FIGURE
Through my experiences working in complex health care organizations and with the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), I've come to a deep appreciation for the power of partnering to accomplish important goals that otherwise couldn't be attained, or attained as well, if attempted alone.
One such goal is the education, support, and development of nurse leaders, beginning with front-line nurse managers. No other role makes a more direct impact on the care and services patients and their families require in critical care.
No other role is as pivotal in shaping healthy work environments that successfully recruit and retain professional critical-care and generalist nurses.
Transcending pressure
All too often for health care administrators, nurse managers' professional development takes a back seat to the pressures of staffing shortages, safety, quality concerns, and scarce resources. Recognizing this, AACN focuses its efforts to professionally help nurse managers grow and thrive. The power of being in association is the ability to transcend the pressures of the work environment and provide practical resources to help you hone your skills. It affords you the opportunity to come together with colleagues and experts to celebrate your contributions and find solutions to everyday challenges.
Strengthening collaboration
These challenges aren't simple-they require the combined talents of all of us to achieve our goals. That's why the alliance between AACN and Nursing Management is important. Through articles in the journal and speakers at the annual Nursing Management Congress, AACN provides a richer forum for critical-care nurse managers to learn, network, and partner across specialties. Together, AACN and Nursing Management can achieve the mutual goal of excellence in nursing leadership.
AACN has also joined forces with the American Organization of Nurse Executives and the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses to establish the Nurse Manager Leadership Collaborative, a comprehensive national professional development initiative through which you can acquire and deepen the knowledge and skills needed to optimally fulfill your leadership roles.
The board of directors, staff, and 65,000 members of AACN commend you for your dedication to creating viable health care systems. Those driven by patient needs with an emphasis on optimal contributions are our greatest outcomes.
Section Description
Guest editorial