They needed therapy, professional help that might have saved them. But they didn’t find it. So they self-medicated, they used drugs to try to fill the holes in their beings, to fill the unfillable voids that ever-widened, and finally consumed them without mercy.

And so they went to their deaths, slaves to the addiction, loyal to their addiction to the very end, while we watched helplessly.

Oh, yes, we tried to help, but anything we tried only seemed to make it worse. They moved ever away from us. We failed, we didn’t know how.

Every one of us has seen a wonderful friend or family member, or other loved one, doomed by an addiction. Due to the tolerance that builds up, their drug of choice takes over every aspect of their life— demanding ever higher and more lethal doses to get the past high.

Could anyone have helped? Anyone at all?

The answer is YES. An addiction specialist— a Registered Nurse trained in addiction medicine.

Many addictions nurses, like Sally (not her real name), dedicate themselves to helping addicts salvage their lives.

Why did they choose this path of life? Some were driven by the loss of a loved one in their own lives— like Sally’s beloved brother, lost to addiction.

Addictions nurses care for patients seeking help with alcohol, drug, tobacco, and other addictions. These nurses like Sally earn their degrees in order to battle the major addictions.

And it is useful now, to take a look at the horribly familiar roll-call of addictions–

• Nicotine: the toxic effects of this addiction has been known to ruin many lives. Nicotine addicts, mostly smokers, will defend their addiction as a stress-reliever. Addiction specialists know that the nicotine (like other addictive drugs) creates its own anxiety, which drives the user to continually intake nicotine (in whatever form).
• Heroin is a very dangerous drug that even high school kids snort, inject or smoke. Often the result is convulsions and death.
• “Speed” (amphetamine family)… cocaine became a common, almost household drug before we even crossed into the 20th century and was spoken about in the days of Freud as well as during World War I.. Now we have cheaper more deadly-potent street synthetics, Ice, Crystal, Crank, Crack, etc etc. many addicts state that they were addicted “with the first hit.”
• Alcohol: The legal drug that destroys so many lives. We all know about this one. It kills in so many ways.
• Food: Gluttony has overtaken us. For the first time in human history, more people are obese than starving. And the diseases of obesity hit harder in many cases than the results of any other drug addiction. Diabetes, heart disease, crippling diseases, seen n ow even in young obese children. And in the tragic obese “sugar babies” born to obese mothers.

Addictions nurses are trained to help addicts. Sound simple? NOT!

Addictions nurses treat patients, educate patients and the public about various medical conditions— and provide advice and emotional support to patients’ family members.

They teach patients and their families how to manage their addictions, and they work to promote clean lives. These dedicated nurses fight addictions by educating the public on warning signs and symptoms of addictions.

RNs also might run public seminars on various conditions associated with all the tragedies of addiction, including family intervention and support.

Such RNs (with advanced educational preparation and training) may perform diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, and may even have prescriptive authority.

There are three typical educational paths to registered nursing—a bachelor’s of science degree in nursing (BSN), an associate degree in nursing (ADN), and a diploma.

BSN programs, offered by colleges and universities, take about 4 years to complete.

ADN programs, offered by community and junior colleges, take about 2 to 3 years to complete.

Diploma programs, administered in hospitals, last about 3 years. Generally, licensed graduates of any of the three types of educational programs qualify for entry-level positions as a staff nurse.

There are hundreds of registered nursing programs that result in an ADN or BSN; however, there are relatively few diploma programs.

There are education programs available for people interested in switching to a career in nursing as well. Individuals who already hold a bachelor’s degree in another field may enroll in an accelerated BSN program.

Accelerated BSN programs last 12 to 18 months and provide the fastest route to a BSN for individuals who already hold a degree. MSN programs also are available for individuals who hold a bachelor’s or higher degree in another field; master’s degree programs usually last 2 years.

All four types of advanced practice nurses require at least a master’s degree. In addition, all States specifically define requirements for registered nurses in advanced practice roles. Advanced practice nurses may prescribe medicine, but the authority to prescribe varies by State. Contact your State’s board of nursing for specific regulations regarding advanced practice nurses.

