Product & Courseware Notifications

Clinical Development Notification: 2026-03 (March) 

03-05-2026 09:05 AM

Revised: 3/4/2026

Table of Contents

    Announcements & Reminders

    Live: NIH Stroke Scale Certifications ​​

    In February 2025, we added one more course to your hStream benefits: National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) Certification. Thanks to your valued collaborative feedback, we’ve continued to enhance this offering by releasing a 1-year certification option, and are expanding the certification suite even further: 

    Live: National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) Certification (2-year)
    • Adult-focused course version (pediatric content removed) 
    • 2.5 ANCC contact hours 
    • Maximum of 2.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ 
    • Passing score updated to 85% 
    • Additional rationale added to pop-up responses for practice patients 
    • Right answer and rationale slides added for each test patient 
    Live: National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) Certification (1-year) 
    • Adult NIHSS certification providing a 1-year certification 
    • 2.5 ANCC contact hours 
    • Maximum of 2.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ 
    • Includes the same recent enhancements (85% passing score and expanded rationales) 
    Expected Spring 2026: Planned Enhancements 
    • Revised audio for patient with accent 
    • Increased CE to 3.0 contact hours (with updated content and post-test) 
    • Development of an additional test patient (increasing total to three) 
    • Printable interpreter handout for learner support 
    • New PedNIHSS certification courses featuring pediatric-only test patients: 
      • 1-year certification option 
      • 2-year certification option 
      • ANCC and AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ provided (CE amount pending) 
    We’ll continue to provide release updates as our teams progress, including an updated transition guide for recommendations related to student groups and assignments. As a reminder, our partnership with APEX Innovations is ending, and these courses will permanently expire on August 5, 2026: 
    • APEX Innovations: NIH Stroke Scale Training and 1-Year Certification (free course) 
    • APEX Innovations: NIH Stroke Scale Training and 2-Year Certification (free course) 
     

    Workforce Trends to Watch in 2026: Insights for IT and Nursing Leaders 

    As you plan for the year ahead, staying informed about workforce trends is critical to building resilient, future-ready teams. Our latest blogs, Healthcare IT Workforce Trends to Watch in 2026 and Nursing Workforce Trends to Watch in 2026, highlight the key forces shaping healthcare workforces, from AI’s impact on IT and nursing workflows to cybersecurity demands, staffing shortages, burnout, and data-driven workforce planning. Each resource includes practical insights and executive perspectives to support smarter strategic decisions. Explore the full blogs and access additional resources for CIOs and CNOs on our 2026 workforce trends resource pages.
     

    hStream for Portal Coming Soon!

    Soon, you’ll see a refreshed, modern look—while keeping the same easy experience for submitting and tracking your support cases.
    What’s new?
    The Support Portal will move to hStream ID for login, so you’ll no longer need separate credentials to access support. One login, fewer passwords to remember.
    We’ll be sharing timeline details soon. Beta testing is underway — stay tuned!
     

    Live: Free Access to “Essential Pediatric Respiratory Care Bundle”

    Children’s Hospital Association and HealthStream want to help address pediatric respiratory issues during the height of RSV and flu season by providing complimentary access (assignment or self-enrollment) to these courses through March 31, 2026: 
    • PLS - Lower Airway Diseases
    • PLS - Asthma
    • PLS - Pediatric Assessment: The Respiratory System
    • PLS - Basic Principles of Oxygen Therapy, Specialty Gases and Non-invasive Ventilation
    NOTE: These courses represent current evidence-based practice to prepare pediatric and adult clinicians to care for children with critical respiratory issues presenting in the ED or inpatient care areas (search term: PLSrespiratoryfree).
     

    Updated Content Listings: Dynamic Health, Medical Product Training, and DigitalMed Collection

    • EBSCO Dynamic Health | Review Master List►
      If you contract for Dynamic Health, we recommend regularly reviewing our Master List as it updates monthly with the latest course additions, retirements/replacements, etc. 
    • Medical Product Training | Review Master List►
      Included with your hStream subscription, access these Medical Product Training courses via the Services tab. Just “Accept” relevant content, and then choose your preferred publishing settings. In addition to the "Master List," review a summary of recent MedTech partner course additions, expirations, and more.
    • DigitalMed Collection | Review Master List►
      If you contract for DigitalMed Collection, we recommend reviewing our Master List as the library has undergone some updates to CE expiration dates and course titles.
     

    Upcoming Maintenance & 2026 Schedule

    Regularly scheduled maintenance is Friday, March 6, from 8pm — 4am Central Time. Click here to view the 2026 system maintenance schedule.

