Education FAQs

Once you've logged in to AAPACN.org, there are two ways to get to your Learner Dashboard.

1. Select My Account from the top menu and then click on My Learner Dashboard.


2. Select the Education tab and then click on Learner Dashboard.


Once you have reached your Learner Dashboard, you can locate your purchases under My Courses. Click open the product to access the learning materials.

All educational products can be purchased through AAPACN's online store. Access this any time by clicking Catalog from the left-side menu in the AAPACN Learner Dashboard.


Use the catalog filters to easily locate products by certification program, role, topic, or product type.

Save 5% immediately when you purchase course sets. Choose the Course Sets option from under the “Product Type” catalog filter to view available products.


You will need to log in to AAPACN.org to complete your purchase.

Your educational products will be available in your AAPACN Learner Dashboard. Once you've logged in to AAPACN.org, there are two ways to get to your Learner Dashboard.

1. Select My Account from the top menu and then click on My Learner Dashboard.


2. Select the Education tab and then click Learner Dashboard.


Once you have reached your Learner Dashboard, you can find your purchases under My Courses on the left-side menu. Click open the product to access the associated learning materials.

You have one year from the date of purchase to complete/pass a product. After one year, the product will expire, and you will lose access to the content. Recertification courses, exams, or applications will not be available until six months before your certification expiration date. Recertification materials must be completed before your certification expiration date; once your certification expires, you will lose access to the content.

Your purchases, along with associated expiration dates, are listed under My Courses in the Learner Dashboard. The product will expire end of day on the “Access expires” date indicated.

Your feedback is important to us. You can let us know about your experience with the educational products by submitting the evaluation provided at the end of the product. It only takes about two minutes of your time. We depend on your suggestions and ideas to make positive changes to the curriculum. Your evaluation feedback improves the learning experience for all our students.

You must be using the latest version of one of the following browsers: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, or Safari. Neither Internet Explorer nor IE mode in Microsoft Edge is supported.

For optimal performance, ensure pop-ups are allowed, cookies are enabled, and the browser is kept updated.

If you are already using one of the recommended browsers above, try clearing your browser cache as a first troubleshooting step.

Yes, AAPACN’s learning content can be viewed across your internet-enabled devices. If you’re having trouble viewing content on your mobile device, please consider switching to a laptop or desktop computer.

Live Webinars: After registering, join a live webinar from your Learner Dashboard by selecting the live event under My Courses and navigating to the “Event Detail” tab to access the session.

Live Workshops: After registering, join a live workshop from your Learner Dashboard by selecting the workshop under My Courses. Navigate to the live event to access the event details.

Handouts and workshop materials will be available to view/download in your Learner Dashboard.

• Live Webinars: Select the live webinar under My Courses and navigate to the “Additional Content” tab to access the learning materials.

• Live Workshops: Workshop materials/handouts can be accessed in your Learner Dashboard 14 days prior to the start date of your event. Select the workshop under My Courses and navigate to the live event. Workshop materials/handouts are available under the “Additional Content” tab.

Live Webinars: To receive contact hours for attending a live webinar, you must attend at least 80% of the entire live event. If you are unable to attend the live session, you can watch 80% of the recording (once available) as a substitution for attending the live session.

Live Workshops: Workshop CEs are based upon actual attendance for the duration of the scheduled educational activity, verified through sign-in reports. If a student must leave before the activity is scheduled to end, or arrives late, he/she will not receive full CE credit; however, partial credit may be awarded. CE certificates will be issued and available in your Learner Dashboard within 5-7 business days following the last day of the event.

Please note, an attestation or evaluation may be required to unlock the certificate.

CE certificates can be found in your Learner Dashboard either directly within the course or by clicking My Transcript from the left-side menu.

All live events, excluding AAPACN’s annual conference and recertification workshops, will expire one year after the start date of the event.

There are two areas in your Learner Dashboard where you can access the final exams:

1. My Courses:

• Select My Courses from the left-side menu and click into your course.
• Locate the exam within the course bundle.
• Click the Final Exam and select “Start Exam” to launch.

