May 1, 2026 added a new line to Pennsylvania's nursing CE rules, and it is the kind of one-time requirement that hides until an audit. RNs now must complete a 2-hour course in organ and tissue donation and recovery, due within five years of initial licensure or licensure renewal, whichever comes first.
Where it fits in the existing cycle
Pennsylvania RN licenses renew biennially, and the core requirement is 30 contact hours of Board-approved CE per cycle. The new organ-donation course counts toward that 30 — it does not add hours on top. The same is true of the long-standing 2-hour child abuse recognition and reporting requirement, which Pennsylvania requires every renewal. So your 30 hours already have two carved-out subjects, and now a third, time-limited one.
I broke down the whole Pennsylvania picture in the full PA RN CE guide — child abuse, organ donation, and the rest. This post zooms in on the new requirement because it is the one most likely to be missed.
Why "one-time within five years" is sneaky
Recurring requirements show up every renewal, so you remember them. A one-time course tied to a five-year window is different — it is easy to assume you will get to it, then realize the window closed. The child-abuse course recurs and is therefore self-reminding; the organ-donation course does not. Treat it like the one-time mandates that quietly stack up and knock it out early in your next cycle.
Child-abuse reporting courses are themselves a quiet but common mandate across several states, so if you also hold a license in New York or Kentucky, you may be doing a version of this more than once.
First-renewal nuance
Pennsylvania nurses are exempt from the general CE requirement for their first renewal after initial licensure by examination — but the child-abuse course may still apply, and the organ-donation window starts running from licensure. New nurses should not assume "first renewal is exempt" covers everything. This is the same first-cycle complexity covered in your first CME cycle has quirks.
If you also work across state lines
Pennsylvania is a compact state, so many RNs here practice on or hold privileges in neighboring states. A new Pennsylvania-specific course does not transfer to satisfy another state's rules, and vice versa — see the practice-state CE overlay for compact nurses. If your home base is elsewhere and Pennsylvania is your practice state, the new course is yours to complete here.
Pennsylvania is one of several states changing nursing rules right now. Oregon's new RN rule lands in 2028 and Washington's annual model works very differently. The full set is in our 2026-to-2028 roundup.
The simple move
Add the 2-hour organ-donation course to your next-cycle plan now, before the five-year window becomes a deadline. Confirm approved providers and the current effective-date language with the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing.
If keeping track of a recurring child-abuse course, a one-time organ-donation course, and 30 general hours sounds like a lot of moving parts, that is what a plan is for. White Glove CME maps all of it against your renewal date for a flat $99 per license renewal — planning only, no credit granted, no board portal access. See pricing or send your renewal month. The breakdown lives on our Pennsylvania RN page and the Pennsylvania overview.
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