Adult learning principles — Approaches to adults as learners based on recognition of the individual’s autonomy and self-direction, life experiences, readiness to learn, and problem-solving orientation to learning. Such an approach entails mutual, respectful collaboration of teachers and learners in planning, diagnosing needs, formulating objectives, designing sequences, and evaluating learning. Learning activities tend to be experiential and inquiry focused.

1. Adult learning experiences promote active learner participation.

2. Adult learning experiences provide feedback to learners about their progress.

3. The design of the learning experience considers the individuality of adult learners.

4. Learning experiences are organized to provide repetition and reinforcement of major concepts and skills.

5. Learning experiences are organized to permit learners to advance from simple to more complex levels of development.

6. Learning experiences are organized and presented to help learners use and apply knowledge and skills acquired from the learning environment in their own work settings.

Appeal — A process that allows the applicant to obtain a redetermination by an appellate panel with regard to an adverse decision made by the AANA CE Committee.

Appeals process — Deleted, substitute Appeal above.

Application fee — A non-refundable, non-transferable sum of money charged for processing applications for CE approval.

Application form — A two-page, self-carbon printed form to be used for submitting information to the AANA CE Committee for approval of CE activities, available from the AANA.

Approval — A decision made by the AANA CE Committee that an application has met the required criteria and that CE credit will be awarded.

Authorized signature — The signature of the individual that appears on the certificate of attendance verifying the participant’s attendance at or participation in the approved CE activity.

Certificate of attendance — A form presented to the learner by the provider that validates participation in or attendance at the CE activity.

College or university course(s) — Academic course work that, when completed, is entered on an official college or university transcript.

Commercial support — Financial grants provided by industry in support of CE activities.

Competency — Knowledge, skill and attitudes necessary to perform safely at an expected level of expertise, responsibility and domain of professional practice and evidenced by behavior.

Continuing competency — Ongoing professional nursing according to level of expertise, responsibility and domains of practice as evidenced by behavior based of knowledge, skills and attitudes matched to and in the context of a set of expected outcomes as defined by nurse anesthetists’ scope of practice, police, Code of Ethics, standards, guidelines, and benchmarks that assure safe performance of professional services.

Content — Subject matter or definitive information about an educational activity that relates to the learner objectives.

Continuing education (CE) — Systemic professional learning experiences designed to augment the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of nurse anesthetists, and therefore enrich the nurse anesthetists’s contributions to quality healthcare and their pursuit of professional career goals. Learning activities intended to build on the educational and experiential bases of the professional nurse anesthetist for the enhancement of clinical, educational, administrative, research, or theoretical development to improve the delivery of nurse anesthesia care to the public. One component of professional development.

CE Code number – A nontransferable designation assigned to a prior-approved CE activity.

CE Committee – Members of a group that have been vested by the AANA with the responsibility for evaluating CE applications submitted for approval and formulating CE criteria for eligibility for recertification.

CE Credit – A unit of measurement that describes 50 minutes of an approved, organized learning experience. AANA awards CE credit in the form of contact hours. One CE credit equals one CE contact hour.

CE Offering (session) – A single, focused educational activity that has a specific purpose and learner objectives that is designed to meet a pre-assessed educational need. The learner must attend the entire session to receive CE credits. The current preferred term is CE activity and is now more frequently used.

CE Program – A planned, organized series of educational offerings (sessions) that have a common theme and overall purpose. Learners do not have to attend every session of the program but earn CE credits only for sessions they attend.

CE Program resource or contact person – Designated individuals at the state association level who serve as liaisons for disseminating CE information.

CE Transcript – A computer-generated record that reflects an individual’s CE activities, as recorded by the AANA.

Contact hour — One CE credit equals one CE contact hour; 50 minutes of a 60-minute clock hour.

Criteria — Indicators used to measure and evaluate whether an application meets the AANA CE Program standards.

Deferral — A decision made by the AANA CE Committee to delay action on an application pending requested revisions or additional information.

Denial — A decision made by the AANA CE Committee that an application has substantial deficiencies in meeting the required criteria and is not eligible for CE credit.

Distance Learning — A formal educational activity where the majority of the instruction occurs when the learner and the educator are not in the same place. The instruction may take place either synchronously (at the same time, i.e., interactive video) or asynchronously (at different times, i.e., online/internet or correspondence courses).

Documentation of approval — Material submitted by the provider or individual who is applying for nonprior approval to validate that the CE activity has received prior approval from a recognized professional accreditation or approval organization.

Educational activity — A planned, organized series of educational sessions (offerings) sponsored by associations or organizations at the local, state, regional or national level that have a common theme and an overall purpose. The activity is usually a one-time presentation.

Evaluation — A systematic process by which a judgment is made about the consequences, results, effects, or merit of a CE activity to make subsequent approval decisions; a determination of individual achievement of learner objectives.

Evaluation instrument — The form or method used by the provider to allow learners to assess the learning effectiveness of the CE activity; a mechanism for determining individual achievement of learner objectives.

Faculty — An individual or group of individuals that conducts CE activities. The faculty or instructors may be members of colleges, universities, healthcare agencies, professional and voluntary associations, or those who are otherwise knowledgeable about the content being presented.

Guidelines — Statements of direction for implementing the criteria and policies of the AANA when submitting applications for CE credit.

Inservice education — Planned, ongoing education consisting of those learning experiences provided in the work setting for the purposes of assisting staff in performing their assigned functions in that particular employing agency/institution.

