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Montana Nurses
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Association
Provider Newsletter: March, 2014
Provider Update 2014
Our provider updates are coming soon! The Alaska session will be from 9:30 am to 3:45 pm on
Monday, May 19. The Montana session will be from 9:30 am to 3:45 pm on Thursday, May 22.
For Alaska providers, Pam will be available on Sunday, May 18, for individual meetings with
anyone who would like to discuss provider-specific issues, ask questions, or get additional
assistance. For Montana providers, Pam and Kathy will be available on the evening of May 21
for individual meetings with anyone who would like an individual consultation. Official
registration information will be sent to you soon, but please do be sure you have the date on your
calendar and make plans to attend!
The agenda for these update sessions is being finalized. You have one additional opportunity to
let us know if there are items you would like for us to include. Email Kathy or Pam within a
week with your suggestions.
Follow-Up on Co-Providing Information
Thank you so much for your thoughtful review and reflection on last month’s topic related to the
responsibilities of an approved provider when co-providing with another organization. This is not an
issue unique to Montana – other approver units have been dealing with the same issues, and ANCC is
addressing similar concerns with accredited providers. The Accreditation Program office has published
some suggested ways to document a co-provider relationship on marketing materials. These include:
Acceptable:
Assuming that ABC Hospital is the Approved Provider and XYZ Company is the co-provider, here are
some suggestions for language that complies with ANCC accreditation criteria related to co-providing:
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5th Annual Cardiovascular Symposium provided by ABC Hospital and XYZ Company
5th Annual Cardiovascular Symposium provided by XYZ Company and ABC Hospital
5th Annual Cardiovascular Symposium presented by ABC Hospital and XYZ Company
XYZ Company and ABC Hospital present the 5th Annual Cardiovascular Symposium
5th Annual Cardiovascular Symposium collaboratively provided by ABC Hospital and XYZ
Company
5th Annual Cardiovascular Symposium
o CNE credit provided by ABC Hospital
Montana Nurses Association is accredited as an approver of continuing nursing education by the
American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
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o
o
CME credit provided by XYZ Company
CPE credit provided by 123 Association
Unacceptable:
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XYZ Company presents the 5th Annual Cardiovascular Symposium
5th Annual Cardiovascular Symposium provided by XYZ Company
5th Annual Cardiovascular Symposium presented by XYZ Company
Notes:
1. The above language used in isolation and ABC Hospital as the provider not clearly displayed or
similar lack of equivalence would not comply with ANCC accreditation criteria.
2. The above language, even if the approved provider’s statement is included in marketing
materials, emails, web pages, agendas, etc., is unacceptable.
3. The approved provider has accountability for assuring that co-provider relationships are
appropriately negotiated, navigated, and documented. Breaches could result in loss of approved
provider status.
We appreciate the calls and emails we have received on this subject and will be happy to continue to
answer any questions you may have. Again, thank you for your vigilance in maintaining adherence to
criteria.
Do You Know Good Speakers?
MNA is always looking for speakers for its events, especially our major conferences like the annual
convention and the APRN Pharmacology Conference. In looking at the sample activities you submit with
your provider applications, we sometimes come across a bio form for a person that we think would have
excellent information to share at the state level. If you are aware of anyone that you would like to
suggest as a speaker for MNA, please either have that person get in touch with Kathy or Pam, or send us
their name and a brief statement about their area of expertise, and we can initiate the contact.
Practice Tip: Evaluation Forms
In reviewing your activities submitted with the annual report, we noted that many of you are using very
outdated evaluation forms. There is no prescribed form for you to use, and you do not have to use the
same form for every activity. You DO have to have a method for evaluating each activity, and you DO
have to retain a copy of both the evaluation template and a summative evaluation in your activity file.
Montana Nurses Association is accredited as an approver of continuing nursing education by the
American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
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You DO NOT have to ask about achievement of each objective and/or effectiveness of each presenter.
This has been a suggestion, but does not always provide you with valid information about the learner’s
experience and intent to apply what was learned. We will be revising the template that is on the MNA
web site, but in the meantime, feel free to modify your forms as desired to meet your needs for how to
best evaluate each activity.
You DO NOT have to ask about disclosures. This is a requirement that you are expected to meet, and
when your activity files are reviewed, we look for evidence of your written disclosure to learners. It is
not required that the learners attest to having received this information. You may, if you wish, ask the
learners if they perceive that there was bias in the presentation, but that is different from asking if
things were disclosed. If you do ask about bias, you may want to define the term, because if people do
not understand what you are asking, you won’t get helpful responses.
You DO NOT have to tell learners that you may do follow-up data collection to assess the effectiveness
of the learning activity. While you may, in fact, collect post-activity data for certain learning experiences,
there is no required language that must be provided to learners about this process. It is wise to think
about how you are going to get their buy-in to participate in post-activity surveys or other forms of data
collection, so some discussion or information about that during the learning activity is a good plan.
You DO NOT use the MNA accredited approver statement or the MNA address on your evaluation forms.
These are your tools, not ours.
HELPFUL HINTS:
Structure your evaluation form to get the data that will be most helpful for you. For example, if you
want to know if learners have achieved an objective, instead of asking “was the objective met?”, ask
“how do you perceive that you have met the objective?” or “how do you intend to apply information
from this objective in practice?”
Ask open-ended questions. Challenge the learner to reflect on the learning experience and consider how
he/she will implement what has been learned in practice. Some of my favorite questions are “What did
you learn today that will change or improve your practice?”, “What did you learn today that reinforces
your current practice?”, “What barriers might impact your ability to implement what you learned?”, and
“How might you overcome any barriers to implementing new information in your practice?”
Ask specific questions about additional topics the learner might be interested in. For example, instead of
having a space for “Suggestions for future topics”, consider asking “what more would you like to learn
about this topic, and why” or “What other topics would you be interested in learning about? What
practice issues make this topic important to you?” Those more targeted questions help you collect
valuable needs assessment data and will direct you to gaps in knowledge, skill, or practice that the
learner has identified.
Montana Nurses Association is accredited as an approver of continuing nursing education by the
American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
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Upcoming Activities
March 28th and 29th, 2014 – APRN Pharmacology Conference, Helena
April 13t, 14th, 15th – Labor Retreat, Chico
May 19, 2014 – Alaska Provider Update - Anchorage
May 22, 2014 – Montana Provider Update – Helena
October 1-3, 2014 – MNA Annual Convention – Theme: Nurses: Key Partners on the Healthcare Team
Other events will be scheduled throughout the year. Please let us know if you have a suggested topic!
Contact Information
Pam Dickerson, PhD, RN-BC, FAAN, Director of Continuing Education
pam@mtnurses.org
1-406-465-9126
Kathy Schaefer, CE Specialist
kathy@mtnurses.org
1-406-442-6710
Montana Nurses Association is accredited as an approver of continuing nursing education by the
American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.