Even if you are not currently wound care certified, many states still require medical professionals to collect continuing education (CE) or continuing medical education (CME) hours each year. This is a mandatory requirement to keep active licenses and registrations in good standing. The number of CE hours varies by license and state. Many states do allow healthcare professionals to pick their own CE topics and courses. In addition to state requirements, many hospitals also require professionals to obtain a certain number of annual credits to deliver care to patients. If you have a yearly CE, CNE, OR CME requirement, WoundEducators can provide up to 60 hours. Our virtual courses are a great exploratory option for wound management. 

What’s the Difference Between CE, CEU, CME, and CNE? 

While all relate to continuing education, the abbreviations can get confusing. Let’s break them down below. 

  • CE = Continuing Education (abbreviation) 
  • CEU = Continuing Education Unit (typically 10 contact hours)
  • CNE = Continuing Nursing Education 
  • CME = Continuing Medical Education

While CE, CNE, and CME can be used interchangeably in regard to our wound care course hour credits, the important difference amongst the three is who the CE applies to. CNEs CMEs are reserved for licensed nurses or medical professionals while CE is a broader term. The National Institutes of Health defines a CME as “educational activities which serve to maintain, develop, or increase the knowledge, skills, and professional performance and relationships that a physician uses.” 

The CEUs can get a bit tricky. The ANCC, American Nurses Credentialing Center, decides the CEU criteria. One (1) CEU is equal to ten (10) contact hours of educational activity. Many state nursing boards have eliminated the CEU measurement because of common misunderstanding. Many states now simply use the term contact hour instead so no hour-to-unit translation is necessary.

Why are Wound Care CMEs Important? 

If you are a wound-certified professional, you will have to get additional wound care CE hours to maintain good, active standing for your certification credentials. The ABWM, WOCN, and NAWCCB all require wound care CE hours as part of their certification and/or recertification process.

CWCA®, CWS®, and CWSP® Wound Care CME Hours

The ABWM®, which oversees the CWS®, CWCA®, and CWSP® wound certifications, requires a minimum of 6 wound care CE hours each year to stay certified. All three wound certifications awarded by the ABWM® are valid for ten years, adding the total to 60 CE hours per person for the duration of the certification(s). 

Wound Care CE Hours for WCC® and AWCC®

The WCC® is a five-year certification that does not require initial wound care CE hours beyond the initial experience and educational requirement to take the exam. However, the WCC® requires 60 contact hours to renew your certification, which averages 12 hours per year. 

The NAWCCB states, 

“Continuing education is a very important element to continue your professional licensure as well as one of the options for recertification.

To recertify through the continuing education pathway, you must complete sixty (60) contact hours (same as clock hours) of continuing education related to wound or skin care management.”

The AWCC®, the advanced NAWCCB certification, requires completion of an educational course as part of the initial certification requirements. According to their website, the course must be “a minimum of 20 hours of coursework delivered online or live”. WoundEducators courses provide up to 60 CE hours upon completion of the online coursework. 

CWCN® CME Requirement 

In order to become CWCN® certified, RNs must complete 50 CE contact hours or graduate-level course work in wound care nursing. The CE contact hours and course work must be directly related to the wound care specialty. 

Note: The CWCN® also requires completion of 1,500 clinial wound care practice hours and at least 100 hours of student contact in addition to the CE hours that are in addition to the 50 CE hours. 

Get Up to 60 Wound Care CME Hours with WoundEducators

WoundEducators courses are 100% online and provide up to 60 wound care CME hours per course. The CME hours provided for each course are as follows: 

  • CNA – 50 CE Hours 
  • MA – 50 CE Hours 
  • LPN – 50 CE Hours 
  • LVN – 50 CE Hours 
  • RN – 57 CE Hours 
  • BSN – 57 CME Hours 
  • PT – 57 CE Hours 
  • OT – 57 CE Hours 
  • NP – 60 CME Hours 
  • PA – 60 CME Hours 
  • MD – 60 CME Hours 
  • Intro Course – 23 CE Hours 

Benefits of Wound Educators Wound Care CE Hours

Our virtual courses not only provide the most wound care CE hours per dollar spent, but they also prepare you for the wound certification of your choice. Our online training material covers wound assessment, wound management, and treatment for both acute and chronic wounds. Whether you are simply trying to meet an annual CE requirement or interested in becoming wound certified, WoundEducators is a favorable resource. 

Questions about wound care CE or CME hours? Contact us today.