrepresentation
■ Failure to meet criteria for 125 contact hours
■ Lack of current RN license
■ Failure to apply by deadline
■ Failure to provide requested contact hour certificates during audit.
Recertification will be based solely on the submitted materials. If certification is denied, the applicant may appeal by written request to the Recertification Committee. The applicant denied recertification by continuing education may take the next examination.
Continuing education must meet the following criteria:
1) Educational programs must be presented by an individual, state, or national organization approved as a provider of continuing education in nursing. Health care institutions are often approved by the state nurses’ association, which is accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
2) Education may be in any format including, but not limited to, courses, workshops, and independent study modules.
3) Only programs addressing subjects specific to orthopaedic nursing (not general or other specialty nursing content) will qualify for Category A credit. Examples include traction, musculoskeletal assessment, spinal surgery, and rheumatoid arthritis.
4) NAON-approved and NAON-provided courses may qualify for Category A or Category B credit, depending on program content. For example, a topic such as “Pain Management Following Total Joint Arthroplasty” will qualify for Category A credit. General topics such as “Health Literacy: Improving Patient Education” will qualify for Category B credit, even if offered through NAON. All subjects listed in the table of contents of the NAON Core Curriculum for Orthopaedic Nursing will qualify for Category A credit. Additional NAON products that offer continuing education will be evaluated by topic as described above. Specific questions should be addressed to the ONCB national office.
5) Mandatory education such as fire safety or BLS/ACLS does not qualify for continuing education credit in Category A.
6) A maximum of 75 continuing medical education units (CMEs) will be accepted in Category A.
Credit for Academic Work
A formal academic course in orthopaedics taken by the APRN will be accepted in Category A with the contact hour credit as follows:
1 academic semester hour = 15 contact hours
1 academic quarter hour = 12.5 contact hours
1 academic hour (5 ½ week term) =
6.25 contact hours
If the nurse completes a large course of study (e.g., RNFA course; medical-surgical assessment course), Category A credit will be given only for the orthopaedic content within the didactic portion of the course; credit is not given for clinical hours associated with such a course. If the applicant is audited, proof of orthopaedic content must be provided.
Clinical instruction in orthopaedics will receive experiential credit only (part of the 1500 hours required per 5-year certification term).
Credit for Lectures and Presentations
If the certified APRN presents or co-presents a program on orthopaedics, or lectures on orthopaedics at a seminar, Category A credit may be given as follows:
30 minutes of presentation/lecture = 2 contact hours
If the lecture or seminar is offered more than
once, credit will only be allowed for one presentation during the recertification period. Credit shall be given only if the course content applies to orthopaedics and/or is covered in the NAON Core Curriculum for Orthopaedic Nurses.
Credit for Authorship
If the certified APRN authors a book on orthopaedics, writes a chapter on orthopaedics in a book, or publishes an article on orthopaedics in a refereed journal, Category A credit may be given. Credit will also be given for authorship in another medium (e.g., CD, audiotape).
Authorship of entire book, CD, audiotape = 15 contact hours
Authorship of chapter in a published book,
single topic on CD or audiotape = 10 contact
hours
Authorship of an article published in a refereed journal = 5 contact hours
Credit will only be allowed once during the recertification period for authorship on a specific topic. If the applicant is audited, proof of authorship must be provided. Credit shall be given only if the course content applies to orthopaedics and/or is covered in the NAON Core Curriculum for Orthopaedic Nurses.
Credit for Poster Development and Presentation
If the certified APRN is involved in an orthopaedic poster presentation at national or regional meetings, Category A credit shall be given as follows:
Poster development = 1 contact hour
Poster development and presentation = 3 contact hours
If the applicant is audited, proof of poster development and presentation must be provided (e.g., meeting syllabus). If the poster presentation is offered more than once, credit will only be allowed for one presentation during the recertification period.
If 125 or more contact hours have been obtained in Category A, the applicant does not
need to complete Category B.
Credit for Preceptorship
If the certified APRN serves as a preceptor to an individual student or a new nurse in his or her work setting, Category A credit shall be given as follows:
80 hours of preceptorship = 5 contact hours
Only two awards of 5 contact hours each for preceptorship shall be allowed in a 5-year certification period. If the applicant is audited, the Preceptor Verification Form must be submitted to document hours of preceptorship.
1) Educational programs must be presented by an individual, state, or national organization approved
as a provider of continuing education in nursing. Health care institutions are often approved by the state nurses’ association, which is accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
2) Education may be in any format including, but not limited to, courses, workshops, and independent study modules.
3) All programs addressing general nursing practice will qualify for Category B credit.
4) Contact hours for academic teaching or course work on general nursing topics will be accepted in Category B (see Category A credit).
5) Authorship of published works on general nursing topics will be accepted in Category B (see Category A credit).
6) Contact hours as a presenter/lecturer on general nursing topics will be accepted in Category B (see Category A credit).
7) Contact hours for poster development and/or presentation on general nursing topics will be accepted in Category B (see Category A credit).
8) Mandatory education such as fire safety or BLS/ACLS may be used for Category B credit ONLY if continuing education credit for the course was given by an approved provider.
9) A maximum of 10 continuing medical education units (CMEs) will be accepted in Category B.
10) For specific audit requirements, see Category A.
Continuing Education Credit Summary
Contact hours shall be awarded on the following equivalencies:
1 academic semester hour = 15 contact hours
1 academic quarter hour = 12.5 contact hours
1 academic hour (5 ½ week term) = 6.25 contact hours
1 CME credit = 1 contact hour
Presentation/lecture = 2 contact hours for each 30 minute segment
Authorship of entire published book, CD, audiotape = 15 contact hours
Authorship of chapter in a published book, CD, audiotape = 10 contact hours
Authorship of an article in a refereed journal = 5 contact hours
Poster development = 1 contact hour
Poster development and presentation = 3 contact hours
Preceptorship 80 hours = 5 contact hours (Category A credit)