In developing the recently released AACN Standards for Establishing and Sustaining Healthy Work Environments, AACN experts explored in great depth what makes recognition meaningful. We found that meaningful recognition was among the most important components of a healthy work environment. So, Meaningful Recognition became one of the six standards. To learn more about what makes recognition meaningful in the healthcare environment, please click here to access a free download of the AACN Standards.

In our research on what makes recognition meaningful, we learned that many nurses find the usual trinkets to be an unsatisfying form of recognition. This is especially true if they work in an environment where nurses are not well-supported in what is really important to them — being able to provide safe, effective and excellent care of their patients. To achieve this, they suggest that support for professional development is more meaningful — support for things like continuing education, nursing certification and tuition for higher education.

With this in mind, AACN encourages employers to examine their support programs for nurses and engage them in the dialogue about what they believe is meaningful recognition. AACN also offers these other suggestions for National Critical Care Awareness and Recognition Month celebrations:

• Formally recognize members of your critical care team Take a few minutes out of your day, each day, to praise your colleagues for their dedication to caring for critically ill patients.
• Become a critical care ambassador It’s very common for patients and their loved ones to be uncertain about what critical care means. By teaching them about critical care, what critical care practitioners do, and what it means for someone to be under the care of a critical care nurse, you will be establishing an understanding that will be beneficial to the patient, the patient’s family, and yourself.
• Set an example Share your experiences in critical care with new nurses so they learn more about critical care. Make a donation to AACN’s Educational Advancement Scholarship program, which advances the art and science of critical care nursing and promotes nursing professionalism. The scholarships support AACN members who are registered nurses completing a baccalaureate or graduate degree program in nursing.
• Develop and announce a new hospital/healthcare system program where nurses will be provided financial support for continuing education programs and for getting certified or recertified in their specialty.
• Publicly commit to implementing the AACN Standards for Establishing and Sustaining Healthy Work Environments.
• Give recognition gifts in concert with larger gestures such as those suggested above. AACN offers a vast array of products and services designed to serve the needs of critical care nurses as they strive to provide optimal patient care. Consider these suggestions for recognizing your critical care nurses or browse our online store for other ideas.
• Give AACN membership as a gift. AACN membership has many distinct advantages: discounted registration to the annual National Teaching Institute and Critical Care Exposition, discounted products, certifications, subscriptions to AACN News, Critical Care Nurse, American Journal of Critical Care and much, much more! Click here to buy a one-year membership for one of your nurses or colleagues.
• Give practice resources as a gift. Visit the AACN online bookstore to check out the range of products offered exclusively to meet the needs of acute and critical care nurses. Click here to check out what's available.