Overall employment of all registered nurses is expected to grow by 22 percent from 2008 to 2018, much faster than the average for all occupations. Growth will be driven by technological advances in patient care, which permit a greater number of health problems to be treated, and by an increasing emphasis on preventive care. In addition, the number of older people, who are much more likely than younger people to need nursing care, is projected to grow rapidly.

Employers in some parts of the country and in certain employment settings report difficulty in attracting and retaining an adequate number of RNs, primarily because of an aging RN workforce and a lack of younger workers to fill positions. Qualified applicants to nursing schools are being turned away because of a shortage of nursing faculty.

The need for nursing faculty will only increase as many instructors near retirement. Despite the slower employment growth in hospitals, job opportunities should still be excellent because of the relatively high turnover of hospital nurses.

To attract and retain qualified nurses, hospitals may offer signing bonuses, family-friendly work schedules, or subsidized training.

Median annual wages of registered nurses were $62,450 in May 2008. The middle 50 percent earned between $51,640 and $76,570. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $43,410, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $92,240.

Has addiction impacted you and your loved ones? Do you feel driven to dedicate your life to salvaging the good in the victims of addiction?

With our society fraying at all levels, with so many jobless and addicted and mentally ill, becoming addicts, self-medicating, self-destroying.

Addiction is a rapidly enlarging social dilemma. Addiction nurses will be needed in exponential demand.

Earn your R.N. Study addictive medicine, and join the fight!

For information on a career as a registered nurse and nursing education, contact:

• National League for Nursing, 61 Broadway, 33rd Floor, New York, NY 10006. http://www.nln.org

For information on baccalaureate and graduate nursing education, nursing career options, and financial aid, contact:

• American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 1 Dupont Circle NW., Suite 530, Washington, DC 20036. http://www.aacn.nche.edu

For additional information on registered nurses, including credentialing, contact:

• American Nurses Association, 8515 Georgia Ave., Suite 400, Silver Spring, MD 20910. http://nursingworld.org

For information on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) and a list of individual State boards of nursing, contact:

• National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 111 E. Wacker Dr., Suite 2900, Chicago, IL 60601. http://www.ncsbn.org

For a list of accredited clinical nurse specialist programs, contact:

• National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists, 2090 Linglestown Rd., Suite 107, Harrisburg, PA 17110. http://www.nacns.org

For information on nurse anesthetists, including a list of accredited programs, contact:

• American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, 222 S. Prospect Ave., Park Ridge, IL 60068. http://www.aana.com/

For information on nurse-midwives, including a list of accredited programs, contact:

• American College of Nurse-Midwives, 8403 Colesville Rd., Suite 1550, Silver Spring, MD 20910. http://www.midwife.org

For information on nurse practitioners, including a list of accredited programs, contact:

• American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, P.O. Box 12846, Austin, TX 78711. http://www.aanp.org

For additional information on registered nurses in all fields and specialties, contact:

• American Society of Registered Nurses, 1001 Bridgeway, Suite 233, Sausalito, CA 94965. http://www.asrn.org

Now you are grown. You have your BSN. The other nurses and many doctors all say that you are excellent at what you do. You are an RN, you earned your childhood dream. You are a good nurse, a mind person, a mother to the sufferers in your care. Your BSN prepared you to provide general health care services.

But, more and more, you want to step up to a more technical nursing expertise— anesthesia, for instance. You want the hands-on experience of helping save lives in the operating room, in the crucible of daily drama where life and death battles take place daily, hourly. You crave another, higher level of care, beyond your R.N.

Perhaps you realize that you could make a difference if you were able to rise to a director’s position. You realize that could better support the other nurses, and help them support their patients. There are so many changes you would make, if you had the position, and the power that would go along with it.

For your BSN, you trained in technology, you developed communication skills with patients, and when you graduated, you found yourself—- even in a bad economy— to be in high demand. You studied pharmacology, anatomy, fluids and electrolytes, dosage calculations, psychology, child growth and development, and microbiology. You had on-site experience at the county hospital in your city. And now you are well-established in your nursing profession.

And yet… and yet, still you feel the need for more. Every day at the hospital, you see so many specialized areas of nursing that would take you to the next level of care, and usefulness.

Getting your MSN is your direct pathway to that higher level of your childhood dream. Your RN to MSN degree opens the door to anesthesia, health care education, administration and management, advance practice nursing, and many other specialized fields of Master’s level nursing.

