Certification Corporation Welcomes New
Leaders
New members
of the AACN Certification Corporation Board
of Directors will begin their duties July 1,
when Margaret M. Ecklund, RN, MS, CCRN, CS,
succeeds Elizabeth M. Nolan, RN, MS, CS, as
chair.
Taking
office with Ecklund are Suzanne S. Prevost,
RN, PhD, chair-elect, and Directors Roberta
Kaplow, RN, PhD, CCNS, CCRN, and Judy
Verger, RN MSN CCRN.
The
appointments by the AACN Board of Directors
followed a nominating process in which
representatives of AACN Certification
Corporation screened, evaluated and
interviewed prospective candidates for the
national leadership positions.
Completing
her term on the board is Wanda G. Wright,
RN, DDS, who represents the consumer
perspective. Returning to the board are
Secretary-Treasurer Beth A. Glassford, RN,
MSHA, CHE, and Mindy A. Hecker and Thomas L.
Hickey, both representing consumer
interests. Debbie Brinker, RN, MS, CCNS,
CCRN, and Rebecca E. Long, RN, MS, CNS, will
also serve on the board as the appointed
representatives of the AACN Board of
Directors.
Following is
information about Ecklund, Prevost and the
other newly appointed members of the AACN
Certification Corporation Board of
Directors:
Margaret
M. Ecklund
Ecklund is
an advanced practice nurse on a pulmonary
step-down unit at Rochester General
Hospital, Rochester, N.Y. Prior to becoming
chair-elect, she was secretary of the AACN
Board of Directors for three years and also
served on the AACN Certification Corporation
board for two years.
Ecklund
began her nursing career in 1979. She has
been certified as a CCRN since 1989.
An AACN
member since 1987, Ecklund is also a member
and former president of the Greater
Rochester/Finger Lakes Chapter of AACN. In
addition, she has been a representative to
the National Kidney Foundation for the
Creation of the Communication Document for
Donor Recipient Families.
Suzanne
S. Prevost
Prevost is a
professor and the National HealthCare chair
of excellence in nursing at Middle Tennessee
State University, Murfreesboro, Tenn.
She is also
consulting editor of Critical Care Nursing
Clinics of North America.
Roberta
Kaplow
Kaplow is
the critical care nurse educator at Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York
City.
She has been
an active volunteer with AACN and AACN
Certification Corporation in a variety of
roles, including as a member of the Adult
CCRN Item Writers and Exam Development
Committee. She has also served on the
Chapter/Membership Award Review Panel and
the Research Grants Review Panel.
A director
of the New York City Chapter of AACN, she
currently is the Chapter Advisory Team
representative for Region 2.
Judy
Verger
Verger is a
teaching assistant in the School of Nursing
at the University of Pennsylvania and a
pediatric critical care nurse practitioner
in the pediatric ICU at Children�s Hospital
of Philadelphia.
She is a
member of the Southeastern Pennsylvania
Chapter of AACN. Verger has been an active
AACN volunteer, having served on the
Research Review Panel, NTI Work Group,
Advanced Practice Work Group, AACN Online
Continuing Education Item Writer and
Pediatric Advisory Team.
Certified Critical Care Nurses Share Three
Gifts
AACN Certification
Corporation Chair Elizabeth
Nolan (left) joins speaker Therese Richmond
at the annual Certification Luncheon at the
NTI.
Richmond�s presentation was cosponsored by
Nabi Biopharmaceuticals. Atrium Medical
Corporation provided the traditional mugs.
Certified
critical care nurses are modern-day heroes
because their skills allow them to help
patients and families through some of the
most difficult times of their lives, Therese
Richmond, RN, PhD, CRNP, CS, FAAN, said at
the annual Certification Luncheon during NTI
2002 in Atlanta, Ga.
�Heroes
aren�t gods, they are human beings just like
everyone else. But when they start their
heroic journey, they are given three gifts,�
said Richmond, an associate professor of
trauma and critical care nursing at the
University of Pennsylvania. �These three
gifts are absolutely important. In fact,
they�re critical to our journey as heroes in
critical care.�
Gift of
Knowledge
The first of
these gifts, she said, is the depth and
breadth of knowledge that the profession
requires.
�You all
have this first gift,� she said. �You�re all
certified, and that�s why you�re here today.
This gift of knowledge that we work so hard
for, that we study so hard for, is a gift
that we give ourselves.�
When
Richmond asked for a show of hands, most
participants indicated that they became
certified to be the best nurse they could
and to help their patients.
�I really
think it comes down to I want to be the best
that I can be, and my patients absolutely
deserve it. What an absolutely wonderful
reason,� she said. �It doesn�t matter if
you�re a CCRN or a certified acute care
nurse practitioner. It always comes down to
the same thing, our patients. Our patients
deserve it.�
Certified
nurses also need to encourage and help their
colleagues who are not certified attain more
knowledge.
�For heroes
to be truly heroic, we have to give our gift
to a deserving person,� Richmond said.
Gift of
Caring
Richmond
said the gift of caring doesn�t come until
the first gift is in place.
