RESUMO
The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) is the world's largest specialty nursing organization. The AACN Certification Corporation provides credentialing to validate nursing practice in acute and critical care. The advent of tele-ICU nursing added a challenge to the application of certification in a new specialty area. Nurses working in a tele-ICU have many years of experience in hands-on acute or critical care nursing at the bedside. In their role as tele-ICU nurses, these skills are applied to the assessment, evaluation, and decision support of care for critically ill patients in various acute and critical care units from remote locations connected directly to the ICU through high-speed audio and video technology. This article outlines the journey of the advent of the CCRN-E (registered nurse in critical care) credential and its place in the new specialty of tele-ICU nursing practice.
Assuntos
Estado Terminal/enfermagem , Unidades de Terapia Intensiva/organização & administração , Competência Profissional , Telemedicina/organização & administração , Certificação , Cuidados Críticos , Educação Continuada em Enfermagem/métodos , Educação de Pós-Graduação em Enfermagem/métodos , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Papel do Profissional de Enfermagem , Responsabilidade Social , Sociedades de Enfermagem/organização & administração , Estados UnidosRESUMO
APACHE (Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation) mortality predictions and other outcomes are reported after the initiation of a telemedicine intensivist staffing program to monitor the intensive care unit patients of a rural health system. Mortality, length of ICU stay, and length of hospital stay were significantly less than predicted. Length of stay was identical to one year previously in the largest hospital reported, but the case mix index of severity had increased. More severely ill patients were being treated without increase in length of stay.