    Checklist

    Expected Summer 2026: Checklist Application 

    The new Checklist Application has been in active development and is progressing steadily toward launch. This enhancement will improve how evaluators search for students and complete competencies, simplifying the process of validating multiple skills for multiple individuals. Key features will include the ability to validate multiple skills in a single workflow and complete checklists or skills validations on demand. 

    We’re planning a limited beta release with a small group of customers during summer with feedback informing any final refinements before full market release. We look forward to sharing more details as development progresses.

    CE Unlimited

    Live: New CE Unlimited Dashboard 

    Review Master List►

    We have released a new CE Unlimited dashboard available to HLC admins. This dashboard highlights how your staff engage with CE Unlimited — helping you track learning activity, certification prep usage, and top courses to gauge training impact and ROI. Here is a quick guide on how to access this new dashboard. 
     

    Live: New Version of Behavioral Health: Borderline Personality Disorder

    If you contract for CE Unlimited, a new version of the course Behavioral Health: Borderline Personality Disorder is available as of February 20, 2026. The old version will retire on May 30, 2026, and any learners in progress with the old version will need to complete it by that date in order to earn CEs.

    Jane

    Live: New Outcomes Dashboard & Updated Benchmarks

    Review Master List►
    Review 2023-25 Releases►

    Live
    • New Outcomes Dashboard: Will showcase overall assessment performance vs. national benchmarks; score variations, including gains/losses; “seat time” savings by hours and dollars; learners with development plans; and more! Once available, you’ll first access Insights (review here), and then select “Analytics” from the top navigation.
    • Updated Benchmarks: As we do each year, all benchmarks will be updated to reflect nationwide performance from January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025. Gains or losses > 5 points include: 
      • Allied: Surgical Technologist Assessment with +7.12 point variance
      • RN: Graduating Nurse Assessment with +6.59 point variance
      • Adjunct: RN Wound Care Assessment with +6.25 point variance
      • RN: ICU Neonatal Assessment  (Level II) with +5.03 point variance
      • Adjunct: Fetal Monitoring Assessment with -5.87 point variance  
    Expected March
    • New Assessment Notification: This enhancement adds an email notification that will be sent to learners when a Jane Assessment is assigned to them. Learners will only receive a notification if their email address is available in the Jane application. Immediate assignments will send an alert in near real-time. Assignments with future start dates will send an alert on the start date of the assignment. This is an email alert only and does not include a separate notification in the HLC for those customers who have HLC notifications.
    Expected April
    • New and Updated Pathways: We will be releasing a new Adjunct: Medication Administration Assessment, along with an update to the Allied: Cardiovascular Technologist Assessment and 16 new LPN pathways releasing that will include both knowledge assessments and skills self-evaluations: 
      1. Licensed Practical Nurse    Adjunct: LPN Medication Dose Calculation Assessment
      2. Licensed Practical Nurse    Adjunct: LPN Pediatric Pharmacology Assessment (Hospital)
      3. Licensed Practical Nurse    Adjunct: LPN Pediatric Pharmacology Assessment (Hospital)
      4. Licensed Practical Nurse    Adjunct: LPN Pharmacology Assessment (Hospital)
      5. Licensed Practical Nurse    Acute Behavioral Health
      6. Licensed Practical Nurse    Acute Rehabilitatio
      7. Licensed Practical Nurse    Correctional Health
      8. Licensed Practical Nurse    Emergency
      9. Licensed Practical Nurse    Hemodialysi
      10. Licensed Practical Nurse    Home Health 
      11. Licensed Practical Nurse    Hospice or Palliative Care 
      12. Licensed Practical Nurse    Labor and Delivery
      13. Licensed Practical Nurse    Oncology
      14. Licensed Practical Nurse    Parent-Baby 
      15. Licensed Practical Nurse    Pediatric 
      16. Licensed Practical Nurse    Postpartum
    The New Adjunct: Medication Administration Assessment, Basic, created to support foundational medication administration competencies for roles such as Medical Assistants and other entry level clinical team members. This assessment strengthens core safety practices and equips learners with the essential knowledge needed for safe medication delivery. 

