In a tight economy, it is always nice to find something that is free. For nurses who need CE credits to maintain their licensure or specialty certification, it is especially nice to find high-quality, pertinent CE programs that offer free credits.

Here are a few of the available Web sources for free CE applicable to the field of neonatal nursing.

* NICUniversity: The lecture series offers 60-minute lectures by neonatal experts on a full range of neonatal topics. A nurse-nurse practitioner corner offers approximately 20 additional topics of interest to nurses. Each lecture will earn the participant up to 1 CE credit. http://www.nicuniversity.org/index.asp

* Pediatrix University: In addition to numerous "Grand Rounds" topics (slide presentations with audio), the Nursing Pavilion offers 60-minute case studies, and an NNP certification study course, with a 125-question examination, worth 6.0 CE credits. http://www.pediatrix.org. Click on "CNE courses".

* March of Dimes: The Compendium on Preterm Birth. A PowerPoint slide presentation and posttest about the public health problem of preterm birth, including epidemiology, how to detect patients at risk for early birth and how to assess behaviors that trigger premature birth. 1.5 CE credits. http://www.marchofdimes.com. Click on "Professionals", then on "Continuing Education".

* eNeonatal Review: Comprehensive peer-reviewed monthly reviews of neonatal topics, by experts in the field, presented in the format of newsletters with podcasts. Sponsored by Johns Hopkins University, from 1.0 to 1.5 CE credits are awarded. http://www.eneonatalreview.com.

* Medscape Nurses: Many topics of interest to neonatal nurses, including highlights of conferences such as NANN's Annual Educational Conference and the Neonatal Advanced Practice Nursing Forum, can be found by performing a search at the site's home page. Most programs offer 0.5 to 1.5 CE credits. http://www.medscape.com/nurses.

* National Institute of Nursing Research: An online course that provides general research training for nurse scientists who are in the early stages of their career development. This modular program awards 5.0 CE credits upon completion. http://www.ninr.nih.gov. Click on "Training", then on "Online: Developing Nurse Scientists".

* Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Morbidity & Mortality Rounds on the Web: Although not strictly neonatal, this site features monthly expert analysis of medical errors submitted by readers and interactive learning modules on patient safety. http://webmm.ahrq.gov/index.aspx.