The case against mandatory continuing education.

Requiring continuing education (CE) for RN relicensure began in the 1970s and has remained a controversial issue over the past 25 years. This article is a description of the process used by nurses in one state to investigate the complex issues surrounding mandatory continuing education for relicensure and the factors that led state nursing leaders to support the continuation of a voluntary CE system. Included are the findings of a survey of all states currently requiring continuing education for relicensure. The primary reason given for mandating CE was to protect the public, however, no data are available to support this premise.