Also, your Master’s Degree becomes the threshold requirement for a nursing doctoral program, should you want the credentials to join the faculty at many teaching institutions.
Three years study is typical to complete a RN to MSN program, in line with CCNE and NLNAC standards. Advanced nursing courses may include very specific areas of pathophysiology, pharmacology, health care management, and health care policy.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), www.bls.gov, studies show that R.N.’s with advanced degrees are in continued high demand. Advanced practice nurses— such as clinical nurse specialists, CRNA nurse anesthetists, nurse-midwives, and nurse practitioners— are some of the super-stars of this job market.

CRNA’s may average 150K. Take a look at these other MSN incomes (as reported by www.salary.com)—

Nursing Home Rehabilitation Director: $76,502 – $87,028 per year
Nursing Director: $91,074 – $119,872 per year
Nursing Education Director: $83,847 – $113,486 per year

And, I know, it isn’t only the high salary and job security, that drives you.

Building your knowledge to nurse, higher and deeper, is building your ability to relief suffering. That in itself, as Mother Teresa herself so eloquently said, is a labor of love.

And I say, “Because you have no other choice, if you want to keep moving up, and be secure.”

You say, “But, I know someone who got a degree, but their company closed, now they’re out of work.”

“Expect it,” I say, “and be ready for it.”

Right. This happens frequently in the tech world, and the rest of the world that follows tech, closely behind. Their skill set is no longer the hot button it was, say, ten years ago.

I say, “All the more reason to dedicate yourself to improvement, education, because like a computer, you need constantly updating, and you always will.”

Once a college degree is obtained in one field, it can be built upon, over and over again. Continuing education, both on site, and in distance learning, has evolved tremendously in recent years. So, college itself is also a beginning.

For the truly successful person— and that is what you want to be— education has become a life-long process. A means of personal control.

For those who are committed to as much control as possible, over their own lives, education never really ends.

Take a quick look at the nursing profession, always increasing in salary, always in heavy demand.

Even with the growing demand, nursing salaries vary wildly, depending upon the type of nursing license one possesses.

A pediatric clinical nurse might earn only 15K, a critical care nurse 60-70K, an emergency room nurse much more at 90K. But the salary zooms skyward to the CRNA Anesthetist— at 175K!

The CRNA level of knowledge and training brings relatively higher skill sets. Education makes all the difference. Not a surprise that salary climbs just as rapidly.

Here’s why— at the low end, 15K, a degree isn’t required, only certain specialized training. In the middle, 90K, the R.N. has a bachelor’s degree. At the high end, 175K, the CRNA requires a Master’s of Science degree.

The price of that CRNA’s Master’s degree, with all the hard time put on for study, and all the expense involved, is high. Two or three full years of study, on top of a Bachelor’s degree already attained. But the payoff is also high— a lifetime of vastly higher earnings. (Not to mention the main reason for the deepest satisfaction of all— the wonderful ability to give mercy to patients suffering in agony.)

And why is the pay so high?

Because so few people are willing to put in that effort, up front!

How far can you go? All the way home, to a better life, and an evolving knowledge base to carry you on and on into the future. No matter how radically our world keeps changing all around you, here is no reason for you to ever be left behind.

If you want a good life badly enough, you’ll find the career you want, and you’ll learn everything needed to achieve that career.

We’ll help you find the way. But it’s you who has to keep looking ahead, always preparing, always learning.

Nursing at the highest level has overtaken fields of care once absolutely dominated by M.D.’s. The Master’s degree in Nursing, the MSN, has brought this tremendous change in increased availability of care, once the sole domain of the M.D.

Masters programs in Nursing have created highly advanced practice nursing specialties.

Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Nurse Anesthetist, Nurse Midwife, and Psychiatric Nurse— each speciality affords their patients highly-skilled, essential treatment and care.

But can these Master’s-degree-equipped Nurses effectively replace Doctors? Let’s take a look.

The Nurse Practitioner is an internist, and more, and often takes the place of the family M.D., especially in rural centers and social networks.

The Nurse Anesthetist provides stand-alone anesthesia and life support during surgery (often without M.D. Anesthesiologist supervision— in fact, our military employs Nurse Anesthetists solely, without M.D. management.) The Nurse Anesthetist is also a Nurse Practitioner, indicating the solid depth of that Master’s Program in Science.

