can i join AACN?

[sunshine539]

Hello all,

For my current job i signed up for the clinical ladder and one of the "check points" is to join a professional organization. Is it possible to join the AACN but not be a critical care RN? I eventually want to be a critical care RN.

And if not, any suggestions of any other professional organizations to join?

( I joined the ANA but then learned that they no longer provide free CEUs and the other benefits are not so great for the price you pay and I ended up cancelling my membership.)

[Boomer MS, RN]

Hello all,

For my current job i signed up for the clinical ladder and one of the "check points" is to join a professional organization. Is it possible to join the AACN but not be a critical care RN? I eventually want to be a critical care RN.

And if not, any suggestions of any other professional organizations to join?

( I joined the ANA but then learned that they no longer provide free CEUs and the other benefits are not so great for the price you pay and I ended up cancelling my membership.)

Yes, you can join without being a critical care nurse. All you have to do is pay the dues. For that you receive two journals: Critical Care Nurse and less often Journal of Critical Care, the latter which includes more research articles. Both are excellent. The articles in CCN can be taken for CEUs at no cost if you belong to AACN. What about joining an organization that focuses on your specialty, which you did not mention?

[sunshine539]

Thank you!! The AACN seems to have better "benefits" than the ANA. I am currently at a LTACH (Long Term Acute Care Hospital) for one year so far, which i am using as a "stepping stone" to get my clinical skills up to par to eventually critical care which i would ultimately love to get into. and there are no organizations that are for LTACH ( i have one year step down tele and then 1 year outpatient office/ triage work--which set me behind and i lost a lot of clinical skills doing that)