UNOS DonateLife

April 9, 1999

Critical Care Nurse Journal Dedicated to Organ Donation

Critical Care Nurse Published: April Issue, Coordinated by UNOS, Dedicated to Donation

April 1, 1999

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The April 1999 issue of Critical Care Nurse, coordinated by UNOS and dedicated to issues surrounding organ donation, has been published. The major focus of the issue is the debut to critical care nurses of a newly developed critical pathway for the organ donor.  Previous issues (April's issue coming soon) are online at http://www.aacn.org/aacn/aacnsite.nsf/htmlmedia/critical_care_nurse.html.

An official journal of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN), this issue of Critical Care Nurse will be distributed to 80,000 subscribers. About 6,000 will be distributed at the AACN's annual meeting in June.

UNOS Professional Services coordinated this initiative, developed the topics, selected authors and oversaw the manuscript editorial and production process. The following articles are featured in the journal, the largest issue of the year:

A Critical Pathway: Guiding the Care for the Organ Donor

Mary Holmquist, R.N., CPTC; Franki Chabalewski, R.N., M.S.: Tracey Blount, R.N., M.S.N., CPTC; Cheryl Edwards, R.N., M.S., CPTC; Virginia McBride, R.N., B.S., CPTC; Richard Pietroski, M.S., CPTC

Donor Identification, Referral and Consent: Best Practices - A Blueprint for Success

Ronald N. Ehrle, R.N., B.S.N., CPTC; Teresa J. Shafer, M.S.N., R.N., CPTC; Kristine R. Nelson, M.S.N., R.N., CPTC

Donor Family Needs: Facing Death and Life

Linda Phillips Riley, R.N., M.S.N.; Margaret Beatty Coolican, R.N., M.S., CDE

Determining Brain Death

Jacqueline Sullivan, R.N., Ph.D., CCRN, CNRN; Debbie L. Seem, R.N., CPTC; Franki Chabalewski, R.N., M.S.

Non-Heart-Beating Organ Donation: An Answer to the Organ Shortage

David D. Lewis, R.N., B.S.N., CPTC; Wendy Valerius, R.N., B.S.N., CPTC

The Role of the Critical Care Nurse in the Donation Process: A Case Study

Judy McCoy, R.N., CCRN, CPTC; and Pamela C. Argue, R.N., CCRN, CPTC

Ethical Considerations for the Critical Care Nurse

Kathryn Schroeter, R.N., M.S., CNOR; Gloria Taylor, R.N., M.A., CPTC

Critical Care Nurses: A Critical Link in Organ Donation (Guest Editorial)

RADM Kenneth P. Moritsugu, M.D., M.P.H.

An extra 40,000 copies of the journal have been ordered by UNOS and OPOs around the country. OPOs plan to distribute copies to nurses in their hospitals and critical care units. They will distribute the journal as part of National Nurses Day, National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week and other hospital development initiatives.

Nurses will be able to receive CEUs (Continuing Education Units) for completing the test questions included with the articles on the critical pathway and donor identification, referral and consent.