    In addition, a series of new microlearnings will be released across multiple clinical domains, including cardiac care, critical care, emergency care, gastrointestinal care, perioperative care, and pulmonary care. These modules are designed to reinforce key concepts, support rapid upskilling, and enhance clinical readiness across diverse patient care scenarios.
    ​​​​​

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    Specialty Content

    Live: Complete Program Available for HealthStream Surgical Orientation (HSO)

    Review Master List ►

    If you contract for HealthStream Surgical Orientation (HSO), the full curriculum is now live and available for assignment. Designed to support structured perioperative onboarding, competency validation, and ongoing professional development, HSO delivers comprehensive, competency-driven education for circulating nurses, surgical technologists, and the broader OR team, including 35 AST-accredited contact hours and full ANCC accreditation. 
    ​​

    The complete HSO program includes:
    • 44 Surgical Foundations courses providing core perioperative onboarding and essential OR competencies 
    • 16 Specialty courses spanning cardiac, GI, neurologic, orthopedic (hip, knee, shoulder, hand & wrist), bariatric, cesarean section, CABG overview, surgical lasers, and more 
    • 18 Simulation courses (cognitive and in situ) designed to strengthen clinical judgment, communication, and team readiness 
    • 56 Surgical Skills Checklists supporting structured skills validation and competency documentation 
    • 9 Surgical Safety courses promoting safe surgical practices across perioperative settings 
    • Integrated industry-aligned guideline summaries embedded throughout the curriculum 
    • New Role-Based Education Guide and Orientation Schedule Template to streamline program planning 
    • Role-based content filtering within the HLC and Course Catalogue for simplified assignment by position 
    • CNOR® certification preparation resources including flashcards and practice tools 
    • Implementation and facilitator guides to support structured rollout and curriculum management​​​​
    Expected March:
    • 12-week HealthStream-recommended orientation curriculum for circulating nurses and surgical technologists, pre-built and available for assignment 
     

    Live: New Version of AWHONN’s POEP

    If you contract for AWHONN's Perinatal Orientation and Education Program (POEP), a new version was released on January 5, 2026 – review content changes. Any learners in progress with the previous version must complete by March 31, 2026.
     

    Expected April: New Version of AWHONN’s NOEP

    If you contract for AWHONN’s Neonatal Orientation and Education Program (NOEP), a new version is expected to release on April 18, 2026 – review content changes. Any learners currently in progress with NOEP modules must complete by April 17, 2026, at 23:59 EST. We’ll provide additional details as available, but you can expect the new version to provide a more efficient learning experience that is better aligned with today’s NICU environment: 
    • Three new narrators 
    • The learner can now speed up or slow down the speed of narration 
    • Integrated case scenarios throughout the modules 
    • Optional NOEP Study Guides to use in conjunction with the program – will be found as a learning activity within each Module  
    • Several modules were reorganized, and the entire program streamlined to allow learners to focus on core knowledge and avoid information overload 
    • Eliminated redundancy in the program 
    • Pre-test is now optional 
    • To earn CE, learner must complete 100% of the module and receive an 80% or higher on the posttest with an unlimited number of attempts
     

    Expected May: New Version of AWHONN’s Perinatal Bereavement Certificate Program

    If you contract for AWHONN’s Perinatal Bereavement Certificate Program, a new version with new CNE/CME is expected to be released May 23, 2026.  Any learners currently in progress with the Perinatal Bereavement modules must complete them by current CE expiration date, May 23, 2026.

    New Course Titles: 
    • AWHONN Perinatal Bereavement Certificate Program – Nursing Contact Hours (CNE) 
    • AWHONN Perinatal Bereavement Certificate Program – Provider for CME
    You can expect the new version to provide: 
    • Overall enhancements to each module based on customer feedback and evaluation data 
    • Option to slow down or speed up narration 
    • PDF participant hand-outs available as a resource to support learning 
    • Introduction module will point learner to AWHONN’s Perinatal Bereavement Resource webpage for additional resources 
    • Updated references and information throughout modules to new 2025 guidelines 
    • Impact of Faith and Culture on Perinatal Loss module received the most significant enhancements and expanded coverage to include: 
    • Asking parents about traditions and understanding common practices and rituals both at birth and end-of-life including burial traditions  
    • Demonstrating respect for traditional rituals and practicing cultural humility  
    • Creating a safe space for a person’s faith or spirituality  
     

