Recertify by Continuing Education
SCRNs who wish to recertify by continuing education (CE) must earn all CE contact hours prior to their certification's expiration date. All CE contact hours must be stroke related. Applications to recertify by CE received by October 1st of the year that the certification expires will receive an early-bird discounted rate. Applications are accepted through January 31st of the following year; however, all CE must be earned by December 31. Please note: All CE must be earned at the time of submitting your recertification application.
No applications are accepted after January 31. SCRNs who submit applications by the October deadline can expect to receive notification of acceptance in early December. Those who submit an application in January can expect notification in early February.
Applications for recertifying by CE will be available June 1, 2026.
Review the SCRN Recertification Handbook for more information about recertifying. If you do not wish to recertify by CE, you can recertify by exam.
Timeline for 2026
If you initially earned certification in 2021 or recertified effective January 1, 2022, please use the following dates as a guideline for your recertification process.
The early-bird deadline for recertifying by CE is October 1, 2026. Those paid by check must be received (not postmarked) at the ABNN by this date. Applications received after this date will charged the standard recertification rate.
| June 1, 2026 | The 2026 application to recertify by CE becomes available. SCRNs due to renew in 2025 may submit payment online during application or by check via mail to ABNN. |
|---|---|
| October 1, 2026 | The 2026 applications for recertifying by CE at the early-bird rate are due. |
| December 31, 2026 | Certification expires for those due to renew in 2026. While online applications to recertify by CE may still be submitted, no CE earned after this date will be accepted. |
| January 31, 2027 | All 2026 applications to recertify by CE must be submitted with payment and those paid by check must be received (not postmarked) at the ABNN office. No applications received after this date will be accepted. |
| June 1, 2027 | The 2027 application to recertify by CE is now available online |
Fees
The following are the early-bird, discounted recertification fees. Applications must be received on or before October 1, 2026 to receive this rate:
| AANN Member | Nonmember | |
|---|---|---|
| Credit card | $275 | $385 |
| Check (payable to ABNN) | $300 | $410 |
Applications received between October 2, 2026, and January 31, 2027, will pay the standard recertification fees below:
| AANN Member | Nonmember | |
|---|---|---|
| Credit card | $360 | $470 |
| Check (payable to ABNN) | $385 | $495 |
If you are paying by check or money order (U.S. dollars only), please enter your information online. Then save, print, and mail your completed application with a check for the appropriate amount. Checks and money orders should be made payable to the American Board of Neuroscience Nursing (ABNN) and sent to PO Box 88019, Chicago, IL 60680-1019. Candidates with insufficient CE contact hours to recertify will not receive a refund.
Options
Those who wish to recertify by CE have two options.
Option A
4,160 practice hours that include the direct (bedside/clinical practice) or indirect (consultation, research, administration, or education) care of stroke patients in the past 5 years (equivalent to 2 years' full-time work) and 50 continuing education contact hours
Option B
2,500 practice hours that include the direct (bedside/clinical practice) or indirect (consultation, research, administration, or education) care of stroke patients in the past 5 years (equivalent to 2 years' part-time work) and 75 continuing education contact hours
Acceptable CE activities pertain to the application or dissemination of knowledge that the SCRN is required to know to stay current in practice. All items submitted for CE contact hours, regardless of category, must be stroke related. Any item that is not stroke related will not be accepted.
Free CE Opportunities
American Association of Neuroscience Nurses (AANN)
- Journal of Neuroscience Nursing (JNN)- AANN member can get free CE contact hours from reading select articles and completing a brief exam.
- Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs)- AANN members can get free CE from the CPGs. Watch a short webinar and then complete an exam to earn 1-2 CE credits per CPG. The cost of the CE exam for non-members is $40.
- Webinars- AANN offers a variety of webinars with free CE throughout the year.
American Nurses Association (ANA)
- COVID-19 webinar series- ANA offers a variety of long-form video education (60-minute webinars) and short-form video education (5-15 minute videos). All ANA COVID-19 Videos are FREE for both ANA members and non-members. Most webinars offer 1.0 contact hour each.
- Compassion & Growth Workshops- A free three-part workshop series that explores opportunities to support post-traumatic growth. Registration is free and is open to all nurses at all levels.
- Mental Health of Nurses- Supporting You and Your Nursing Colleagues When They Need it Most. Free for ANA members. 1.0 contact hour
CE Categories Eligible for Recertification Credit
There are six categories of CE eligible for recertification credit. A summary of acceptable CE activities for that category is listed in each. Of the required CE contact hours, a minimum of 20 under Option A or 30 under Option B must be in Category 1. All CE hours may be obtained in Category 1, or, once the required CE for Category 1 is obtained, the remaining CE can be earned in any of the other five categories.
All CE activities must be stroke related. CE activities that are not stroke related will not be accepted.
Category 1: Stroke Nursing Education
A minimum of 20 (Option A) or 30 (Option B) CE contact hours must be attended in stroke nursing courses approved by state or national organizations authorized to grant nursing continuing education credit, a state board of nursing, or an institution accredited to grant approval by a national or state nursing organization.
The following examples can be submitted for CE under Category 1:
- courses attended with documented stroke nursing content approved or accredited by American Nurses Credentialing (e.g., the AANN Annual Educational Meeting), state boards of nursing, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses, or other nursing CE approvers.
