FAQs for Earning and Reporting CRCEs

How many continuing education hours do I get for ACLS, PALS, NRP, and BLS?

Each state licensing board has addressed continuing education for American Heart Association courses differently. Some states have allotted a specific number of continuing education hours for each of these courses. Some states do not directly address the American Heart Association courses in the continuing education requirements. Visit the AARC’s State Licensure Contacts page to locate your state board’s website. On that website, you will be able to locate the state board’s continuing education requirements. Conversely, you may also contact the state board directly. For states that do not provide a specific number of continuing education hours for the American Heart Association Courses, the course sponsor (hospital/company provider of the course) will need to make a CRCE® application for continuing education hours to the AARC.

I took a course that was approved by the AARC. How do I add it to my transcript?

The AARC approves courses for CRCE® credit for course sponsors other than the AARC. It is the responsibility of the course sponsor to report an attendance log with participants’ names, AARC numbers, email addresses, and session(s) attended. Individual AARC members cannot add attended courses to the AARC transcript.

Why isn’t this course on my CRCE® transcript?

There are many reasons why a course or conference you attended does not appear on your transcript.

1. Only AARC members can access a transcript. If you are not an AARC member or your AARC membership has lapsed, you will not be able to access the transcript feature.
2. New members or those that have let their AARC membership lapse will not see CRCE® records from courses they attended prior to joining the AARC or while their membership was inactive on their transcript. Check your membership date to see when you joined.
3. You did not include your AARC member number on the course roster/registration form. The course sponsors must supply that information in their attendance/completion report for the database to credit your transcript with that course. You will need to contact the course sponsor to report your AARC number with your earned CRCE® before the credits will appear on your transcript if you did not provide it to them initially.
4. The course sponsor has not yet uploaded the course roster into the AARC database. Depending on the size of the course, submitting a CRCE® course roster can take some time. Please allow at least 30 days after the course/conference for posting of the credits on your transcript. If it is more than 30 days after the course/conference, please contact the course sponsor directly. For independent study (Non-Traditional) courses, please allow at least 60 days for the credit to be posted on your transcript.

How many hours do I need to renew my state license?

Each state respiratory care board has different requirements for continuing education. Visit the AARC’s State Licensure Contacts page for a detailed listing of state boards, renew periods, continuing education hours, and fees for renewing.

How many hours do I need to renew my credential with the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC)?

The NBRC’s Continuing Competency Program requires that respiratory therapists who earned NBRC credentials after July 1, 2002, renew those credentials every 5 years. The respiratory therapist can renew his/her credential(s) by providing proof of at least 30 approved contact hours in that 5 year period; retake and pass the respective examination for the highest credentialed held; or pass an NBRC credentialing examination not previously completed. Approved contact hours for the NBRC Continuing Competency Program include CRCE® approved by the AARC and those accepted by state agencies regulating the respiratory care profession. Specific details about the NBRC Continuing Competency Program, as well as the composition of the CRCE® required, can be found at the NBRC website.

How many hours do I need to renew my AE-C credential with the National Asthma Educator Certification Board (NAECB)?

The NAECB allows for two methods of renewing the AE-C credential: either retest every 7 years or earn 35 continuing education hours of asthma-specific content every 5 years. You can find more detailed information about renewing your AE-C credential at the NAECB website.

How do I know if a course is approved by the AARC?

The course sponsor can advertise CRCE® approval on the marketing and advertising materials as well as on the course certificate.

Where do I go to get my certificates of completion for courses I completed through the AARC website?

If you completed a course in AARC University, you may access your certificate of attendance/completion by going to the My Course Certificates page and logging in with your AARC username and password.

Why does it say the page has moved when I click on CRCE® Lookup?

You may receive this message if you need to delete your Web browser’s cookies. Cookies help the computer remember your information on the Internet. Refer to this tutorial if you need help deleting cookies.

Do you send my credits to a 3rd party (e.g., NBRC, CE Broker, etc.)?

While the AARC does not automatically send your transcript data directly to the NBRC or a state licensing board, on the NBRC website, active AARC members may access the Credential Maintenance page in their NBRC profile, and import data to meet Continuing Competency Program requirements. This is an AARC member only benefit.

What counts as “live credit”?

Traditional courses, also called “live courses,” are courses that require the learner and provider to interact in real time. They need not be in the same place, but they must be able to communicate either verbally or in writing with each other during the time the learning activity is occurring. Examples of traditional courses offered by the AARC include live webcasts and live conferences. Non-traditional courses, also called independent study courses, are conducted by the learner at his or her own pace. The instructor does not interact with the learner in real time. Examples of non-traditional courses include archived webcasts, text-based courses, and online courses that do not include real-time interaction with the content expert/instructor.

Do archived webcasts count as live credit?

Archived webcasts are pre-recorded so the viewer does not have access to the presenter to ask questions. Archived webcasts are categorized as non-traditional courses.

How many questions are on my test?

The number of questions on the test is dependent upon the amount of CRCE® that accompanies the successful completion of the course. Typically, the post-tests for archived webcasts and CRCE through the Journal include 10 questions. Tests for courses that offer higher numbers of CRCE® may include more than 10 questions.

How many times can I take my test?

Each participant may attempt the course post-test twice.

I took this course last year. Can I take it again for credit?

You may re-enroll in the same course after January 1 of each year. Upon successful completion of the course, your transcript will reflect the CRCE® However, some state licensing boards and/or the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC) may not accept the same course for credit multiple times in the license or credential renewal period.

I want to sponsor a continuing education course to provide CRCE® for respiratory therapists. What do I do?

You can find all of the information necessary to apply for CRCE® as a course sponsor on the CRCE® Application Overview page.