RECERTIFICATION INFORMATION
Information for Certified Members
Thank you for your interest in "Recertifying" your Certification status with AIHCP, Inc. and/or one of its professional divisions.
We have provided the following information for you to help organize and provide the needed information to complete and submit your Recertification Application. Links are provided for ease of access. We have also used a "Frequently Asked Questions" format to provide answers to the questions you may have. After reviewing this information, if we have not completely answered your questions, always feel free to contact us at:
Info@aihcp.org, and/or by phone at: 330-652-7776.
Please access this page: click here
This is the main page on our site that provides a list of links to the Recertification Information pages for each of our practice specialites. On these pages you will find full information about your specific Certification speciality including what is required for Recertification. The information is clearly provided for you.
If you have additional questions, please contact our Assistant Executive Director, Mark Moran at: mark@aihcp.org.
Useful Links for Recertification
CE Courses for Recertification
Links to Main Recertification Pages
frequently ASKED QUESTIONS/ANSWERS
1. Is there a formal policy for Recertifications?
Yes. For ease of review, we are providing our formal policy here:
1. Each of the "Certifications" offered by the American Institute of Heath Care Professionals, Inc and its Sub-divisions, provides for a time period of "certification" and an "expiration."
2. Details of all time periods for each certification are detailed on the main web pages for each specific certification program.
3. AIHCP, Inc. provides a "six-month" grace period for those who have allowed their Certification to "expire."
4. During this six-month grace period, you may NOT say that you are "currently" certified. You may, however say that you are a "candidate for re-certification."
5. All who are seeking re-certification must meet all of the standards for re-certification as are in place at the time of application for Recertification. Full details are provided on this website under the heading "Recertification's." AIHCP, Inc. and its subdivisions reserve the right to revise and/or enhance recertification requirements as deemed appropriate by the specialty certifications advisory board.
6. If a certified member exceeds the "six-month" grace period, they are permitted to apply for re-certification by: 1). demonstrating evidence of meeting all requirements/standards for recertification, and 2). paying an additional $100.00 late fee + the full cost of the recertification. This late extension is provided for a period of one-year beyond the expiration of the initial "six-month" grace period.
If the previously certified member exceeds both the "six-month" grace period as well as the one-year "late" time-frame, then in order to recertify, it will be necessary to apply again and meet all of the initial certification requirements for the specialty practice.
If you have any questions regarding this policy, please feel free to contact us at:
2. Can I submit my Recertification application before the date of my expiration?
Yes. We will accept recertification applications up to three (3) months before the date of your expiration.
3. Must I submit copies of my continuing education certificates with my application for Recertification?
Yes. Please submit copies only. We retain those copies in your file indefinitely and thus do not return them to you. It is not necessary to send in the original CE certificates.
4. How do I document hours of practice for the period of my certification?
You will document this on your recertification application right on the CE Log sheet. You DO NOT need to send in copies of your CE certificates. Please just complete the CE Log sheet as directed on the application and be sure to submit it with your recertification appliacation.
5. Do you provide any continuing education courses that I may take to meet the education hours needed for Recertification?
Yes. We do have CE courses that are approved for credits needed to recertify. You may access these courses by going to our CE course section: access here. All of our courses are approved for recertification.
6. What other types of courses/activities will you accept for Recertification?
We will accept the following recertification:
- Seminars
- Workshops
- Continuing Education Courses completed by other organizations
- College Courses, on campus, online, distance education
- Independent Study Courses
- Publication in a peer reviewed journal
- Acting as a clinical proctor for students, new hires, related to your practice
- Presenter/Lecturer of a workshop, seminar or continuing education course
- Instructor for a college level course as long as the course is related to your certification or your professional health care practice
- Submission of an approved thesis/dissertation related to your practice specialty
- Serving on a hospital or organizational committee related to your practice specialty
Notes
- One college semester hour credit = 15 contact hours of continuing education
- One published article in a peer reviewed journal is equal to 25 contact hours of continuing education
- Continuing Education credits for presenters/lectures/college faculty will be awarded for the actual number of hours of their presentation or college semester hour course. Credit is given one time, no matter how many times the applicant has conducted the lecture/presentation/course.
- Continuing Education hours do not include: first aid, CPR, Advanced Life Support, hospital orientation, job orientation, product training's or non education meetings.
- Thesis/dissertations must be from an established college/university. The topic must be directly related to your practice specialty. The thesis/dissertation must have been approved by the academic institution's faculty/committee and must have been written sometime within the four year period that the candidate was certified by AIHCP.
- Candidates who are applying for hours for committee work related to their practice specialty can be awarded 5 contact hours for each year of committee participation. Participation must have been during the period that the candidate was certified by AIHCP.
- If you are using any of the above for submission for Recertification, you must include "documentation" of such. For example, if you are submitting a completed college level course then you must include a copy of an official grade report or transcript showing course title, course credits and evidence of successful course completion. For committee work, you must submit a letter of verification from the Committee Chairperson attesting to your work on the committee as well as an estimate of the number of hours of completed work. Publication of an article requires documentation via a letter from the journal editor or publisher, verifying your publication. If you have any questions regarding other requirements for completed activities that you wish to submit for recertification, please contact us with your questions at: info@aihcp.org or phone us at: 330-652-7776.
7. What percent of my continuing education hours submitted must be from courses related to my certification specialty?
A minimum of 50% of the required continuing education credits must be related to your certification practice specialty. The remaining 50% must be related to health care.
8. May I take courses from one of the other AIHCP certification/education programs, and use those hours toward my recertification requirements?
Yes you may. For example, if you are certified in Grief Counseling, we will accept you taking/completing any of our grief counseling courses offered in any of our grief specialty programs. You may use such courses for your recertification, as well as for completion if you are working toward a new certification with AIHCP. Another example would be if an RN is certified with us in Legal Nurse Consulting, then he/she may take a course or courses in our Forensic Nursing Practice program and use that course or courses for required hours for their Legal Nurse Consulting recertification with AIHCP. For any specific questions you may have concerning taking any of our courses for your recertification credit hours, please contact us directly.
9. Can I fax my recertification application to you?
Yes. We will accept applications by fax. If you are faxing your application, then please make sure it is complete. Please be sure to include your copies of CE credits earned, and any other supporting documents which you are submitting. Fax to: 330-652-7575.
10. Can I submit my application as a scanned file via an email attachment?
Yes. We will accept this method of application submission. Please remember to scan and include all CE certificates and any other supporting documentation which you are submitting. You may email your scanned files to: info@aihcp.org
11. What payment methods are accepted for the fee for recertification?
We will accept a personal check, company check or money order, payable to: AIHCP. We also accept credit card payments (Visa, MC and American Express, and Discover) via on our online secure merchant server: access here. Or you may provide credit card information in the area provided on your recertification application and we will process it for you upon our receipt. We will also accept Western Union payments from those residing outside of the US. You may postal mail your completed application for recertification to our office at:
AIHCP
2400 Niles-Cortland Rd. SE Suite # 4
Warren Ohio 44484
If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Email: info@aihcp.org
Phone: 330-652-7776
Fax: 330-652-7575