HELLO TO ALL:
I AM VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE NEW AVA CERTIIFICATION. I IMAGINE THIS IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM A CRNI CERTIFICATION, AM I CORRECT? THE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION TO BE LEARNED FOR THIS EXAM AND THE CRNI EXAM IS NOT COMPARABLE, WHICH MAKES ME THINK THAT THE TWO CERTIFICATIONS ARE ALSO NOT COMPARABLE.
I DOWNLOADED THE INFORMATION (NOT MUCH THERE) AND THE STUDY GUIDE, BUT HAD SOME QUESTIONS AS TO HOW OFTEN I WOULD HAVE TO RENEW THE CERTIFICATION, WHERE COULD I OBTAIN CEUs TO RENEW IT AND ALSO WHAT YOU ALL THINK OF THIS PARTICULAR CERTIFICATION. THE AVA SITE EXPLAINED THAT THE DATE FOR THE EXAM WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE AFTER THE BEGINNING ON THIS MONTH. I WOULD LIKE TO BE A BIT MORE INFORMED ABOUT THIS BEFORE I SEND IN MY MONEY FOR THE EXAM.  CAN YOU HELP?
I TRULY ENJOY READING THE POSTS IN THE FORUM AND LEARN A LOT OF NEW THINGS.
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR ANSWERS AND INFORMATION.Â
MARIA
Maria, all the information you are looking for is on the AVA website, under the certification tab. At the AVA National meeting in September it was explained that there will be no renewal option using CEUs, the only way to renew is to retest. The certification will be valid for three years. The decision was made (the way I understand it) not to allow renewal through CEUs to be different from INS, to not "force" certified clinicians into attending the AVA conference and yet to address the fact that practice changes significantly over a 3 year period, and certified clinicians should be familiar with current practice.
Chris Cavanaugh, CRNI
Chris Cavanaugh, RN, BSN, CRNI, VA-BC