2. My Certifications (for certification/recertification exams):

• Select My Certifications from the left-side menu and click the appropriate certification.
• Scroll down to the bottom of the page to the progress tracker with list of required exams.
• Click the Final Exam and select “Start Exam” to launch.

You will not see missed answers on final certification exams. There are two primary reasons for this: 1) It protects the confidentiality of the exam content, and 2) it maintains the value and integrity of the certification. The final certification exams are intended to measure proficiency in the subject and to determine whether an individual has the necessary knowledge to be eligible for certification. You are encouraged to utilize the practice exam and knowledge checks for each course as learning tools before attempting the final certification exam.

If you have exhausted all exam attempts, you can request additional attempts one time per course. To request additional exam attempts, click Request Additional Exam Attempts from the left-side menu in the Learner Dashboard. Complete and submit the form, and AAPACN will review and reply within two business days.

If you are approved to purchase additional exam attempts, you will be sent a link to purchase the attempts. This link is only valid for one week.

If you have used all exam attempts and your purchase has also expired, you cannot request extra exam attempts; you will need to repurchase the full course.

You have a total of six attempts to take an exam. If you fail an exam on your sixth attempt, you are no longer eligible to certify with AAPACN for at least one year. After this time, you may be required to complete and pass the entire certification program.

In the case of extenuating circumstances, you do have the option to submit a formal, written appeal to the AAPACN Member Experience Team to request an exception to the policy. Click Apply for Appeal from the left-side menu in the Learner Dashboard. Complete and submit the form, and AAPACN will review and reply within two business days.

AAPACN continually makes updates to course content and final exams due to regulatory changes released by CMS. The final exams are not static and change as the content changes.

The answers to the exam questions are within the course content; however, some questions require the learner to apply concepts that he or she has recently learned to specific situations to find the correct answer. This means that the learner must use his or her critical thinking skills as opposed to recall or recognition.

Passed exams count towards certification for three years. After three years, if certification is not completed, the course will need to be repurchased and the exam passed again.

You have three attempts to pass a final certification exam with a score of 80% or higher. If you have exhausted all exam attempts, you can request additional attempts one time per course. To request additional exam attempts, click Request Additional Exam Attempts from the left-side menu in the Learner Dashboard. Complete and submit the form, and AAPACN will review and reply within two business days.

If you are approved to purchase additional exam attempts, you will be sent a link to purchase the attempts. This link is only valid for one week.

If you have used all exam attempts and your purchase has also expired, you cannot request extra exam attempts; you will need to repurchase the full course.

In the case of extenuating circumstances, you do have the option to submit a formal, written appeal to the AAPACN Member Experience Team to request an exception to the policy.

Click Apply for Appeal from the left-side menu in the Learner Dashboard. Complete and submit the form, and AAPACN will review and reply within two business days.

We encourage all members of the interdisciplinary team to certify their professional knowledge with one of our programs. Having an AAPACN credential behind your name highlights your expertise in an important role within the long-term care profession. Each program has specific requirements to be eligible to take the certification exams and hold the credential. For more details, see each program's candidate handbook.

To start a certification program:

1. Select My Certifications from the left-side menu in the Learner Dashboard.

2. Click the “Details” button beside the certification.


3. Review the certification requirements. Select the learning format that works best for you. Purchase the corresponding materials using the links provided. *Note: You can also navigate to the Catalog and select a program under the “Certification Program” filter to browse available options.


4. After you’ve started the certification program exam(s), the certification will automatically display an “In Progress” tag. Your progress on the certification requirements will be tracked in this area.

If you are certifying for the first time, you have one year from the date of purchase before the course and exam expire. Because of regular updates made to the regulatory content we include in our courses, we strongly suggest you complete the curriculum within nine months of starting it. If you do not complete all certification courses and exams before expiration, you will need to repurchase the outstanding courses to complete the certification requirements. Passed exams count towards certification for three years. After three years, if certification is not completed, the course will need to be repurchased and the exam passed again.

