AACN president-elect Karen McQuillan (left) and president Teri Lynn Kiss
By Shawn Kennedy, AJN editor-in-chief
Last week at the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) annual meeting (see this post), I interviewed the association’s president, Teri Lynn Kiss, or “TK,” and the current president-elect, Karen McQuillan, who will officially take office after this month. After days of rushing from session to session (and there must be 300+ sessions to choose from) and wandering through exhibits, I always enjoy sitting down with leaders of this organization and hearing what they think is important in critical care nursing.
Teri Lynn Kiss, MS, MSSW, RN, CNML, CMSRN, director of Medical Unit-2South and case management services at Alaska-based Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, has led this growing organization of over 104,000 members for the last year. I asked her what she felt she’d accomplished. She said that one of the most valuable things the association had done in the past year was to provide clear and credible information about Ebola to its members, the health care community, and to policy makers in Washington. She also believes the association’s work on creating healthy work environments is important not just for nurses but will translate to better care for patients. Her presidency, she said, enabled her to fulfill her own personal mission of service to others—one she will continue with the association in different capacities.
Karen McQuillan, MS, RN, CNS-BC, CCRN, CNRN, FAAN, a clinical nurse specialist at R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, announced that her theme would be “Courageous Care.” As she noted in her keynote address, “For us as nurses, courageous care means doing what is necessary to provide the best possible care for our patients and their families. Period.”
But you can listen to them speak for themselves in this podcast recording of our conversation.
Comments are moderated before approval, but always welcome.