BJA

The AACN (the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses) issues the CCRN certification as a credential indicating a level of competency in critical care nursing. They insist that CCRN does not stand for anything. They make this statement in their literature. I used a little "cut and paste" for their quote. from AACN website.You can see their website at AACN. I know, I know, it is common usage and all that. I have always wondered why they would issue a credential with those particular letters, and then say they did not stand for Critical Care Registered Nurse. Maybe someone else can come up with an answer for that. [This message has been edited by BJA (edited April 22, 2000).]

I agree, the nurse-physician relationship varies with the facility, the unit, the doctor and the nurse. In our ICU, the doc's that we view as intelligent are the one's who bother to seek out the care nurse and ask what is going on with the patient, are there problems or concerns, etc., etc. This type is the overwhelming majority. There are a few who do not speak to nurses, do not listen when spoken to, do not return pages, have a poor bedside manner, are unpopular with nurses, patients, other md's and families, blah, blah, blah. These fine (ha) physicians also do not seem to have as many patients, and their clinical outcomes don't seem to be as good. These people would be jerks regardless of their profession. It is just sad that they chose medicine.

I graduated in 1996 at age 37 from Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. I am sure that I received an excellent education. A good liberal arts curriculum to go with the heavy sciences. Knowledgable and caring instructors, lots of clinical time, etc. etc. When I started my first job, I felt like someone impersonating a nurse. When I put RN after my name, it seemed like forgery. Now I realize that my education helped me learn how to learn to be a nurse. It made me acutely aware that learning is a constant process, and that there will always be things that I don't know. The very nature of nursing eliminates the possibility of being truly prepared and fully competent when you exit the halls of learning. It is truly a case of TMI (too much information). A large part of nursing consists of working with people. Until you become comfortable with that aspect, it is hard to concentrate on providing appropriate nursing care to your patients. So much of nursing school is working with theory, skills, and paper. Not until you are out in the real world of nursing do you find out what you are made of. Well, I'm rambling on. The gist of this is that it all takes time, being comfortable with your skills, yourself, and others. BJA