Newswise — AACN Certification Corporation — the credentialing arm of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) — announces its leadership for fiscal year 2017, with terms effective July 1, 2016.
AACN Certification Corporation supports patient health and safety by establishing and maintaining high standards of excellence through comprehensive credentialing of acute and critical care nurses. This year marks the 40th anniversary of AACN Certification Corporation’s first specialty certification, the CCRN credential for adult, pediatric and neonatal acute/critical care nurses — and reflects 40 years of driving nursing excellence through certification. Today, the organization has grown to offer 15 different nursing certification programs with more than 97,000 active certificants.
Karen S. Kesten, DNP, APRN, CCRN-K, CCNS, CNE, becomes chair during her sixth year of service on the AACN Certification Corporation board of directors. This is the initial year of her two-year term as chair that will conclude June 30, 2018.
Kesten is director of faculty initiatives at American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Washington. She is also a part-time associate professor at Georgetown University School of Nursing and Health Studies, Washington, where she has taught since 1999.
“This year is especially meaningful for us, as it’s been 40 years since we introduced the CCRN specialty certification for nurses providing direct bedside care to acutely/critically ill adult, pediatric or neonatal patients,” Kesten said. “As we near the milestone of 100,000 nurses certified through AACN Certification Corporation, we will continue to revise the credentialing process and add new certifications to reflect the changing dynamics of nursing practice.”
Teresa Jahn, MSN, APRN, CCRN, CCNS, and Elizabeth Scruth, PhD, MPH, RN, CCNS, CCRN, FCCM, join the AACN Certification Corporation board as directors for three-year terms through June 30, 2019.
Jahn is a clinical nurse specialist at CentraCare Heart and Vascular Center, St. Cloud, Minnesota. She was previously a clinical nurse educator for the Cardiology Unit and Heart Hospital at Sanford USD Medical Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Scruth works with Kaiser Permanente Northern California in Oakland, as a clinical practice consultant on its Clinical Effectiveness Team, Regional Quality and Regulatory Services. Her focus is on improving outcomes for critically ill patients by redesigning workflows to ensure evidence-based practice that is current.
Patty Cox, MBA, begins a three-year term as consumer representative to the AACN Certification Corporation board of directors through June 30, 2019. She recently retired after more than 20 years with Intermountain Health Care in Salt Lake City, where her career spanned the spectrum of healthcare from ICU, strategic planning, quality improvement and family practice residency training on the inpatient side to regional clinic oversight and home health services in the outpatient area.
Also serving on the AACN Certification Corporation board with Dana Woods, AACN chief executive officer, are the following officers and directors:• 2016-2017 Chair-elect Denise Buonocore, MSN, RN, ACNPC, CCNS, CCRN, CHFN, acute care nurse practitioner for heart failure services at St. Vincent’s Multispecialty Group, Bridgeport, Connecticut• 2016-2017 Secretary/Treasurer Lisa A. Falcón, MSN, RN, TCRN, NE-BC, director of trauma and injury prevention at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey• 2016-2017 Director Sonia Astle, MS, RN, CCRN, CNRN, CCNS, clinical nurse specialist, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, Virginia
AACN has appointed Nancy Freeland, MSN, RN, CCRN, and Deborah Klein, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, CCRN, CHFN, FAHA, as its representatives to the AACN Certification Corporation board of directors. Each year, two members of the AACN board of directors serve concurrent terms on the AACN Certification Corporation board.
Freeland is a senior nurse educator for critical care at University of Rochester Medical Center, Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York. Since joining the center in 1990, she has filled various nurse manager and nurse educator roles.
Klein is a clinical nurse specialist at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. She also is an adjunct faculty member at Kent State University School of Nursing in Ohio and a clinical instructor at Case Western Reserve University, Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing in Cleveland.
About AACN Certification Corporation: AACN Certification Corporation, the credentialing arm of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, maintains professional practice excellence through certification and certification renewal of nurses who care for acutely and critically ill patients and their families. AACN Certification Corporation offers the CCRN, CCRN-K, CCRN-E, PCCN, CCNS, ACCNS-AG, ACCNS-P, ACCNS-N, ACNPC and ACNPC-AG certification programs in acute, progressive and critical care; CMC and CSC subspecialty certification in cardiac medicine and cardiac surgery; and, in partnership with AONE Credentialing Center, CNML certification for nurse managers and leaders.
About the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses: Founded in 1969 and based in Aliso Viejo, California, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) is the largest specialty nursing organization in the world. AACN represents the interests of more than 500,000 acute and critical care nurses and includes more than 225 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. http://www.aacn.org; http://www.facebook.com/aacnface; http://www.twitter.com/aacnme
###
RSS