What Is CPI Training for Nurses?

CPI training for nurses is Crisis Prevention Institute training that teaches nurses to recognize, prevent, and safely de-escalate escalating or aggressive patient behavior, using physical intervention only as a last resort. It is widely required in psychiatric units, emergency departments, and other high-risk care settings.

Many people ask, “What is CPI training for nurses?” and the answer is that it’s the key to making your job a lot easier. Not only that, there’s research that proves it.

CPI training teaches nurses how to safely and effectively respond to individuals whose behavior is escalating.

What Does CPI Stand For in Nursing?

In health care, CPI stands for the Crisis Prevention Institute, the organization behind Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® training. In a clinical setting, “CPI” almost always refers to the organization that provides this de-escalation and behavior-management training, not the Consumer Price Index (an economic measure) or Clinical Practice Improvement (a quality framework). For nurses, training with CPI means nurturing the skills to keep patients and staff safe when behavior escalates.

At CPI, we offer many different training programs, and our flagship program is Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® training.

• The core of Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® training is verbal intervention skills.
• The focus is on how to prevent situations from spinning out of control.
• Depending on a nurse’s level of risk, they’ll also learn disengagement techniques.
• Nurses in particularly high-risk situations also learn safer, less restrictive holding skills to keep themselves, patients, and others safe if behavior gets physical.

The beauty of the training is that it helps you recognize the causes of escalating behavior. It shows you which intervention to use and when.

Which Nurses Need CPI Training?

CPI training is most common, and often mandatory, for nurses who work where the risk of agitation or aggression is highest. Employers most often require it for:

• Psychiatric and behavioral health nurses who manage acute mental-health crises.
• Emergency department nurses who encounter intoxication, delirium, and high-stress situations.
• Correctional and forensic nurses in secure settings.
• Long-term care and dementia-care nurses supporting residents with cognitive change.
• Nursing students preparing for psychiatric and clinical rotations.

How Nurses Get CPI Certified

Most nurses are trained at work. CPI’s train-the-trainer model certifies an in-house instructor (often a nurse educator) who then teaches colleagues, so the training is tailored to each unit’s level of risk. CPI delivers training in four formats:

• In-person: instructor-led at your facility.
• Blended: online coursework plus in-person skills practice.
• Live virtual: real-time instructor-led sessions.
• Online: self-paced options such as Prevention First, a 30-minute introduction to recognizing and responding to escalating behavior.

When a nurse passes the class, they earn a Blue Card™ as validation of course completion. 

One Way to Get Training: A CPI Class Led by a Colleague

Many nurses are trained by a colleague within their own organization. Over 3,000 healthcare organizations worldwide provide Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® training in-house, more than 1,700 behavioral health settings use CPI training for nurses, and about 500 long-term care facilities and nursing homes use it. Altogether about 17,000 organizations across fields use CPI, and more than 10 million professionals have been trained.

If a colleague teaches your class, they’re a CPI Certified Instructor. Pass the class and you earn your Blue Card®.

Another Way: A Train-the-Trainer Program We Conduct

If you’re a leader looking to reduce violence, injuries, staff turnover, and liability, and to improve regulatory compliance and staff de-escalation skills, confidence, and retention, we can certify the right people in your organization through our Instructor Certification Program. This is our train-the-trainer program, where we certify professionals to customize and teach our training to their colleagues.

A Powerful Option: CPI Training in Nursing School

A less common but very powerful way to get CPI training is in nursing school. As one Certified Instructor put it: “Everyone should have this training. It should be required curriculum in schools.” Sprott Shaw College is one example of a school that offers the Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® program to its students.

In one study, New York City College of Technology nursing students received Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® training as part of a research project that tested its effectiveness. Of the students who took part: 92% learned to use nonverbal techniques to prevent acting-out behavior; 93% learned verbal de-escalation strategies such as limit setting; 94% learned safe physical intervention procedures for use as a last resort; 96% learned how to re-establish Therapeutic Rapport after a crisis; and 95% said the content was relevant to their needs.

A quality-improvement study by Dr. Sally Gillam, Chief Nursing Officer at St. David’s South Austin Medical Center, also showed that CPI training reduces violence against nurses and other healthcare workers in settings such as the ED.

The full study, “Using Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® Training to Prepare Nursing Students for the Job” by Celeste Waddy-Carlton, MSN Ed., RN, is reproduced in full below.

CPI Certification for Nurses

Nurses have among the highest rates of reported workplace illness and injury. CPI training for nurses helps reduce violence, injuries, liability, attrition, and fear. The right staff can take our Instructor Certification Program, master verbal and physical intervention skills, learn to facilitate our training, and train colleagues on-site according to the level of risk they face. Then your organization starts achieving a measurable reduction in violence and an increase in staff and patient safety.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do nurses need CPI training?

Many do. Hospitals and behavioral health employers frequently require CPI certification for nurses in psychiatric units, emergency departments, correctional settings, and long-term care, where escalating behavior is more likely.

Can CPI training be done online?

Yes. CPI offers online and blended formats. Some programs still include an in-person skills component, while options such as Prevention First™ are fully online and take about 30 minutes.

How long does CPI training take?

It depends on the program. Verbal Intervention™ runs roughly 8 to 10 hours, Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® runs about 19 to 24 hours over three to four days, and advanced physical-skills programs run longer.

How long is CPI instructor certification valid?

CPI recommends refresher training every 6 to 12 months. Each organization sets its own renewal schedule to keep skills and certification current.

Is CPI training worth it for nurses?

For nurses in high-risk settings, yes. CPI training builds confidence, lowers the risk of injury, reduces reliance on restraints, and is widely recognized by employers as evidence of crisis-management skill.