John O'Connor

Long-term care professionals in the habit of obtaining continuing education credits from the National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards had better brace for some dramatic changes that kick in April 1. For beginning on that date, many of the old rules will expire.

Most notably, before you can get any more credit, you will first need to do the following:

1.  Register with the NAB CE registry: https://www.nabweb.org/ceregistry.

2.  Use your name and registration number when you apply for CE credits from McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Senior Living, or any other approved organization.

To borrow a line from Dr. Phil, listen to the next thing you hear with both ears: The old days of attending a webinar or other NAB-approved event and getting a CE certificate sent to you are about to end.

In case you missed it, let me repeat: The old days of attending a webinar or other NAB-approved event and getting a CE certificate sent to you are about to end.

According to NAB, the registry is the first of its kind and will be free of charge to long-term care/senior living licensees. This system will enable you as a professional to track both CE approved by NAB’s National Continuing Education Review Service (NCERS) and non-NCERS approved CE. Once your license is due, you can simply release your registry to your state board/agencies electronically.

To get you ready, NAB has prepared a helpful PDF. I suggest you check it out now. The new system starts in just over four weeks. With a little prep work, it can be an easy transition.

Finally, this is not an April Fool’s joke. But if you are not ready for the new process by April, you may be feeling a bit sheepish going forward. Especially when it’s time to renew your license.

John O’Connor is McKnight’s Editorial Director.