If you’re a nurse or nursing student, then you may be familiar with the American Association of Critical Care Nurses or AACN, especially if your focus area is on patients who need critical or acute care. Founded in 1969, the AACN serves more than 500,000 nurses across the United States. This nonprofit organization distributes information, offers educational resources and training opportunities, and provides a place for critical care nurses to connect with one another through conferences and other outlets. It’s the largest specialty nursing organization in the world.
History and Mission
The AACN was formed around the same time that intensive care units were being implemented in hospitals. New ICUs required support from nurses who were trained in critical care, particularly cardiovascular issues, which were prominent in the 1960s. Nurses from Nashville Baptist Hospital invited 400 nurses from around the country to form a coalition of coronary care nurses, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. The American Association of Cardiovascular Nurses was established as a result in 1969. Two years later, the organization adopted its current name to reflect a broader emphasis on critical care nursing.
According to the organization’s website, their mission is to provide nurses who specialize in intensive care with the “expert knowledge and the influence to fulfill their promise to patients and their families.” To support this effort, the AACN publishes a monthly newsletter, a clinical magazine for practicing specialists, a quarterly series for advanced practice nurses and a scientific research journal.
Education and Training
Education has been the primary focus of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses since its founding, evidenced by its commitment to training and certification. In 1974, the AACN founded the National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition, which remains a key part in the organization’s business. The NTI offers courses at varying levels for nurses who practice in critical care. Courses can be taken formally through interactive self-paced sessions, and they’re open to anyone working in intensive care units or in situations that require critical care training. In addition to the National Teaching Institute, the AACN offers a Critical Care Exposition. This annual conference and trade show encourages networking between NTI participants and more than 500 companies that exhibit their products.
AACN Certification
Critical care is a dedicated specialty within the field of nursing. In order to ensure that standards are met, the AACN established the AACN Certification Corporation in 1975. The certification corporation offers certification exams, specific programs and credentialing to nurses who work in acute and critical care. Several credentials have been introduced since the organization’s founding in the mid-1970s, including the CCRN, the PCCN and the CNML. These certifications are trademarked by the organization, but they don’t guarantee that a nurse with such credentials is licensed by the state. For instance, the “RN” portion of the CCRN credential does not stand for “registered nurse.” Rather, these credentials simply mean that nurses have passed the appropriate training and exams to earn recognition as certified critical care nurses.
Today’s AACN serves hundreds of thousands of nurses through education and training efforts. Nurses play a crucial role when it comes to patient care, particularly those nurses who work with patients who need acute or critical care. The American Association of Critical Care Nurses works hard to maintain standards among nurses who specialize in this area of medicine.
