Sec. 20-94e. Registered nurses and licensed practical nurses. Training or education requirement.

(1) “Contact hour” means a minimum of fifty minutes of continuing education and activities; and

(2) “Registration period” means the one-year period for which a license has been renewed in accordance with section 19a-88 and is current and valid.

(b) For registration periods beginning on and after January 1, 2022, a registered nurse licensed pursuant to this chapter who is actively practicing in this state, and a licensed practical nurse licensed pursuant to this chapter who is actively practicing in this state, applying for license renewal shall, during the first renewal period and not less than once every six years thereafter, earn not less than two contact hours of training or education on (1) screening for conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, risk of suicide, depression and grief, and (2) suicide prevention training. For purposes of this section, qualifying continuing education activities include, but are not limited to, in-person and online courses offered or approved by the American Nurses Association, Connecticut Hospital Association, Connecticut Nurses Association, Connecticut League for Nursing, a specialty nursing society or an equivalent organization in another jurisdiction, an educational offering sponsored by a hospital or other health care institution or a course offered by a regionally accredited academic institution or a state or local health department.

(c) Each registered nurse and licensed practical nurse applying for license renewal pursuant to section 19a-88 shall sign a statement attesting that he or she has satisfied the continuing education requirements of subsection (b) of this section on a form prescribed by the Department of Public Health. Each licensee shall retain records of attendance or certificates of completion that demonstrate compliance with the continuing education requirements of subsection (b) of this section for a minimum of three years following the year in which the continuing education was completed and shall submit such records or certificates to the department for inspection not later than forty-five days after a request by the department for such records or certificates.