�Caring is
what the knowledge lets us do. As certified
nurses, we have solid knowledge. We can now
put our energy into other things. Because
that knowledge is solid, our energy can go
elsewhere,� Richmond said.
Invitation Into Lives
Richmond
said the third gift is the most
extraordinary.
�We really
can�t get this third gift until we get the
knowledge and caring under our belt,� she
said. �The third gift is a wonderful
invitation that we are given to walk into
the lives of patients and families during
the most vulnerable points of their lives.�
Richmond
praised certified nurses for remembering
that times of illness and suffering are the
very difficult times for patients and
families.
Nolan
Reviews Achievements of Past Year; Reaffirms
Commitment to Certified Nurses
AACN
Certification Corporation has made important
strides the past year, with even more
exciting projects on the horizon, Elizabeth
M. Nolan, RN, MS, CS, chair of the
corporation�s Board of Directors, told 1,430
nurses gathered for the annual Certification
Luncheon at the NTI in Atlanta, Ga.
Ensuring
that the strategic plan of AACN
Certification Corporation reflects the needs
of nurses and is relevant to today�s
workplace environment has been the goal the
past year, she said.
�We are
firmly dedicated to building awareness and
recognition for your credentials,� Nolan
said. �By working together, we can make
certification the norm in our critical care
units and ensure that certified nurses are
properly recognized and compensated for
their commitment to excellence.
�By sharing
what we know about the distinction and
advantages certification provides us, our
hospitals and patients, we move closer to
making our vision a reality.�
The luncheon
was attended by CCRNs, CCNSs and ACNPs.
After acknowledging the years of continuous
commitment by CCRNs attending the luncheon,
including Diane Ogren, RN, CCRN, of Fort
Lauderdale, Fla., who has been certified
since 1973, Nolan outlined some of the
accomplishments of the year:
� A contract
with a new testing service, Applied
Measurement Systems, has improved customer
service, especially because of the ability
to provide candidates official results on
site, immediately after testing.
� The
comprehensive study of practice survey was
launched. Results will help ensure the
relevance of the current certification exams
and guide future test development.
� The
Alumnus CCRN program was established in
response to the expressed desire by those
transitioning from bedside clinical care to
another role for a way to retain
certification in some form. Many in this
valuable pool of talent, experience, history
and loyalty will mentor and coach nurses
considering certification.
� The Value
of Certification initiative continues
through a variety of activities. A key
influencer survey will gauge the perceptions
of employers, consumers, insurers and
legislators regarding certification.
Development of a certification �white paper�
will serve to educate these key influencers
about critical care certification so that
they can recognize, reward and champion the
certification credential.
� The CCRN
Liaison program was so successful that the
concept has been expanded and is now known
as the AACN-CCRN Ambassador program. The
CCRN liaisons are now part of a significant
force of more than 1,400 ambassadors. Our
goal is to have at least one ambassador in
every hospital in the country to be a voice
for certification and a resource for staff
pursuing certification.
She noted
that the strategic goals of the corporation
are to ensure standards-based, quality
programs, define and validate outcomes of
certification, promote the value of
certification, ensure responsive
organizational infrastructure and
effectively manage financial resources.
Achieving these goals will ensure that the
CCRN and CCNS certification credentials
continue to represent excellence in critical
care nursing.
A Final
Word
In his
opening session address at the NTI, AACN
President Michael Williams, RN, MSN, CCRN,
focused on his theme of �A Journey of
Rediscovery: Looking In and Reaching Out.�
Throughout the past year in AACN News,
several nurses shared their journey in
becoming certified, reflecting on why they
became certified and what helped make them
successful in this endeavor. Their
reflections sparked an interest in members
who now plan to try similar strategies on
their own certification journey. At the NTI
closing session, incoming President Connie
Barden, RN, MSN, CCNS, CCRN, shared her
theme of �Bold Voices: Fearless and
Essential.� The bold voice of certified
nurses that were heard in AACN News this
past year must continue.
Incoming
AACN Certification Corporation Chair
Margaret Ecklund, RN, MS, CCRN, CS, is
certainly a bold voice, who is known in the
Rochester, N.Y., area through her frequent
letters to the editor of her local
newspaper. She is also an astute and expert
listener, who will welcome your input,
thoughts and questions. Make your voice
heard by sharing your comments and ideas
regarding certification. Send your comments
to AACN News, 101 Columbia, Aliso Viejo CA
92656; fax, (949) 362-2049; e-mail,
aacnnews@aacn.org.
Offer
Expires June 30: CCRN Exam Fee Discounted
for Groups of 3 or More
It�s not too
late to take advantage of the special CCRN
exam discount. The offer for three or more
candidates to apply as a group to take the
adult, pediatric or neonatal exam expires
June 30.
The
discounted exam fee is $175 for AACN members
and $255 for others, saving each applicant
$45. Co-applicants are not required to take
the exam at the same time.
To be
eligible for the discount, applications must
be accompanied by the �3-Person Discount
Flyer,� which is included with the
application materials. The flyer can also be
printed from the AACN Certification
Corporation Web site at
http://www.certcorp.org,
or requested by calling (800) 899-2226 or
e-mailing
certcorp@aacn.org.
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