Free Continuing Education Courses

The College of Nursing offers these free continuing education (CE) courses to our preceptors in gratitude for your role in educating the next generation of nursing professionals. You’ll find more information and resources at our Preceptors web page.

The free CE courses listed below are also available to other health care professionals.

We will continue to publish free CE opportunities here as they are developed.

Contact

Program Coordinator
nursing.profdev@wsu.edu
(509) 324-7332

Current CE Offered

Steven Elrod

Treating Insomnia: Your Worst Nightmare (1.0 CE hour)

Presenter: Steven Elrod, PharmD, BCACP

By the end of this presentation, you will have learned to A) Review short-term, chronic, and comorbidity induced insomnia, B) Analyze the evidence for frequently used medications to treat insomnia, and C) Organize insomnia treatment options based on safety and efficacy.

Contact Hours: This activity is approved for 1.0 contact hour of continuing education by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (which include 0.9 hours of pharmacology).

Diabetes Management: A Review of Pharmacotherapies (1.5 CE hours) 

Presenter:
Katie Kayser, PharmD, AE-C

By the end of this presentation, you will have learned to A) Recognize medication options available for treating type 2 diabetes, B) Identify treatment plans based on patient-specific needs; and C) Review the role of continuous glucose monitoring in type 2 diabetes.

Contact Hours: This activity is approved for 1.5 contact hours of continuing education by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (which include 1.2 hours of pharmacology).

Fionnuala S. Brown
Brandie Tilch-Bryant

Managing Depression in the
Primary Care Setting (1.25 CE hours) 

Presenters:
Fionnuala S. Brown, DNP, MSN, ARNP &
Brandie Tilch-Bryant, DNP, ARNP

By the end of this presentation, you will have learned the causes and prevalence of depression in the primary care setting, differentiate common disease processes, medications, and conditions that mimic symptoms of depression, identify and interpret the results of the various screening tools utilized to identify depression , and summarize key pharmacotherapeutic agents used in primary care to manage depression. 

Contact Hours: This activity is approved for 1.25 contact hours of continuing education by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (which include .25 hours of pharmacology).

Nicole Rodin

Understanding Illicit Fentanyl
and its Impact on Patients (1.0 CE hour) 

Presenter: Nicole Rodin, PharmD, MBA

At the end of the presentation, participants will be able to discuss current illicit fentanyl data and epidemiological trends, describe basic pharmacodynamics of illicit fentanyl compared to pharmaceutically manufactured opioids, and understand how synthetic opioids, such as illicit fentanyl, can impact treatment of a patient. 

Contact Hours: 1.0 hour (This activity is approved for 1.0 contact hour of continuing education by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.).

Todd Smith

Improve your Preceptor Skills:
Best Practices (.75 CE hours)

Presenters: Todd Smith, MN, ARNP, NP-C and Sarah Fincham, DNP, ARNP, NP-C

In this course you will learn to identify key elements of an effective clinic orientation checklist, describe steps of the One Minute Preceptor model, and describe the Reporter, Interpreter, Manager, Education (RIME) to assess and support a student’s clinical practice skills.

Contact Hours:  0.75 hours (This activity is approved for 0.75 contact hours of continuing education (which includes 0 hour(s) of pharmacology) by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.)

Interested in more free CE opportunities?

Check out the offerings from the Center for Rural Opioid Prevention, Treatment & Recovery (CROP-TR).

Highlighted Topics:

Cannabis: Medical use, misuse, and in-between: Tracy Klein, PhD, ARNP In this webinar, Dr. Klein will describe the difference between medical and recreational use of cannabis, as well as the conditions for which the medical use of cannabis is supported by research. She will also review the diagnosis of Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD) and share tools and resources available for clinical risk assessment.

Non-pharmacologic pain management essentials: Marian Wilson, PhD, MPH, RN, PMGT-BC

Effective pain assessment and treatment is essential in both primary care and opioid use disorder treatment settings. In this webinar, Dr. Wilson will share strategies to improve the identification and management of pain within the context of the opioid overdose epidemic.

Contingency management for stimulant use disorder: Michael McDonell, PhD

Contingency management is an intervention where tangible incentives are provided in exchange for evidence of drug or alcohol abstinence. In this webinar, Dr. McDonell will describe contingency management and evidence supporting the effectiveness of contingency management for stimulant use disorders, as well as review implementation strategies.