Learner need — Knowledge, skills, or attitudes that are lacking but necessary for attainment of an improved level of practice. Such a need can be satisfied by learning experiences.

Learner objective or learner outcome — An intended outcome of instructions set forth as a specific behavior of the learner that can be measured by performance at the completion of the CE activity.

Learning experience — An interaction between the learner and planned, organized educational activities that results in a change in the learner’s knowledge, skills, or attitudes.

Need — Discrepancy between what is desired and what exists.

Needs assessment -- The process of identifying learner needs to ensure that a planned CE activity is relevant to the target audience.

New anesthetic drugs and techniques — A drug or anesthetic technique that was introduced into anesthesia practice within the past 5 years and was not used by the individual during basic anesthesia education.

New clinical anesthesia experience — A planned experience that was not a part of the basic anesthesia curriculum but permits the CRNA to apply new knowledge and develop proficiency in skills under supervision in a clinical setting.

Nonprior approval — The process used to award CE credit to CRNAs for attendance at or participation in learning activities that have not been previously approved by the AANA but have been approved for CE credit by a recognized professional accreditation or approval organization before their presentation. This approval mechanism is not automatic; it must be initiated by the applicant.

Nonprior-approval applicant — The individual, association, institution, organization, or agency responsible for submitting application materials to the AANA CE Committee for nonprior approval recognition.

Nonprior-approved program — A CE activity that has not received prior approval from the AANA CE Committee but has received approval from a recognized professional accreditation or approval organization before presentation.

Orientation — A presentation in which individuals are introduced to the philosophy, goals, policies, procedures, role expectations, physical facilities, and special services in a specific work setting. Such a presentation is not eligible for CE credit. An orientation is provided at the time of employment and at other times when changes in roles and responsibilities occur in a specific work setting.

Original paper — An original publication that is the result of independent laboratory or library research by the author(s) or presenter(s).

Outline — A document submitted as part of the application process that includes a statement of the process of needs assessment, overall program purpose and a detailed content outline that includes learner objectives, time frames, teaching methods, the name of the instructor for each session of the program, and a description of the method of evaluation.

Prior approval — The process used to review a CE application based on predetermined criteria and accept it for a specific number of CE credits before presentation of the material.

Prior-approved program — A planned, organized, CE activity that has received approval from the AANA CE Committee before it occurs.

Professional development — Lifelong process of active participation by a nurse anesthetist in learning activities that assist in developing and maintain their continuing competence, enhance their professional practice, and support achievement of their career goals. Nursing professional development begins with the basic nurse education program, continues through the career of the nurse anesthetist, and encompasses the educational concepts of continuing education, staff development, and academic preparation.

Program coordinator — The individual responsible for bringing together and managing all aspects of the CE activity. The coordinator submits an application to the AANA CE Committee and generally serves as the contact person.

Provider — An individual, association, institution, organization, or agency that is responsible for the development, implementation, evaluation, financing, recordkeeping, and maintenance of a quality assurance mechanism for a CE offering, program, independent study, or total CE curriculum.

Provider-directed independent study — A self-paced learning activity that is developed for individual use through the mail or via computer by a CE provider. Examples of materials used in independent studies may include but not be limited to computer-assisted interactive learning modules, audiotaped lectures, videotaped lectures, printed materials, computer-assisted instruction on diskette, CD-Roms, DVDs, or other on-line services on the internet.

Purpose — A broad statement for an educational activity that includes the topic, the rationale and the target audience and is a key element to its design.

Recognized professional accreditation or approval organization — An organization that has met predetermined criteria, undergone an extensive evaluation, and been designated to review applications for CE credit. Examples include the American Nurses Credentialing Center, state nursing associations, and physician specialty groups.

Recordkeeping contract — A prepaid service available to nonmembers of the AANA for the purpose of maintaining a record of their CE activities.

Research — A structured scientific investigation that has an impact on anesthesia practice.

Scope of prior approval — The length of approval of a CE activity. The period begins with the first date of the activity and ends with the conclusion of the activity.

Self-directed learning — An approach to learning where the learner takes the initiative and responsibility for identifying learning needs and sets the pace for the learning process. The learning activity/process may be designed by the learner or others and may or may not be planned and structured. Self-directed learning methods might include, but are not limited to, computer-assisted instruction, internet courses, and self-learning packages. Only learning that is documented as planned and structured should be awarded CE credit.

Staff development (SD) — Education provided by the employer consisting of orientation, inservice, and continuing education in the work-setting. Orientation in SD is the introduction of the employee to the requirements of a job and occurs upon first employment or when there is a transition in or promotion to a new job. Inservice in SD is education is education of the employee to policies, procedures, products, operations of a specific employer and is employer specific. CE in SD is ongoing development of a professional employee’s competence and consists of those models, principles and other knowledge, skill and attitudes that are incorporated by the professional nurse anesthetist and taken by them from employment setting to employment setting; the competence gained is professional in nature and applicable where even the profession is practiced.

Standard — A norm that expresses an agreed-upon level of excellence that has been developed to lead to criteria for measurement and provide guidance in achieving excellence in education.

Target audience — A group for which a learning experience has been designed.

Teaching methods — A system of instructional procedures based on educational principles.

Time frame — The total length of time in minutes required for a content area, a presentation, an educational session, or an offering. Specific time frames for each learning activity must be included in application materials. It also includes an hour-by-hour delineation of speakers, breaks, etc.