West Virginia Nursing CE Courses
Last updated Mar 1, 2026
West Virginia Nursing Continuing Education Requirements
RN Requirements
- 12 hrs of continuing education each renewal period
- per renewal cycle
- Newly Licensed RNs: 3 contact hours of CE on safe prescribing and drug diversion, completed within 1 year of receiving your initial license. APRNs: 12 hours in pharmacotherapeutics (advanced pharmacology) and 12 hours in clinical management (assessment, diagnosis, planning, and evaluation). If you prescribe, administer, or dispense controlled substances: 3 hours in drug diversion, best-practice prescribing, and opioid antagonist training within 1 year of initial licensure.
LPN Requirements
- Twenty four (24) contact hours of continuing education. of continuing education each renewal period
- per renewal cycle
- Newly Licensed RNs: 3 contact hours of CE on safe prescribing and drug diversion, completed within 1 year of receiving your initial license. APRNs: 12 hours in pharmacotherapeutics (advanced pharmacology) and 12 hours in clinical management (assessment, diagnosis, planning, and evaluation). If you prescribe, administer, or dispense controlled substances: 3 hours in drug diversion, best-practice prescribing, and opioid antagonist training within 1 year of initial licensure.
APRN Requirements
- 24 hours of continuing education for advanced practice nurses
- Renewal cycle: 2 years
- Pharmacology: 12 Pharmacotherapeutics + 12 Clinical Management
- Required topic: Pharmacotherapeutics/advanced pharmacology
Show me the course list for my licence
West Virginia RN required courses
24 contact hours in this list, included with your yearly pass. Always confirm with your board before you renew.
2 contact hoursBuild nursing competence in recognizing, assessing, triaging, and supporting evidence-based treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder across care settings.
3 contact hoursBuild nursing skills to assess chronic pain, set functional goals, apply multimodal treatment, reduce medication-related harm, and coordinate person-centered care.
Elective courses
Pick from these to finish your hours. Every one is included with the yearly pass.
2 contact hoursAfter completing this course, nurses will be able to distinguish organ donation from tissue donation, explain living and deceased donation pathways, and describe current standards for determining death by neurologic or circulatory criteria.
10 contact hoursApply current nursing ethics codes, structured reasoning, informed consent standards, advocacy practices, and professional accountability to common clinical dilemmas.
6 contact hoursBuild practical nursing skills to identify suicide risk, complete a focused assessment, protect patients from immediate harm, and coordinate evidence-based care.
2 contact hoursBuild skill in recognizing, assessing, documenting, reporting, and responding to suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation of older adults.
West Virginia nursing CE questions
Straight from the West Virginia board
- Renewal period
- per renewal cycle
- RN requirement
- 12 hrs plus applicable targeted requirements
- LPN / LVN requirement
- 24 hrs plus applicable practice/renewal requirements
- Mandatory topics
- Newly Licensed RNs: 3 contact hours of CE on safe prescribing and drug diversion, completed within 1 year of receiving your initial license. APRNs: 12 hours in pharmacotherapeutics (advanced pharmacology) and 12 hours in clinical management (assessment, diagnosis, planning, and evaluation). If you prescribe, administer, or dispense controlled substances: 3 hours in drug diversion, best-practice prescribing, and opioid antagonist training within 1 year of initial licensure.
- Required courses
- RN: 12 CE hours from a Board-approved provider. New RN: 3 hours of best prescribing and drug diversion CE within 1 year of initial licensure; a waiver may apply if the nurse did not handle controlled substances. (WV RN Board) LPN: The LPN requirements should be sourced from the West Virginia RN Board's LPN-specific renewal rules rather than automatically copying the RN 12-hour requirement. Source: West Virginia Board of Registered Nurses.
- Good to know
- RN: Current Board information confirms 12 CE hours per renewal cycle for established RNs. Newly licensed RNs have a special 3-hour best-prescribing/drug-diversion requirement within the first year. (WV RN Board)
- Advanced practice CE
- 24 hours
- Renewal period
- 2 years
- Pharmacology
- 12 pharmacology contact hours. 12 Pharmacotherapeutics + 12 Clinical Management
- Who it applies to
- All APRNs
- Controlled substances / opioids
- None identified as a separate requirement
- Pain and opioid content
- None identified as a separate requirement
- Prescriptive authority
- Yes
- Who approves the course
- West Virginia RN Board
- Accepted providers
- Board-approved providers; ANCC, national APRN organizations, national/state nursing associations, any U.S. State Board of Nursing
Source citation pending admin review (placeholder). Reviewed Mar 1, 2026. User self-report (confirm with Board)
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Ask about requirements, a course, pricing or your license. Answers come from our own course list and state notes.
Answers come from Fast CE For Less's own course list and our notes on state requirements. Always check your board's own rules before you count hours.