- stroke nursing home study courses approved by similar accrediting bodies
- Internet or online stroke nursing courses approved as above (e.g., AANN’s online Journal of Neuroscience Nursing articles)
- courses taken for academic credit from an accredited college or university and specific to stroke. One quarter credit hour equals 10 CE hours. One semester credit hour equals 15 CE hours.
- stroke continuing medical education (CME) credits. One CME equals 1 CE hour.
If you attended a course that was only partially or not clearly stroke related, or the title of the course does not explicitly indicate stroke content, submission of a course outline is required to enable the determination of the appropriate amount of stroke nursing credit. For example, a course titled “2006 Critical Care Update” may contain some stroke content, but based on the title alone this will not be clear to the reviewer unless a course syllabus or outline is submitted.
For all attendance or home study activities, each of the following equals 1 CE contact hour:
- 60 minutes of lecture
- 0.1 continuing education unit (CEU)
- 1 continuing education recognition point (CERP)
Applicants wishing to count programs/courses that do not carry accredited nursing CE or medical CME credit must include the full name and description of the program, including its specific stroke content (e.g., “grand rounds” does not qualify).
Category 2: Program or Project Activities
This category does not have a minimum or maximum for the recertification cycle, although some activities have yearly maximums. The following is a list of acceptable activities and the corresponding CE amounts that can be submitted.
- Service on a stroke-related committee (includes committees that are institutional or employer-based) for 1 year = 3 CE
- Development of a stroke teaching tool for patients or staff = 3 CE
- Development of a quality-improvement project related to care of stroke patients = 3 CE (maximum 10 per year)
- Development of an original policy/procedure or competency-based tool related to the care of stroke patients = 3 CE
- Facilitation of a stroke-related support group for 1 hour = 1 CE (maximum of 7 per year)
- Participation in ABNN's Role Delineation Study/Job Analysis = 3 CE
Category 3: Research
This category does not have a minimum or maximum for the recertification cycle, although some activities have yearly maximums. The following is a list of acceptable activities and the corresponding CE amounts that can be submitted.
- PhD dissertation (subject matter must be applicable to care of stroke patients; committee letter documenting completion and approval required) = 25 CE
- Master’s thesis (subject matter must be applicable to care of stroke patients; committee letter documenting completion and approval required.) = 15 CE
- Grant proposal submission related to stroke care = 10 CE (maximum of 10 per year)
- Research project implementation (including data collection and recruitment) performed within the stroke population for 1 year = 5 CE
Category 4: Teaching
This category does not have a minimum or maximum for the recertification cycle, although some activities have yearly maximums. The following is a list of acceptable activities and the corresponding CE amounts that can be submitted.
- Presentation of stroke content at a conference or class for 60 minutes = 2 CE (maximum of 10 per year)
- Poster presentation of stroke content at conference = 2 CE
- Development and teaching of an academic course related to care of stroke patients for 1 semester credit hour = 15 CE
- Development and teaching of an academic course for related to care of stroke patients for 1 quarter credit hour = 10 CE
- Precepting a new stroke nurse for 80 hours = 10 CE
Category 5: Publication
Some items in this category have maximums for the recertification cycle. The following is a list of acceptable activities and the corresponding CE amounts that can be submitted.
- Writing or editing a chapter in a text = 10 CE (maximum of 40 per recertification cycle). The chapter submitted for CE credit must be stroke-related, although the text it is included in does not have to be exclusively made up of stroke content.
- Publication of a stroke article in a peer reviewed journal = 5 CE (maximum of 20 per recertification cycle)
- Manuscript review of one stroke-related article for publication in the Journal of Neuroscience Nursing or other peer-reviewed journal = 3 CE (maximum of 20 per recertification cycle)
- Publication of an article written for a local journal or newsletter related to the care of stroke patients = 5 CE
Category 6: Involvement in Professional Organizations
Some items in this category have maximums for the recertification cycle. The following is a list of acceptable activities and the corresponding CE amounts that can be submitted.
- Service on the board of ABNN, the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses, or the Agnes Marshall Walker Foundation for 1 year = 7 CE (maximum of 21 per recertification cycle)
- Development of five SCRN test items = 3 CE hours (maximum of nine per recertification cycle)
- Serving on ABNN’s SCRN Test Development Committee for one term (3 years) = 30 CE
- Serving on ABNN’s SCRN Re-referencing Committee for 1 year = 10 CE (Note: Assignment must be completed. No CE will be given for partial work.)
- Volunteer or medical work for patient support organizations or missions that serve the stroke patient population for 1 year = 7 CE (maximum of 21 per recertification cycle)
- Member of a committee related to the care of stroke patients at the national or local level for 1 year = 7 CE (maximum of 21 per recertification cycle)
Audit
Each year ABNN randomly selects 10% of its recertification applications to be audited. If your SCRN application to recertify by CE is selected for audit, you must submit documentation for all listed CE activities. Candidates will be notified by email within 30 days of submission if their application has been selected for audit. If your application is selected for audit, you will be required to submit/upload the documentation for all CE activities within 21 days of notice of your audit into your online audit form within your Certification Center. Be prepared to upload a photocopy of your RN licensure, have your supervisor attest to your work experience, and enter each of your CE/upload certificate and written documentation of other activities (e.g., table of contents of journal showing you as author of an article, school transcript, etc.) If a CE program you attended does not meet the definition of an approved program, submit a copy of the objectives and an outline of the content (e.g., program brochure) in addition to a copy of the CE certificate. If you do not complete the audit, you will forfeit all fees and will no longer be considered certified.