AACN Update 2015

A nurse’s everyday work is the work of AACN, because our mission is lived at the point of care.

Our Mission Patients and their families rely on nurses at the most vulnerable times of their lives. Acute and critical care nurses rely on AACN for expert knowledge and influence to fulfill their promise to patients and families. AACN drives excellence because nothing less is acceptable.

We Are A resource … that helps us learn and develop expertise. A sounding board … when we’re faced with a tough patient care or work situation. A community … of exceptional high acuity and critical care nurses. A connection … to shared expertise, wisdom, resources and standards, so our community can provide excellent care to patients and their families.

We Believe Nurses make a vital contribution … to patients, families and society. Nursing isn’t a job, it’s a calling … a distinguished profession, an indispensable career. Nurses have an obligation … to be the best they can be and protect the contributions of nursing.

We Believe Nurses must be agents of positive change … in their organizations. We need to work together … each individual member, member volunteers, boards of directors and staff — to steward our mission.

Our Past and Future Horizons

In Our Rearview Mirror: Significant Growth Since 2000, we have achieved significant growth in: – Nurses connected to AACN – Our portfolio of programs – Financial strength

In Our Rearview Mirror: Programs Advancing Our Mission Since 2000, AACN has developed and redesigned initiatives that engage us as individuals—and collectively. Highlights include: – AACN CSI Academy – Technology-based learning – Healthy Work Environment Standards and related research and programs – Beacon Award for Excellence

In Our Rearview Mirror: Financial Strength Financial strength has allowed us to invest in and support our community: – Fees for NTI, membership and certification have not increased. – Free high-quality resources include Webinars, practice alerts and scope and standards publications. – A diverse range of continuing education (CE) learning activities are available at no cost to members.

In Our Rearview Mirror: Successfully Engaging Our Community Collaborated with more than 3,000 volunteers in Chapters, serving as Ambassadors or on review panels, work groups and advisory teams: ⁻ Nominating Committee ⁻ AACN Ambassadors ⁻ Acute Care Clinical Nurse Specialist Scope and Standards Task Force ⁻ Education Planning Committee ⁻ API Program Planning Committee ⁻ Evidence-Based Practice Resource Work Group ⁻ Multiple AACN Certification Corporation Work Groups

In Our Rearview Mirror: Successfully Engaging Our Community AACN’s social media engagement continues to grow substantially: – At the end of June 2015, AACN had 47,350 Facebook “likes,” representing a nearly 40 percent increase in engagement over – AACN had 12,890 aacnme Twitter followers, also representing a substantial increase over 2014.

On the Horizon

On AACN’s Horizon: Our Community Working Together on Shared Goals Based on AACN’s strategic framework, we see the future coming into focus, including: – A new website that allows users to create and curate their own learning libraries. – Timely, high integrity clinical content delivered when and how we need it, suited to our nurses’ learning needs and preferences.

On AACN’s Horizon: Our Community Working Together on Shared Goals – Focusing on identifying the most significant impediments we face at the bedside, and boldly leading efforts to remove those impediments. – Clearly understanding the evolving continuum of critical care and AACN’s greater influence to ensure optimal care for patients and families in these settings. – A heightened awareness of the importance of leadership skills and deliberate self-care to build our nurses’ resilience and influence.

The Strength of Our Community Joining Together to Advance the Profession

Advancing the Profession AACN represented acute and critical care nursing at over 40 national forums and decision-making tables: – Provided leadership in the care of patients with Ebola, participating in the national dialogue. – Participated in the multidisciplinary revision of the Surviving Sepsis Guidelines. – Collaborated with partners to recommend revisions to suggested guidelines for patients using opioids.

Advancing the Profession – Collaborated with our colleagues as part of the Critical Care Societies Collaborative (CCSC) to explore concerns that impact critical care practitioners. [ – Participated in the Licensure, Accreditation, Certification and Education (LACE) work group to implement the APRN Consensus Model and continue our outreach work with program directors to review and approve curriculum for their programs. [

Making an Impact Through Innovation CSI Academy, a hospital-based nurse leadership and innovation training program designed to empower bedside nurses as clinician leaders and change agents, improves patient care with bottom-line impact to the hospital: – CSI Academy teams achieved significant clinical outcomes including decreased lengths of stay, days on mechanical ventilation, HAIs and ICU complications, delirium, patient falls and pressure ulcers.

Making an Impact Through Innovation – The total potential fiscal savings from the first six AACN CSI Academy cohorts exceeds $28 million – More than 15,000 resources have been downloaded through the AACN CSI Academy Innovation Database, which guides quality improvement projects as far away as India. – One year post-completion, 75 percent of participants reported sustaining key aspects of their initiative. – Nearly 50 percent reported implementation of projects in other units, divisions or hospitals within and outside their system. [

Making an Impact Through Education More than 42,500 nurses advanced their knowledge and skills through AACN conferences and conference-related programs including NTI, webinars and technology- based educational programs: – 98 percent of NTI 2014 attendees planned to apply learning to their practice and share it with their colleagues to advance patient care. [

Making an Impact Through Education – Nearly 15,000 nurses participated in our monthly Webinar Series with an average of 2,000 nurses attending each webinar. – Nearly half of webinar participants personally implemented practice recommendations, and more than one-third said their unit or their organization implemented practice recommendations. [

Making an Impact by Supporting Practice Improvement Units nationwide progressed on their journey to practice and patient care excellence through the AACN Beacon Award for Excellence: – Hospital units evaluate their processes and systems in five categories to measure their journey. – In the past year, AACN awarded 72 AACN Beacon Awards for Excellence — Gold: 20, Silver: 42, Bronze: 10 — to units that distinguished themselves by improving every facet of patient care. [

Making an Impact by Supporting Practice Improvement Members engaged in vital clinical inquiry that drives change in nursing practice, including: – Impact Research Grant recipients this year: “Journal Writing in the PICU to Reduce Parental Stress”; “Unavoidable Hospital-Acquired Pressure Ulcers”; “Safety of Chlorhexidine Baths in Newborn and Pediatric Patients.” – STTI Grant recipient: “Transitioning the Hospitalized Preterm Infant.” [

Making an Impact Through Healthy Work Environments Completed national survey of 8,400 nurses to evaluate the current state of critical care nurses’ work environments. Published a summary report online in May 2014 in Critical Care Nurse. Analysis of direct care nurses’ perceptions of leadership competence was published in the June 2014 issue of Nurse Leader. [

Making an Impact by Recognizing Leaders Recognized our peers for their exceptional contributions through Circle of Excellence Awards, Marguerite Rodgers Kinney Award for a Distinguished Career and AACN Pioneering Spirit Awards, celebrated at NTI. [ Supported members in advancing their practice through Continuing Professional Development Scholarships and 10 entry-into-nursing scholarships through the National Student Nurses Association. [

Making an Impact Through Certification More than 91,000 nurses have achieved specialty, subspecialty and advanced practice certification to date through AACN Certification Corporation. – Introduced CCRN-K certification for nursing professionals to validate their current knowledge of acute and critical nursing care to influence and support care at the bedside. [ – Aligned AACN Certification Corporation certification exams for advanced practice nurses with the Consensus Model for APRN Regulation. [

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