May is National Critical Care Awareness and Recognition Month

American Association of Critical-Care Nurses  (AACN) recognizes and salutes the dedicated nursing professionals who care for critically ill patients and their families. In honor of their efforts, May is designated National Critical Care Awareness and Recognition Month. This observance is an excellent time to pause to celebrate and recognize the dedication and commitment that critical care team members demonstrate every day to their patients and their patients' families.

American Association of Critical-Care Nurses: Founded in 1969 and based in Aliso Viejo, Calif., the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) is the largest specialty nursing organization in the world. AACN joins together the interests of more than 500,000 acute and critical care nurses and claims more than 235 chapters worldwide. The organization's vision is to create a healthcare system driven by the needs of patients and their families in which acute and critical care nurses make their optimal contribution.

Critical care medicine is the practice of administering immediate and continuous treatment to patients suffering from a life-threatening condition. The conditions, ranging from heart attack, stroke, and severe respiratory insufficiency, to burns and gunshot wounds, can cause serious systemic complications, such as respiratory distress and failure of at least one organ. Critical care medicine usually is administered in a separate area of the hospital, and practiced by highly skilled and specialized healthcare professionals. Intensivists coordinate the administrative environment of the intensive care unit (ICU) by setting policies, developing protocols and facilitating communication among specialists, patients and their families.

For additional information visit www.aacn.org.

Submitted by: Ann Davidshofer RN, BSN, Clinical Nurse Educator, Mercy Medical Center