Canadian Association of Critical Care Nurses (National)

Critical care nursing is a specialty which exists to care for patients who are experiencing life-threatening health crises within a patient/family centred model of care. Critical care nurses require advanced problem-solving abilities using specialized knowledge regarding the human response to critical illness. The critical care nurse, works collaboratively within the interprofessional team, and is

responsible for coordinating patient care using each member’s unique talents and scope of practice to meet patient and family needs. Each patient has the right to receive care based on his/her personal preferences. The critically ill patient must be cared for with an appreciation of his or her wholeness, integrity, and relation to family and environment. Critical care nurses plan, coordinate and implement care with the health care team to meet the physical, psychosocial, cultural and spiritual needs of the patient and family. The critical care nurse must balance the need for the highly technological environment with the need for safety, privacy, dignity and comfort. Critical care nurses are at the forefront of critical care science and technology. Lifelong learning and the spirit of enquiry are essential for the critical care nurse to enhance professional competencies and to advance nursing practice. The critical care nurse’s ability to make sound clinical nursing judgments is based on a solid foundation of knowledge and experience.