    Live: ENA Content Expirations & Updated Versions

    If you contract for ENA content (review full catalog), please note:
    • Triage Curriculum – Version 2.0 released on January 30, 2026.* In addition to the content changes below, Triage Curriculum 2.0 will be 1 course (vs. 7) with 1 evaluation and 1 certificate displaying the full contact hours.
    • Emergency Severity Index 2.0 (ESI 2.0) – Learners in progress with version 2.0 must complete before it expires on March 31, 2026. Version 3.0 was released on January 30, 2026.*
    • Introduction to Trauma: Caring for Pediatric Patients 2.0 – Version 3.0 with renewed CE was released on January 27.
    *Key changes in these new course versions include:
    • Updated citations and references in each module to reflect current practice
    • Pediatric vital signs to reflect the 2025 updated PALS guidelines
    • New 10-question post-test for Triage Curriculum 2.0
    • New 10-question post-test for ESI 3.0
    • New knowledge checks throughout each module​​
    • Updated look to ESI 3.0 to match Triage Curriculum 2.0, with learner engagement strategies such as drag and drop and matching  
     

    Live: Quality OB Updates

    If you contract for Quality OB, new versions of these courses were released on the week of February 9, which also updated the Quality OB EFM Learning Plan:  
    • Quality OB – EFM Module 1
    • Quality OB – EFM Module 2
    • Quality OB – EFM Module 3
    • Quality OB – EFM Module 4
    • Quality OB – EFM Pre-Assessment Competency Exam 
    For existing assignments, any in-progress learners will have until May 8, 2026, to complete. 

    New Course Names: 
    • Quality OB: EFM – Introduction to Electronic Fetal Heart Monitoring
    • Quality OB: EFM – Relating Maternal-Fetal Oxygen Supply to Fetal Heart Rate Patterns 
    • Quality OB: EFM – Applying NICHD Category Definitions to Clinical Scenarios 
    • Quality OB: EFM – Applying Knowledge of Fetal Heart Rate Patterns to Clinical Care 
    If you contract for Quality OB and need administrative support or possibly are onboarding a new Quality OB admin role, a new section specific for Quality OB was recently added to HealthStream Help, which you can view here
     

    Expected This Month: New Quality OB Dashboard   

    In March, we will be releasing a new Quality OB dashboard available to Quality OB administrators within the Insights application. This dashboard provides clear visibility into performance by benchmarking clinical knowledge and judgment, providing completion tracking, and helping to uncover actionable trends in obstetric risk to gauge training impact and ROI. Administrators will appreciate the enhanced user interface and ease of use with the quick ability to download and export data as needed.  Here is a quick guide on how to access this new dashboard.  The current Quality OB dashboard will continue to be available within the “reports” section of the HLC for approximately 6 months. 
     

    Expected May: Quality OB Content Revisions

    If you contract for Quality OB, the following courses below went through an accreditation review and update.  Learners in progress with current versions need to complete before May 2, 2026, when current CE and versions expire. New versions will be released by May 2, 2026. 
    • Quality OB – Effective Communication and Event Disclosure in Obstetrics 
    • Quality OB – Effective Communication and Event Disclosure in Obstetrics MicroSim 
    • Quality OB – EFM Microsim- Nurse 
    • Quality OB – EFM Microsim – Provider 
    • Quality OB – Hypertension in Pregnacy MicroSim 
    • Quality OB – Postpartum Hemorrhage 
    • Quality OB – Postpartum Hemorrhage MicroSim 
    • Quality OB – Shoulder Dystocia 
    • Quality OB – Shoulder Dystocia Microsim: Nurse 
    • Quality OB – Shoulder Dystocia Microsim: Provider 
     

    Live: CE Renewed for Sigma’s Surviving Your First Years as a Nurse

    If you contract for Sigma “Surviving Your First Years as a Nurse”, a new version was released on March 2, 2026.  Current modules CE expired on March 1, 2026. Updates included: 
    • Significant improvements to knowledge checks and test questions based on learner feedback
    • Social media module replaced with updated content to ensure relevance and currency
     

    Expected April: CE Renewed for Sigma’s Healthcare Leadership Certificate Program 

    If you contract for Sigma’s “Healthcare Leadership Certificate Program”, a new version will be released April 2026. Learners currently in progress should complete modules by CE expiration date: April 1, 2026. Updates to expect: 
    • Title will be updated to better reflect the intended audience & purpose of the program
    • Significant design updates, including revised assessments
    • Structural changes (e.g., moving/removing content)
    • Anticipated increase in number of SCORM modules to improve pacing and usability for busy nurse leaders
    • Interactive scenario videos added
    • NCPD contact-hour recalculation anticipated at approximately half of the current amount (~26 hours)—current is 52.25 hours
    • Alignment to Expert-level competencies within the Global Nurse Leadership Competency (GNLC) Framework, with supporting learner resources
    • Incorporation of high-quality AI-generated voiceover with closed captioning 

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