The Nurse Midwife, equipped with the Master’s, can do any birth delivery except C-sections— as traditional midwifes did, for many thousands of years before there were doctors at all.

The Psychiatric Nurse gives psychotherapy, with intense counseling, rather than drug prescription approach of the M.D. Psychiatrist.

So… Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Nurse Anesthetist, Nurse Midwife, Psychiatric Nurse. These highly important nursing specialties require great depth of skill and knowledge, and they bring duties equal in critical importance to the health work done by Medical Doctors. All of these specialties require at least a master’s degree.

Most Master’s of Nursing programs include about 2 years of full-time study and require a BSN degree for entry; some programs require at least 1 to 2 years of clinical experience as an RN for admission.

There are three major educational paths to qualify for a Master’s program in registered nursing—a bachelor’s of science degree in nursing (BSN), an associate degree in nursing (ADN), and a diploma. BSN programs, offered by colleges and universities, take about 4 years to complete.

In 2006, 709 nursing programs offered degrees at the bachelor’s level. ADN programs, offered by community and junior colleges, take about 2 to 3 years to complete. About 850 RN programs granted associate degrees. Diploma programs, administered in hospitals, last about 3 years.

Only about 70 programs offered diplomas. Generally, licensed graduates of any of the three types of educational programs qualify for entry-level positions.

Many RNs with an ADN or diploma later enter bachelor’s programs to prepare for a broader scope of nursing practice. Often, they can find an entry-level position and then take advantage of tuition reimbursement benefits to work toward a BSN by completing an RN-to-BSN program.

In 2006, there were 629 RN-to-BSN programs in the United States.

Accelerated master’s degree in nursing (MSN) programs also are available by combining 1 year of an accelerated BSN program with 2 years of graduate study. In 2006, there were 149 RN-to-MSN programs.

Individuals considering nursing should carefully weigh the advantages and disadvantages of enrolling in an MSN program. Their advancement opportunities usually are broader. In fact, some career paths are open only to nurses with a master’s degree— education beyond a bachelor’s degree will qualify you for certain highly-skilled fields, while increasing advancement opportunities.

In 2006, in the USA, 448 nursing schools offered master’s degrees, 108 offered doctoral degrees, and 58 offered accelerated BSN-to-doctoral programs. The M.S.N. curriculum helps nurses hone their research, communication, critical-thinking, and problem-solving skills. Students must take about forty credits beyond their undergraduate degree, depending on the program. In general, the M.S.N. requires students to complete a series of nursing courses, clinical work, and research.

Many programs entail the writing and defense of a thesis, while others require a final project. Students’ program of study centers on their area of interest. The M.S.N. usually takes between eighteen and twenty-four months of full-time study to finish, but many institutions offer part-time options.

To enter most M.S.N. programs, Nurses with a B.S.N. from an accredited institution need a satisfactory GPA, a current RN license, clinical experience, and GRE scores. Specific requirements vary by school. The majority of M.S.N. students have a B.S.N., but some accelerated programs are available to RNs (with a diploma or an associate degree in nursing).

So, let’s take a much deeper look into the top 5 MSN programs. (We explore them in no particular order of salary or critical need. Each specialty stands alone.)

• NURSE ANESTHETISTS

In the USA, 106 Master’s programs for Nurse Anesthetists are offered.

Nurse Anesthetists have been providing anesthesia care to patients in the United States for nearly 150 years. M.D.’s became involved much more recently.

The credential CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist) came into existence in 1956. CRNAs are anesthesia professionals who safely administer approximately 30 million anesthetics to patients each year in the United States, according to the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists’ (AANA) 2007 Practice Profile Survey.

CRNAs are the primary anesthesia providers in rural America, enabling healthcare facilities in these medically underserved areas to offer obstetrical, surgical, and trauma stabilization services. In some states, CRNAs are the sole providers in nearly 100 percent of the rural hospitals.

