At the annual National Teaching Institute and Critical Care Exposition in May in New Orleans, Louisiana, the president of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), Caryl Goodyear-Bruch, shown here delivering the keynote address, told the crowd of 5,000 that nurses must act with positivity and purpose on their patients' behalf and as part of a team; to do so, they must be confident in their skills and knowledge.
She told AJN about the new Hospital Care Collaborative, in which the AACN is working with professional associations of pharmacists, physicians, case managers, social workers, and respiratory therapists to enhance teamwork, and a new certification program for nurse managers in collaboration with the American Organization of Nurse Executives.
Winners of the GE Healthcare-AACN Pioneering Spirit Awards were Kathleen Gainor Andreoli, a nursing educator who opened the first coronary care unit; Bernice L. Coleman, who researched genetic changes in heart transplantation patients; and Barbara J. Daly, who developed the special care unit model for chronically critically ill patients. Photo by Bernie Saul.
Maureen Shawn Kennedy, MA, RN, editorial director