If you are recertifying, you must complete your recertification requirements before the expiration date of your credential. If you do not complete the recertification requirements before your certification expiration date, you will be required to restart the full program to regain your certification at a later date.

Your certificate will be available in your Learner Dashboard once you have fulfilled all the certification requirements.

Please review your contact information in your AAPACN.org account to ensure we have the most recent information on file, as your first and last name will appear on your certificate.

There are two areas in your Learner Dashboard where you can access and download your certificate:

1. My Certifications
• Select My Certifications from the left-side menu in the Learner Dashboard.
• Click the "Download" button beside the earned certification to download, save, and/or print a PDF of your certificate.


2. My Transcript
• Select My Transcript from the left-side menu in the Learner Dashboard.
• Click the "Download" button beside the earned certification to download, save, and/or print a PDF of your certificate.

Recertification is required every two years for the RAC-CT, RAC-CTA, and DNS-CT certifications. Recertification is required every four years for the QCP certification.

Each certification program has different recertification requirements:

• RAC-CT – one recertification course and two exams
• RAC-CTA – one recertification course and exam
• DNS-CT – application fee and proof of earned continuing education hours (CEs) earned within the certification period
• QCP – one exam OR application fee and proof of earned continuing education hours (CEs) earned within the certification period

For each certification program, you can also fulfill the recertification requirements by recompleting the entire core certification program along with the associated exams.

Recertification courses, exams, or applications will not be available until six months before the certification expiration date. There are two areas in your Learner Dashboard where you can see the date you are eligible to recertify:

1. My Certifications
• Select My Certifications from the left-side menu in the Learner Dashboard.
• Your certification will note your “Eligible to recertify on” date in blue.


2. My Transcript
• Select My Transcript from the left-side menu in the Learner Dashboard.
• The “Certification” tab will list your current certification(s) along with the date your recertification period opens in the “Eligible to Recertify On” column.


When the recertification period opens for your certification:

1. Select My Certifications from the left-side menu in your Learner Dashboard.

2. Your certification will automatically display a “Recertification In Progress” tag. Click the “View Progress” button.


3. Review the recertification requirements. Select one of the available recertification options. Purchase the corresponding materials using the links provided. *Note: You can also navigate to the Catalog and select “Recertification” under the “Certification Program” filter to browse available options.


4. Your progress on the recertification requirements will be tracked in this area.

Recertification materials must be completed before the certification expiration date; once your certification expires, you will lose access to the content.

Purchasing recertification materials does not extend your certification expiration date. You must complete the recertification requirements before your expiration date to maintain your credential. If you allow your credential to lapse, you will be required to restart the full program to regain your certification at a later date.

The recertification period opens six months prior to your certification expiration date.

Recertification courses, exams, or applications will not be available until six months before the certification expiration date. There are two areas in your Learner Dashboard where you can see the date you are eligible to recertify:

1. My Certifications
• Select My Certifications from the left-side menu in the Learner Dashboard.
• Your certification will note your “Eligible to recertify on” date in blue.


2. My Transcript
• Select My Transcript from the left-side menu in the Learner Dashboard.
• The “Certification” tab will list your current certification(s) along with the date your recertification period opens in the “Eligible to Recertify On” column.


Recertification materials must be completed before the certification expiration date; once your certification expires, you will lose access to the content.

Purchasing recertification materials does not extend your certification expiration date. You must complete the recertification requirements before your expiration date to maintain your credential. If you allow your credential to lapse, you will be required to restart the full program to regain your certification at a later date.

If you do not complete the recertification requirements by your certification expiration date, you will no longer be entitled to use the credential. After this deadline, you will be required to restart the full program to regain your certification at a later date.

AAPACN does not work in conjunction with any other organization(s) on recertifications. AAPACN is the only one to administer the RAC-CT, RAC-CTA, DNS-CT, and QCP certification and recertification processes.

Digital badges are awarded when you earn an AAPACN certification or recertify your credential. Click here for additional information.

You can now access and manage your digital badges directly within your Learner Dashboard. To view available and earned badges, select My Badges from the left-side menu in the Learner Dashboard.


