No. It is true that for most accrediting bodies, a 60-minute activity corresponds to 1 credit/contact hour. However, there are a few accrediting bodies, including the Iowa Board of Nursing and National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, that use a “50-minute hour” equal to 1 credit/contact hour.

The majority of accrediting bodies use a 60-minute hour for calculating credits/contact hours (with 1 credit/contact hour corresponding to 60 minutes). There are a few accrediting bodies, including the Iowa Board of Nursing and National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, that use a “50-minute hour” equal to 1 credit/contact hour. There are other accrediting bodies that do not allow credits/contact hours in quarter hour increments.

These differences can result in final accreditation statements that have different amounts of credits/contact hours.

To calculate the number of credit/contact hours for a conference with multiple activities, AXIS requires a timed agenda. The agenda should have the start time and end time for each session, as well as the topic area of each session. Breaks, lunch, dinner, award ceremonies, etc must be defined as well, because these “sessions” cannot be awarded credits/contact hours.

No. Contact hours will not be awarded retrospectively because the process of planning, developing, and evaluating a certified activity is a collaborative joint effort and the accredited provider (eg, AXIS) must be involved in the planning from the beginning.

Learning objectives document what the activity planners would like the learners to know and do better as a result of their participation in the activity. Each learning objective statement starts with an “action verb.” The action verbs used in learning objectives must elicit or describe observable or measurable behaviors on the part of activity participants and must be specific to the activity content. The learning objectives for an activity are directly related to the identified educational needs addressed in that activity.

No. However, there are best practices to consider:

• The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, American Nurses Credentialing Center, and other accrediting bodies sometimes audit learners’ records to verify that an educational activity was appropriate for an accredited activity (and to be awared credits/contact hours). That appropriateness can often be determined by the activity title if it accurately reflects the content of the activity.
• The activity title should have meaning to the target audience, not just the planning committee; therefore, it is best to avoid “cute” wording, slang, abbreviations, and other terms that are not easily understood.

All certified educational activities must be formally evaluated. AXIS will provide access to an electronic portal process for the evaluation to be completed by attendees following the activity. AXIS will provide instructions to the joint provider about how to access this portal; the joint provider can distribute these instructions to all attendees. The instructions will include an access code unique to your activity. An evaluation summary, prepared by AXIS will be sent to the joint provider within 30 days of activity conclusion/portal closure.

If the joint provider prefers the use of a paper/hardcopy evaluation tool, AXIS will e-mail an evaluation template to the joint provider; the joint provider may print as many copies of the evaluation form as needed. The completed evaluation forms must be returned to AXIS immediately following activity conclusion.

AXIS sets the time that the electronic evaluation portal is open to 10-20 days after an activity is completed and ensures this is specified in the criteria-for-completion section of the announcement and the instruction sheet for the activity. You may request an extended period, for up to 30 days; however, AXIS has found that the longer the portal is open, the longer participants will wait until they complete their post-activity evaluation. Therefore, AXIS strongly recommends keeping the electronic portal open for only 10-20 days after an activity is completed.

Once the portal closes on the predetermined set date, you may request a reopening. There is a nominal fee associated with this additional work.

The AXIS electronic portal allows quick and easy access for the learners and can provide a quick evaluation summation and list of attendees for you. Using this portal eliminates paper forms; no need to print/copy, distribute, or collect anything.

The AXIS electronic portal does, however, require the learner to access a computer/smart device in the predetermined time (ie, 10 days after the activity is complete) and complete the evaluation. Using a hardcopy/paper evaluation form allows learners to complete the form right after the activity is completed.

So, both options have their advantages and disadvantages. The decision to use the AXIS electronic portal or a hardcopy/paper process should be made based on what will be most comfortable for the learners, and may be made per activity.

For web-based activities, use of the AXIS electronic portal is required, because the leaners are not “face-to-face” with the joint provider to complete a hardcopy/paper evaluation form.

The use of a sign-in sheet/roster is very strongly recommended. This sheet provides documentation (including signatures) of actual attendance. If you do use a sign-in sheet/roster, AXIS requests a copy of that after activity completion.

The average lead time to apply for certification of an educational activity is 6 weeks before the activity is presented, although the lead time does vary according to accrediting body. Click here for detailed information based on the type of accreditation.

For certified educational activities that are clinical in nature, the content presented (handouts, slides) goes through a content validation process to ensure that the material presented adheres to all the rules and requirements of the relevant accrediting bodies (ie, content is fair and balanced, non-biased, financial disclosure information is provided to the learners, etc). AXIS has a robust content validation protocol for this function, which requires reviewing all content-related materials in advance of the activity being presented.

All activity-related materials can be sent to AXIS in any way that is convenient for you. Sending these by e-mail is fast and easy, but they can also be sent by FedEx, USPS, UPS, etc.

If you choose to use a hardcopy/paper evaluation, instead of the AXIS electronic evaluation portal designed for this function, AXIS will e-mail you the evaluation in an MS Word document template. You may make as many copies of the evaluation form as needed so each attendee has a blank evaluation form. Each attendee who wants to earn the credits/contact hours for participating in the activity should complete the evaluation form and return it to the activity host before she/he leaves the event. The completed evaluation forms should be sent by FedEx, USPS, or UPS, or scanned and e-mailed to AXIS within 3 to 5 days after activity conclusion.