Aacn Core Curriculum For Critical Care Nursing

The field of nursing that deals with life-threatening problems and human response is termed critical care nursing. Such nurses work in the emergency and intensive care units. In the US, critical care nurses need to be registered. The American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) is the national advisory body providing certification to nurses interested in critical care. AACN sets various standards for critical care nurses and maintains them. The tests for these certifications are quite difficult and require thorough knowledge of critical care practices and pathophysiology. Critical care nurses need to be conversant with various critical care technologies and their uses.

The technologies that are used include equipments like cardiac and hemodynamic monitoring systems, intra-aortic balloon pumps (IABP), mechanical ventilator therapy, continuous renal replacement equipment (CRRT/CVVHDF), ventricular assist devices (LVAD and RVAD), extracorporeal mechanical oxygenation circuits (ECMO) and other life support devices. These nurses have to work with a variety of patient population in different areas like ICU, high dependency units, cardiac units, post operative care and medical evacuation teams.

Among the subspecialities of critical care fall Pediatric Intensive Care (PICU), Neonatal Intensive Care (Nursery ICU) and Adult Intensive Care. The Neonatal ICU consists of newborn and premature infants. The Pediatric Intensive Care takes care of children up to eighteen years. Critical care nurses are now working in outpatient surgery centres, clinics and home healthcare as well.

Critical care nurses need to create an environment that is caring, humane and healing. They have to support and respect the values and beliefs of the ill patient. They often have to act as the liaison between the patient's family and the doctors. Critical care nurses can be managers, bedside clinicians, researchers, educators and practitioners.

An individual needs to earn a nursing diploma to become a registered nurse. An associate's degree or a bachelor's degree in nursing can also be obtained. Thereafter, they need to pass the national licensing exam. Advanced practice nurses need to earn a degree at the master's or doctoral level. Although certification by AACN is not mandatory to become a critical care nurse, employers prefer certified nurses.

The future of critical care nursing appears bright. More critical care units are coming up. Hospitals offer attractive incentives to critical care nurses including reimbursement for continuing education and certification. Many hospitals are also launching critical care orientation and internship programmes to prepare experienced nurses for critical care.

The AACN is the voice for education programmes in nursing. Representing more than 580 member schools, AACN's research, governmental advocacy and publications establish quality standards for nursing education. It influences the directors of various health care providers to implement the standards and supports nursing education and practice for future growth. It has recently come up with new contents on ethical practice and professional care. The latest curriculum has three components: Graduate Nursing Core or foundation for the students; Advanced Practice Nursing Core, essential for nurses providing direct care at an advanced level; and Specialty Curriculum comprising of classroom and clinical learning experiences. It also states that registered nurses need to understand managed care in its totality and should be able to interpret various health related research for the patient.

• Cassandra Bagley
• 03/05/2009, 12:59 PM
• 0 Comments