After you have earned a badge, click into the badge for more information. You will have options to share your badge on LinkedIn, add the badge to your LinkedIn profile, view your badge URL, and copy a shareable link to your badge.

To add your digital badge to your email signature:

1. Click to copy the shareable link to your badge.


2. Download the badge image (right-click the image and save).


3. Follow the “edit signature” prompt from your email provider to display your badge.
• Insert the badge image.
• Highlight the badge image, select the option to add a hyperlink to the image, and add the shareable link to your badge.

AAPACN’s Education and Certification Strategy Team begins updating content as soon as CMS releases new updates and regulations.

When major updates are made, the new course content will be available directly within the course. As long as your purchase has not expired, you will be able to access the newest information available, free of charge.

Yes, American Association of Post-Acute Care Nursing (AAPACN) is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation (ANCC). We currently do not offer continuing education in other disciplines. If you have questions regarding state-specific CE requirements, please contact the individual state board of nursing.

All continuing education (CE) certificates for educational activities completed after April 1, 2025, will be available in your Learner Dashboard. Each educational activity has different prerequisites to earn the certificate, but once those requirements are completed, the certificate will be immediately available for you to download, save, or print. We encourage you to save a digital and/or physical copy of your CE certificate(s).

Once you have completed an activity, there are two areas in your Learner Dashboard where you can access your CE certificates:

1. My Courses:
• Select My Courses from the left-side menu and click into your course.
• Click the “Download Certificate” button.


2. My Transcript:
• Select My Transcript from the left-side menu.
• Click the “Courses” tab.
• Locate the course and click the “Download” button in the “Certificate” column.

Online Courses and On-Demand Workshops We are unable to accept returns for online courses and on-demand workshops, as well as PDFs, bulk orders, and used manuals.

Workshop Cancellation Policy
The Training Partner may cancel or postpone a workshop at any time. In the event of a cancellation, AAPACN will contact attendees and make a reasonable effort to find an acceptable substitute by rescheduling attendee’s registration or providing an on-demand, self-study alternative. AAPACN will refund an attendee’s registration fees if a substitution cannot be provided.

AAPACN and the Training Partner are not responsible for any fees incurred due to cancellations or postponements.

Attendee cancellations must be submitted in writing via email to [email protected]. Registrants who are unable to attend may send a substitute in their place. Cancellations received more than 30 business days prior to the start date of the workshop will receive a full refund. Cancellations received 14-30 business days prior to the start date of the workshop will receive a full refund, minus a $250 cancellation fee. No refunds will be issued for cancellations received 13 or less business days prior to the start date of the workshop except for emergencies or a visit from State Surveyors. No refunds will be issued for cancellations due to weather if the workshop itself is not cancelled.

Manuals
Manual returns are accepted within 14 days of the date that you received your order. We will issue a refund to your original form of payment, minus a restocking fee of $15 per item. Manual returns will result in withdrawal from the certification exams associated with the returned manuals.

Manuals (in their original, unused condition) can be mailed with the invoice to:

American Association of Post-Acute Care Nursing (AAPACN)
400 South Colorado Blvd., Suite 500
Denver, CO 80246

Note: Shipping and handling charges are non-refundable and return shipping charges will not be reimbursed.

The Training Partner may cancel or postpone a workshop at any time. In the event of a cancellation, AAPACN will contact attendees and make a reasonable effort to find an acceptable substitute by rescheduling attendee’s registration or providing an on-demand, self-study alternative. AAPACN will refund an attendee’s registration fees if a substitution cannot be provided.

AAPACN and the Training Partner are not responsible for any fees incurred due to cancellations or postponements.

Attendee cancellations must be submitted in writing via email to [email protected]. Registrants who are unable to attend may send a substitute in their place. Cancellations received more than 30 business days prior to the start date of the workshop will receive a full refund. Cancellations received 14-30 business days prior to the start date of the workshop will receive a full refund, minus a $250 cancellation fee. No refunds will be issued for cancellations received 13 or less business days prior to the start date of the workshop except for emergencies or a visit from State Surveyors. No refunds will be issued for cancellations due to weather if the workshop itself is not cancelled.