According to a 1999 report from the Institute of Medicine, anesthesia care is nearly 50 times safer than it was in the early 1980s. Numerous outcomes studies have demonstrated that there is no difference in the quality of care provided by CRNAs and their physician counterparts.*

CRNAs provide anesthesia in collaboration with surgeons, anesthesiologists, dentists, podiatrists, and other qualified healthcare professionals. When anesthesia is administered by a nurse anesthetist, it is recognized as the practice of nursing; when administered by an anesthesiologist, it is recognized as the practice of medicine. Regardless of whether their educational background is in nursing or medicine, all anesthesia professionals give anesthesia the same way.

As advanced practice nurses, CRNAs practice with a high degree of autonomy and professional respect. They carry a heavy load of responsibility and are compensated accordingly.

Nurse Anesthetists earn the highest salaries by far of all MSN fields.

CRNAs practice in every setting in which anesthesia is delivered: traditional hospital surgical suites and obstetrical delivery rooms; critical access hospitals; ambulatory surgical centers; the offices of dentists, podiatrists, ophthalmologists, plastic surgeons, and pain management specialists; and U.S. military, Public Health Services, and Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare facilities.

Little-known fact— Nurses created the practice of anesthesia. (The concept of “M.D. Anesthesiologist” did not even exist, for the first full century of anesthesia.) Nurse Anesthetists are the true mercy-givers of the Operating Room.

Nurse anesthetists have been the main providers of anesthesia care to U.S. military men and women on the front lines since WWI, including the conflict in Iraq.

Inventive and deeply caring Nurses pioneered anesthesia, moved by the great suffering of wounded soldiers during the American Civil War.

• NURSE MIDWIVES

In the USA, there about approx. 39 Master’s programs for Nurse-Midwives.
A nurse midwife is an advanced practice registered nurse who has had training in obstetrics and works under the supervision of an obstetrician. Some nurse midwives can have their own private practice, but most work in hospitals, family planning centers, and the public health service.

Duties often include:

• Evaluating patients’ conditions and test results.
• Educating women about reproductive health issues.
• Conducting pelvic exams, breast exams, and Pap smears.
• Assisting women with labor and childbirth.
• Providing some neonatal care.

Students must complete all of the education requirements to become a baccalaureate prepared registered nurse. They must then complete additional training that leads to a master’s degree or graduate-level certification. Before beginning practice, they must also pass a written examination given by the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

• NURSE PRACTITIONERS

There were 342 master’s and post-master’s programs offered for Nurse practitioners (NP’s). NP’s provide high-quality, cost-effective individualized care, that is comparable to the health care provided by physicians, and NP services are often covered by insurance providers.

In many states, nurse practitioners work completely independently and autonomously of physicians. In some states, a collaborative agreement with a physician is required for practice, mostly for prescriptions issues.

A Nurse Practitioner’s job may include the following:

• Diagnosing, treating, evaluating and managing acute and chronic illness and disease (e.g. diabetes, high blood pressure)
• Obtaining medical histories and conducting physical examinations
• Ordering, performing, and interpreting diagnostic studies (e.g., routine lab tests, bone x-rays, EKGs)
• Prescribing physical therapy and other rehabilitation treatments
• Prescribing pharmacologic treatments and therapies for acute and chronic illness (extent of prescriptive authority varies by state regulations)
• Providing prenatal care and family planning services
• Providing well-child care, including screening and immunizations
• Providing primary and specialty care services, health-maintenance care for adults, including annual physicals
• Providing care for patients in acute and critical care settings
• Assisting in minor surgeries and procedures (with additional training and usually under supervision) (e.g., dermatological biopsies, suturing, casting)
• Counseling and educating patients on health behaviors, self-care skills, and treatment options

• CLINICAL NURSE SPECIALISTS

There are about 230 US master’s and post-master’s programs for clinical nurse specialists.

A clinical nurse specialist (CNS) is an advanced practice nurse, with graduate preparation (earned master’s or doctorate) from a program that prepares CNSs. CNSs are clinical experts in the diagnosis and treatment of illness, and the delivery of evidence-based nursing interventions (ANA, 2004). CNSs work with other nurses to advance their nursing practices and improve outcomes, and provide clinical expertise to effect system-wide changes to improve programs of care.

The three domains of CNS practice, known as the three “spheres of influence” are the patient/family, nursing personnel and system/network organization. The three spheres are overlapping and interrelated, but each sphere possesses a distinctive focus. In each of the spheres of influence, the primary goal of the CNS is continuous improvement of patient outcomes and nursing care.

