CE Accreditation for CRN Educational Activities

Accreditation Application for Council on Renal Nutrition (CRN) Continuing Education (CE) Activities

This process has been updated so please read all directions/requirements carefully before submitting.

The following outlines the CE process for planning a CRN program with the NKF. We recommend that you begin planning your program 90+ days before your event to meet the CE timeline. 

Notice: We cannot approve education events scheduled within 30 days before or after NKF’s Spring Clinical Meetings. During this time, the CE team and volunteer capacity is limited, and we cannot effectively support additional CE programs. Please check the future SCM calendar before scheduling your spring event.

If your constituents are interested in earning CE credit and cannot attend SCM, please direct them to the Professional Education Resource Center (PERC) for on-demand CE opportunities. Member benefits apply.

90 days from the meeting: 

1. Check in with local NKF office Program Staff and verify their availability for the prospective event date. Once confirmed, notify Kim Dunisch at Kim.Dunisch@kidney.org with Event Date and Title.
2. Determine if the event is in-person or virtual. 
   • Local staff can assist in finding event space or organize virtual logistics. 
3. Develop sponsorship/exhibitor application materials if needed. 
4. Draft an agenda of prospective topics and faculty. 
5. Promote the event with save the date materials. 

60 days from the meeting:

Registration will not be built until these items have been submitted. Be sure to submit the final materials using the templates the CE team has provided. 

1. Complete all sections of the application packet and submit.
2. Submit final Agenda.
3. Prepare a roster identifying all planners and faculty and include their email addresses. Please see the template for the roster.
4. Contact faculty and planners to complete the biographical data and disclosure forms via the links below. 
   • CVs/Resumes
   • Biographical Data Form
   • Disclosure Form
     • The CE team will collect the disclosure and biographical data forms and follow up if any are incomplete.
5. Email speakers and provide a deadline that slides are due one month from event. 
   • We recommend using the NKF Slide Template
   • Send speakers’ instructions for developing slide presentations and ARS questions if applicable
   • If you would like to share the speaker slides electronically (on PERC or via Email), request faculty to submit permission. 

Please note: We cannot accredit a program that includes faculty or planners employed by an ineligible company, such as pharmaceutical or device companies. This now includes Fresenius. If you would like to verify if your prospective faculty or program committee have a COI, please contact the CE Team and we will be happy to verify before you extend an invitation.

Additionally, Chapter professionals employed by an ineligible company may remain in their positions on the committee or as chairs and contribute to any non-CE programming they wish to be involved in, such as patient programs. A sub-committee of eligible professionals may be developed if the chapter would like to deliver CE programs, however chapters are not required to deliver CE programs to maintain their status. If you would like to know more about non-CE programs to get involved in, please contact your local office for more information.

30 days from the meeting:

1. Submit slides and any supplemental resources or handouts for the event. The slides do not need to be the final version but should have enough information to show how the objectives have been met in the content. Slides should be in a PPT format and follow the below guidelines: 
   • Slide 1- name of session matches planning table and agenda, name of faculty with their credentials and employer listed
   • Slide 2- Disclosure slide listing any faculty disclosures. If the faculty does not have any financial relationships, please note “nothing to disclosure” on the slide. 
   • Slide 3- Objective’s slide listing the objectives provided in the educational planning table. 
   • Last slide- “Questions?” slide at the end of the presentation. 
2. Create marketing materials and submit to CE office for approval. 
3. Work with faculty on any slide edits returned by Review Committee, return revised slides to the CE office. 
4. If faculty provides permission to share slides on PERC, inform the CE office. 
5. Send out any faculty logistics emails as necessary. 
6. Provide the CE evaluation instructions from the NKF CE office to the attendees. 

Please see our slide review checklist as reference to the criteria we review for.

Note that your activity will not be reviewed unless all the materials listed in the accreditation packet and above are completed on time. Email the completed packet and additional documents to Kim Dunisch (kim.dunisch@kidney.org) Write the subject line as “CRN [Chapter] Activity for Review – [Date of Activity]”

National Kidney Foundation requires all chapter events to be accredited through NKF. NKF Chapters may not accredit their programs individually through CDR or another organization. NKF requires all learners to register on their event page in the Professional Education Resource Center (PERC). By doing so, learners will more easily be able to access their certificates post-event and will eliminate the process of organizing and submitting sign-in sheets. All registration marketing should be directed to your unique event link in PERC (prepared upon receipt of the application packet approximately 60 days from the event).

Evaluation Reminder

The course evaluation is open for 90 days from the live event date to allow learners ample time to complete their evaluation and download their certificate. Please send 2-3 reminders after the event to remind learners to complete their evaluation on time. Please contact Kim for a copy of the evaluation data after 90 days from the event.

NEW! CE Program in Box

The CE Program in a Box is a flipped-classroom approach to CE education, and requires very little planning time from the local Chapter and office. Please see the flyer for more details, and get in touch with Kim Dunisch at kim.dunisch@kidney.org to begin planning.

Attention:

Effective April 1, 2022, we will be applying a registration fee to learners for all Chapter CE programs. There is a price per credit table below to refer to while planning an event and it is based on the learner’s member status. Chapters will not need to track if their attendees are members or non-members. Each individual learner will pay the registration fee, if applicable, during their enrollment. The goal of the pricing structure is to help cover staff time involved in reviewing and accrediting programs, and to incentivize national membership. Membership can be validated at the point of learner registration on PERC.

If your program surpasses this credit amount, please contact the CE office to discuss pricing options.