We encourage you to add the following email domains to your safe sender list:

• @AAPACN.org, our organization name, reminders from the AAPACN Learner Dashboard
• @connectedcommunity.org, the online community, AAPACN Connect

If you do not add these email domains to your safe sender list, the correspondence that is sent may be identified as junk/spam. Emails could potentially be blocked, or rejected, depending on how the security is set within your organization.

In some cases, you may need to ask your IT personnel for assistance.

AAPACN certifications and educational courses are developed to serve as programs and references for long-term and post-acute care. To the best of AAPACN’s knowledge, they reflect current federal regulations and practices. However, they cannot be considered absolute and universal. The individual organization and state regulations must be considered when reviewing the information in these courses.

The authors and publisher disclaim responsibility for any adverse effect resulting directly or indirectly from the use of the course material, from any undetected errors, and from the user’s misunderstanding of the text. The authors and publisher put forth every effort to ensure that the content, including any policies, recommendations, and sample documents used in these courses, was consistent with current federal regulations, recommendations, and practices at the time of publication. 

Your registration always includes:

• Multiple days of live instruction from a Master Teacher
• Access to course materials and additional resources used during the workshop
• Registration for the final certification exams required to earn the credential

Once you've completed the workshop, you'll be prepared to take the exams required to earn the certification. You will access these exams through your Learner Dashboard. To earn the credential, you must take and pass the associated certification exam(s) with a score of at least 80%. Each exam includes three attempts to pass.

The American Association of Post-Acute Care Nursing (AAPACN) is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. AAPACN’s live workshops are approved for the following continuing education hours (CEs):

• RAC-CT: 22.5
• RAC-CT Recertification: 8.0
• RAC-CTA: 22.5
• DNS-CT: 22.5
• QCP: 15.0
• ICD-10-CM Coding Certificate Program: 18.0

AAPACN works in conjunction with the National Association of Long-Term Care Administrator Boards (NAB) to provide nursing home administrators with continuing education credit for the following AAPACN live workshops:

• RAC-CT
• QCP

Workshops held in specific states may be approved, through the hosting Training Partner, to offer additional continuing education hours or credits. See the individual workshop description for state-specific information.

CEs are based upon actual attendance for the duration of the scheduled educational activity, verified through sign-in reports. If a student must leave before the activity is scheduled to end, or arrives late, he/she will not receive full CE credit; however, partial credit may be awarded. Each attendee, based on attendance, will receive a CE certificate upon completion of the education activity. This certificate will be available through their Learner Dashboard. The final certification exams are not a requirement for claiming a CE certificate for the workshop.

Association memberships are individual, non-transferable and cannot be shared. A current AAPACN membership is required at the time of the training workshop for a member participant to receive the member discount. Memberships that are purchased after the workshop has concluded will not retroactively be applied to a registration for the member rate.

The Training Partner may cancel or postpone a workshop at any time. In the event of cancellation, AAPACN will contact attendees and make a reasonable effort to find an acceptable substitute by rescheduling attendee’s registration or providing an on-demand, self-study alternative. AAPACN will refund an attendee’s registration fees if a substitution cannot be provided. AAPACN and the Training Partner are not responsible for any fees incurred due to cancellations or postponements. Attendee cancellations must be submitted in writing via email to [email protected]. Registrants who are unable to attend may send a substitute in their place. Cancellations received more than 30 business days prior to the start date of the workshop will receive a full refund. Cancellations received 14-30 business days prior to the start date of the workshop will receive a full refund, minus a $250 cancellation fee. No refunds will be issued for cancellations received 13 or less business days prior to the start date of the workshop except for emergencies or a visit from State Surveyors. No refunds will be issued for cancellations due to weather if the workshop itself is not cancelled.

Commercial support provided to AAPACN or the Training Partner has in no way influenced or biased the content of the educational activity. AAPACN does not endorse commercial products or services within the education program. No AAPACN Master Teacher has any conflicts of interest to disclose.