RN.org

What RN.org is

RN.org is an online continuing education provider for nurses, and its home page is built around one offer: a year of unlimited State Board Approved online nursing CEUs for $19.99. It is written first for registered nurses and for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, the groups it says it has served in a quick and convenient way "for over 20 years". The same page says that many of its courses are also approved for a longer list of roles: nursing assistants, nurse aides, certified nursing assistants, nurses dietitians, nutritionists, home health aides, midwives, certified and registered respiratory therapists, respiratory care practitioners, approved medication assistive personnel and school psychologists. The wording is "many of our courses", not all of them, so a respiratory therapist or a school psychologist chooses from part of the catalog rather than the whole of it.

The scale claim is large. The home page says 1,355,000+ nursing professionals have completed over 4,487,000+ online nursing continuing education courses "over the last 25+ Years", and that they depend on what it calls the RN.org family of websites. The site's copyright line runs from 1997 to 2026, and the home page also describes RN.org as "a leading online provider".

How a course works

Everything happens online. A nurse registers for an account, opens a course, works through the material and takes the test at the end. The home page stresses two things about that test: grading is instant, and the certificate is issued immediately. A nurse who finishes a course close to a renewal date leaves with the certificate rather than waiting for it to arrive.

There are no books to buy, no time off work and no travel. The site's own picture is of nursing contact hours earned "in the comfort of your home, wireless cafe, bookstore or restaurant". If a test goes badly, retesting is part of the price: the home page lists "retesting (if required)" among the things the flat fee covers, so a second attempt costs nothing extra.

Each nurse has a profile. The home page says a nurse can log in at any time to view the transcript and reprint any continuing education certificate earned there, which helps when proof of a course taken months earlier is suddenly needed. The site footer also carries a Verify Certificate link, alongside a Customer Service page and FAQs.

Credits, approval and CE Broker

The home page describes the credits as State Board Approved continuing education units or nursing contact hours, earned "by taking Accredited courses on RN.org®". It names neither the accrediting body nor the individual boards; those details sit on the separate Accreditation and Nursing Boards pages that the menu and footer link to.

Reporting is handled for the nurse. "And of course we automatically report course completions electronically to CE Broker," the home page says, and its closing paragraph repeats the point. For a nurse who tracks renewal credits in CE Broker, a finished course should reach that record without a separate upload, which is one less step on top of the course itself.

Price and what it covers

RN.org has one price for individuals: $19.99 for twelve months of unlimited access to every course. The home page puts it several ways, from "$19.99 a Year for Unlimited State Board Approved Online Nursing CEUs" to "Unlimited Nursing CEU's for an entire 12 months at the amazing price of 19.99", and it lists what the flat fee includes: the courses, the testing, retesting if required, and unlimited access for one year. All course materials are included, and "There are no hidden fees or costs," the page adds. The home page shows no monthly plan, no per-course price and no second tier for individuals.

The way in is a free course. The home page invites visitors to try one CEU course at no charge, on HPV and the relationship between HPV and cervical cancer, and to "See for yourself how easy it is to learn online using our website". At any time a nurse can then upgrade to the Complete, Unlimited membership, which covers every course for $19.99 for an entire year. This is one sample course rather than a free tier: the rest of the catalog comes with the annual membership.

For hospitals, staffing agencies and employers

RN.org also sells to organizations. The home page addresses hospitals, staffing agencies and other organizations looking for a State Board Approved source of RN CEUs, and it offers them three things. First, its course catalog, which it calls extensive and "constantly growing", can complement an employer's existing nursing education program. Second, where an employer has specific courses its staff must be proficient in, RN.org says it can test, and certify, those nurses over the employer's own materials. Third, it offers "various discounts based on volume" and says it is an exclusive provider to various agencies and hospitals. The page gives no figures for those discounts.

The second offer is the one that sets the organizational side apart from the individual membership. An employer is not limited to RN.org's catalog: it can bring material of its own and have RN.org run the testing and issue the certification for it. The organizational offer is arranged with the company rather than bought from a public price list.

Writing for RN.org

The site recruits course authors from nursing. A standing "Registered Nurse Authors!" notice on the home page asks anyone who enjoys writing and developing courses in APA style, and who knows how to integrate graphs, charts and photos, to get in touch. For a nurse with teaching experience, that is a route to writing continuing education rather than only taking it.

Languages

Alongside English, the site header offers Español, Deutsch, Português and 普通话/普通話 (Mandarin Chinese) as language options.

What nurses say

Two reviews from nurses appear on the home page. Robert E., BSN, CEN, of San Diego, CA, wrote: "Excellent Nursing Free CEU Provider! Thank you. Very well written. This was easy to read and was presented very well. The online free nursing CEU is excellent". His review is about the free course, which makes it a fair picture of what a newcomer sees first. Jason B., MSN, of Orlando, FL, wrote: "RN.org® Offers Excellent Professional Online Nursing Education Provider is so easy with RN.org®".

Who it suits

RN.org suits nurses who pay for their own continuing education and need several courses in a renewal year. With unlimited courses for $19.99 over twelve months, the cost of each course falls the more of them a nurse takes, and a nurse who needs a handful of contact hours pays the same as one who needs many. It fits nurses who want the paperwork kept simple: instant grading, an immediate certificate, a transcript to reprint from, and automatic reporting to CE Broker. LPNs, LVNs and the allied roles on the approval list can use it too, choosing from the courses approved for them.

Hospitals, staffing agencies and other employers with a steady need for State Board Approved CEUs, or with in-house material they want tested and certified, have their own route through volume discounts and the testing service.

It is less of a fit for a nurse who wants live teaching, a cohort or an instructor to talk to: the home page describes self-paced online courses that end in a test and a certificate. A nurse with a narrow specialty requirement should look through the Course Catalog before paying, though the free HPV course and the low annual price keep the cost of finding out small.