A hallmark of the CNA Certification Program is that it demonstrates that you are current in your chosen nursing practice specialty. This is why you have to renew your credential every five years.
To renew, you have to meet the following eligibility requirements:
- You must be a nurse with current registration or licence in Canada.
- You need to have accumulated a minimum of 2,925 hours’ experience as a nurse in your nursing practice specialty during your current five-year certification term. Full-time, part-time or casual employment are all eligible.
- Your specialty experience may be in any of the five nursing domains:
- direct patient care
- education
- research
- policy
- administration
- You must demonstrate that you have advanced your knowledge of your specialty. You have two options to do so:
- Continuous Learning: This is our most popular renewal option and encourages you to independently seek out learning opportunities. To fulfill this requirement, you must have accumulated 100 hours of continuous learning activities over your five-year certification term. We provide an easy-to-use form [DOCX, 67.1 KB] that you can use to log your activities, which are then submitted as part of your renewal application.
- Exam: You also have the option of rewriting the certification exam at the end of your five-year term. By passing the exam, which is periodically updated to reflect the latest practice advancements, you prove that your knowledge of your specialty continues to be current.
If you are unable to renew due to personal or professional reasons, you can request (before your certification expires) that your certification be declared inactive.
Please contact us if you have any questions.