RN Volunteer

Nurses are trusted, compassionate, educated and skilled. Nurses are celebrated for the care they provide, their spirit and character. If you are considering retirement stay active in nursing and maintain your Delaware
RN license.

This is an opportunity to try new practice settings, share your experience and knowledge with patients and peers and work at a pace that meets your needs. Your volunteer activities should not displace or reduce hours for employed nurses.

This page outlines the information you need to know about volunteering to maintain an active Delaware RN license.

Overview

For a Delaware RN license to stay current, nurses are required to have continuing nurse education and nursing practice hours. This guide will provide information and methods of obtaining contact hours and outlines the Standards of Nursing Competencies and Responsibilities according to Delaware’s Nurse Practice Act (Title 24).

This guide is not intended to answer all questions regarding continuing education and activities that qualify as nursing practice. Contact the Delaware Board of Nursing at
(302) 744-4500 for further clarification and questions.

Continuing Education

Every Delaware registered nurse is required to complete 30 contact hours each biennium. A biennium is a 2 year period of licensure beginning in an odd numbered year and ending in the next odd numbered year.

There are a variety of ways that nurses can earn continuing education. Many of ways such as academic studies, conferences, extension and independent studies and in-service education are familiar to most nurses. However, did you know contact hours can be earned by authoring or presenting nursing information or working on a research project?

Authoring an article, book chapter or independent study

• Must be related to nursing
• Proof: acceptance from editor or the published work
• Maximum of 5 contact hours per biennium

Presentations

• Excludes preparation time (if not required by
  job description)
• Proof: submit brochures, course syllabi or letter
  by provider
• Contact hours are equal to actual presentation time
  Maximum of 5 contact hours per biennium

Research Project

• Must be done during biennium
• Submit abstract as evidence as being a researcher
• Maximum of 5 contact hours per biennium

Nursing Practice Hours

• Must have at least 1000 practice hours within the
  last 5 years
• Or have completed at least 400 hours in the last
  two years
• If have current licensure, then 400 required
  every biennium

How to Accumulate Nursing Practice Hours

There are many methods for obtaining hours. In addition to paid nursing positions, you may volunteer to perform professional nursing. Participating agencies provide many choices for providing service. However, any RN Volunteer may not serve to replace a paid nursing position.

Examples of RN Volunteer roles may include but are not limited to:

• Nursing assessment–psycho/social/physical
• Healthcare related calls to patients or their families.
  Call can include assessment, emotional support
  and/or education
• Bereavement support
• Patient and/or family health education
• Staff education
• Research