Renewing Your License With Ceus

By Author: William Cook
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Continuing Education Units, or CEUs, are nationally recognized courses which grant CE credit to employees in a wide variety of disciplines. Each CE course is geared specifically to deliver relevant and current information to further your professional development. These units are required to renew licenses so you can continue to practice and they help you stay current in your field.

It seems like a pain but taking Continuing Education Units not only helps you keep your counseling and therapy licenses current, you can really learn some interesting information about your discipline. You do not have time to read all the new research that is published in your field, and a quick course in anxiety disorders, depression, steroid abuse, domestic violence, or the latest judicial system guidelines to help families with challenges can get you up-to-date quickly and easily.

Continuing education implies learning discipline-specific information but ethics CEU hours are also required. As we learn more about people over time, our ethics must change in response to new information and needs. A refresher course in ethics may ...
... keep you from becoming jaded by the day-to-day grind of your counseling job, and will help you celebrate success appropriately with all clients. In addition, the ethics codes of your discipline's organization are changed and improved every few years, and ethics courses keep you updated on what's new in your discipline.

CEU Requirements to Renew Licenses

CEU requirements vary for each discipline, each type of license, and by state. Typically, a certain number of continuing education hours must be completed within a certain time period. Forty hours over two years is common for psychologists, licensed alcohol and drug counselors, social workers, marriage and family therapists, and general counselors. Some hours dedicated strictly to ethical concerns are also needed. Please check your state's requirements before renewing your license to be sure every credit counts.

Continuing education units can include formal coursework, approved workshops and seminars, and home study courses. Home study courses are excellent ways to get at least some of the requirements out of the way. You are able to take an in-depth look at the topic of your interest for very little cost, plus you do not need to travel or reserve time in your busy calendar to attend on-site continuing education opportunities.

You must always make sure that your licensing board will accept home study credits. Double check that the companies offering the CEUs for your discipline are pre-approved by state or national boards of certification; this will save you time, effort, and money in the end.

Every course first provides structured information and then offers you a test or quiz when you are finished learning. It is important to pass these tests, as they show that you absorbed the CE information and can apply it to your career. Once all tests are completed, you will be able to print out a certificate of completion for the course and log the hours.

Nurses may have special requirements to fulfill their licensing renewals. Continuing education for health care providers must be extremely current because new treatments and methods are constantly being developed. Check your nursing board's licensing requirements to find out how many contact hours are needed and in what areas of care.

After Your CEU Requirements Are Fulfilled

Once you have satisfied your state's requirements for CEUs to renew licenses, check into the many other courses available in your discipline. Forty hours of continuing education is not that much. There is information on a variety of topics available which may help you in your career. Take some crossover courses, as well. You never know when information about addiction will come in handy for a marriage and family therapy situation, and social workers encounter a variety of people with challenges every day.

If you manage your CEU requirements wisely, you will take courses which teach out of books or other materials which you can keep after the course is complete. These materials provide invaluable information for you long after the course is done, so keep them in an accessible place to refer to throughout your career.

Keep up-to-date on your CEUs so you don't have to struggle through fulfillment at the last moment. Learn about the latest methods, ethical considerations, technologies, and interventions through continuing education. Renewing your license with CEUs is easy and does not have to cost a lot of time or money.
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Ce4Less.com was founded to provide high quality continuing education such as a social work ceu at the lowest possible price. We have accomplished this through the use of the latest technology and a focus on customer satisfaction.