ICEA requires 24 hours of continuing education for recertification. These hours can be earned in a few different ways. Just as with all recertification activities, the collection of contact hours should be thoroughly documented.
Earning contact hours is a standard practice for most certifying organizations. These hours ensure that certified individuals stay up to date on new information in their field of expertise. An ICEA contact hour is a specific amount of time spent participating in an educational program. Contact hours are computed as sixty (60) minutes of education equals one contact hour and resembles nursing continuing education credits (CEUs).
ICEA Contact Hours
ICEA offers a variety of ways in which contact hours can be earned directly through the organization. These are earned by attending an ICEA event or completing an ICEA continuing education opportunity. Examples are as follows:
- ICEA Conferences
- ICEA IAT Trainings
- ICEA Webinars
ICEA Reciprocal and Partner Organizations
ICEA will accept continuing education from the list below after a review of the agenda. Please email info@icea.org to obtain permission to use the contact hours. You are responsible to keep your certificate of completion and documentation of approval for the contact hours until your certification is due.
Up to 12 hours will be accepted from the following organizations:
- National Perinatal Task Force
- IBCLE- CERPs
- Healthy Children’s Center for Breastfeeding
- USLCA/ILCA
- LER
- PSI International or a PSI local chapter
- Microbiome courses from Alto Films
Approved contact hours should reflect ICEA’s mission and vision. ICEA will accept up to 4 contact hours per renewal cycle for education activities that do not address pregnancy, birth, postpartum, newborn care, breastfeeding, or maternal mental health. There are many continuing education activities that could be beneficial to an ICEA certified professional’s practice not directly related to these topics (for example: adult education, mindfulness, public health).
Individual Attendance
On occasion, an individual might attend an educational activity that they would like to be able to use for recertification. For example, courses/conferences from other birth, lactation, women’s health and nursing, or related. Please submit a copy of the agenda, curriculum and speaker bios (if applicable) to info@icea.org to obtain approval. Once approved you will be charged a $25 administrative fee to transfer the contact hours to ICEA-approved contact hours.
Requests for transfer of hours after completion of a training or workshop will be reviewed but acceptance cannot be guaranteed. These requests must be submitted within 6 weeks after completing the training.
Independent Study Contact Hours
If someone is unable to obtain enough contact hours required for recertification through any related opportunities listed above, alternate contact hours may be obtained through independent study.
Independent study opportunities include:
- Read and take posttest for positions papers – 1 contact hour for each completed position paper and exam.
- Read and write a book review on a childbirth or breastfeeding book. - 5 contact hours. Must be approved ahead of time by contacting info@icea.org
- Write an ICEA Blog – 4 contact hours if accepted by ICEA’s blog editor (2 per recertification period accepted).
- Topic must be approved prior to submission.
- 300-500 words
- Submission may be edited
- Submit the information above with your recertification applications or email info@icea.org for additional details.