AACN Charlestowne Chapter Home Page

Kathryn Roberts, AACN President for 2012 said in the NTI Voices on May 24 2012:

The idea behind 'Dare To', is simply to fill in the blank. Wherever you are in your nursing career, dare to stretch your limits and do something that enhances your livelihood while keeping your patients, their families, and yourself in the forefront. Or, as Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "Do one thing every day that scares us, and do it for the purpose of achieving a greater goal."

Recent News

Professional Nursing Organizations and Certification - This appeared in our Nurse Alliance news letter at MUSC for October.

Charles Towne Mission and Goal

The Charles Towne Chapter of AACN is an association of acute and critical care nurses and others joining together to provide and inspire leadership, clinical experience/expertise and education. The Charles Towne Chapter of AACN is committed to providing quality resources to the community, critically ill patients and their families.

The goal of the Charles Towne Chapter of AACN is to further AACN's mission and vision by focusing on three key initiaives:
      •   Certification/Portfolio Development/ Professional Development
      •   Healthy Work Envirionments
      •   Beacon Award
      •   Mentorship

Evidence Based Practice and Resources

Hand Hygiene A modest measure with big effects. Need motivation? Take a look at this.


Venous Thromboembolism Prevention Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) are known collectively as venous thromboembolism (VTE). More people in the US die each year from PE than from motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer, and AIDS combined. Nursing care should be aimed at preventing VTE. Because many episodes of VTE are asymptomatic, prophylaxis is the most cost-effective and clinically appropriate method to address this problem. Hospital based nurses must identify patients who may be at risk for VTE, provide essential input into the evaluation and risk-stratification process, and make recommendations regarding prevention strategies for DVT. AACN Practice Alert Venous Thromboembolism Prevention	Severe Sepsis The forms of sepsis include severe sepsis, which occurs when acute organ dysfunction or failure results; septic shock, which occurs in severe sepsis when the cardiovascular system begins to fail so that blood pressure drops, depriving vital organs of an adequate oxygenated blood supply; and septicemia, which is sepsis that has an infection in the bloodstream itself. How Procalcitonin Can Help - Podcast AACN Practice Alert Severe Sepsis: Initial Recognition and Resuscitation. Severe Sepsis Bundles Commentary and Analysis on Advances in Understanding and Treatment of Sepsis Surviving Sepsis Campaign
Catheter Related Blood Stream Infections Each year, an estimated 250,000 cases of central line--associated (i.e., central venous catheter--associated) bloodstream infections (BSIs) occur in hospitals in the United States, with an estimated attributable mortality of 12%--25% for each infection. The marginal cost to the health-care system is approximately $25,000 per episode. CDC has identified catheter-associated adverse events, including BSIs, as one of its seven health-care safety challenges, with a goal to reduce such complications by 50% in 5 years. Central line Bundles Zero Central Line Infections Therapeutic Hyperthermia Post Cardiac Arrest Persistent coma is a common finding after cardiac arrest and has profound ethical and economic implications. Evidence suggests that therapeutic hypothermia improves neurological outcome in these patients. Hypothermia State of the Art Induced Moderate Hypothermia After Cardiac Arrest Penn Medicine Therapeutic Hypothermia Glycemic Control Effective glucose control in the intensive care unit (ICU) has been shown to decrease morbidity across a large range of conditions and also to decrease mortality. The sum of the recent literature suggests that a degree of glucose control lies between the extremes of the adverse outcomes related to poor glucose control and those related to overly aggressive glucose control. Improvement in Glycemic Control in the Intensive Care Unit	Palliative and End of Life Care The disciplines of critical care and palliative care may initially seem to be polar opposites, yet they share fundamental features. Both focus on the sickest patients in the healthcare system. Each discipline’s primary goal—extending life for critical care and comfort and quality of life for palliative care—represents an important secondary goal for the other. IPAC-ICU Improving Comfort and Communication in ICU Center to Advance Palliative Care Palliative Care and End of Life Care an AACN Advocacy Initiative

AACN Charles Towne Chapter

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Charles Towne Mission and Goal

Evidence Based Practice and Resources