Within the three domains of CNS practice, seven core competencies are:

1. Direct clinical practice includes expertise in advanced assessment, implementing nursing care, and evaluating outcomes.
2. Expert coaching and guidance encompasses modeling clinical expertise while helping nurses integrate new evidence into practice. It also means providing education or teaching skills to patients and family.
3. Collaboration focuses on multidisciplinary team building.
4. Consultation involves reviewing alternative approaches and implementing planned change.
5. Research involves interpreting and using research, evaluating practice, and collaborating in research.
6. Clinical and professional leadership involves responsibility for innovation and change in the patient care system.
7. Ethical decision-making involves influence in negotiating moral dilemmas, allocating resources, directing patient care and access to care.

• PSYCHIATRIC NURSES

Psychiatric nurses are are yet another Master’s degree nursing speciality, one more recent, but a growing field of medicine.

Psychiatric nurses, or Nurse Psychotherapists, have earned a master’s degree in psychiatric nursing. They often work in a hospital setting conducting individual. Sometimes they will work in group therapy with patients, sometimes under the supervision of a psychiatrist.

Increasingly, management-level nursing positions require a graduate or an advanced degree in nursing or health services administration. Administrative positions require leadership, communication and negotiation skills, and good judgment.

The Future of the MSN

The master’s degree is a high achievement. Those who earn it are very highly rewarded, both in higher salary, more job security, and higher responsibility, with prestige relative to the MSN’s greater medical knowledge and specific patient skills.

Some M.S.N. graduates act as specialists in areas that include management, community health, and geriatrics. The master’s degree also prepares students for further study at the doctoral level.

The Master of Science in Nursing offers nurses further specialization in a specific field, allowing them to advance their careers. With a graduate degree, a nurse is well also qualified to serve in a leadership role, at a health-care facility or as a member of a university faculty.

It seems absolutely certain that all advanced Nursing practice (specialties requiring a Master’s Degree)—clinical nurse specialists, nurse practitioners, nurse-midwives, psychiatric nurse, and nurse anesthetists—will be in VERY high demand, particularly in medically underserved areas such as inner cities and rural areas.

Relative to physicians, these RNs increasingly serve as lower-cost primary care providers. Yet their skills are very high, and they serve where doctors once dominated.

In the coming health care crunch, these Master’s of Nursing will treat an ever-increasing number of patients— serving their communities with dignity and pride and caring.

The MSN may well be the magic ticket to an exponential rise in overall healthcare quality, for all people.

And for those brilliant RN’s— the dedicated nurses who move ahead and earn the MSN degree— their future is greatly enhanced, as well as their powerful new value to society itself.

For information on a career as a registered nurse and nursing education, contact:

• National League for Nursing, 61 Broadway, New York, NY 10006. http://www.nln.org

For information on baccalaureate and graduate nursing education, nursing career options, and financial aid, contact:

• American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 1 Dupont Circle NW., Suite 530, Washington, DC 20036. http://www.aacn.nche.edu

For information on registered nurses, including credentialing, contact:

• American Nurses Association, 8515 Georgia Ave., Suite 400, Silver Spring, MD 20910. http://nursingworld.org

For information on the NCLEX-RN exam and a list of individual State boards of nursing, contact:

• National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 111 E. Wacker Dr., Suite 2900, Chicago, IL 60611. http://www.ncsbn.org

For information on the nursing population, including workforce shortage facts, contact:

• Bureau of Health Professions, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 8-05, Rockville, MD 20857. http://bhpr.hrsa.gov

For information on obtaining U.S. certification and work visas for foreign-educated nurses, contact:

• Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools, 3600 Market St., Suite 400, Philadelphia, PA 19104. http://www.cgfns.org

For information on accredited clinical nurse specialist programs, contact:

• National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists, 2090 Linglestown Rd., Suite 107, Harrisburg, PA 17110. http://www.nacns.org

For information on nurse anesthetists, including a list of accredited programs, contact:

• American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, 222 Prospect Ave., Park Ridge, IL 60068.

For information on nurse-midwives, including a list of accredited programs, contact:

• American College of Nurse-Midwives, 8403 Colesville Rd., Suite 1550, Silver Spring, MD 20910. http://www.midwife.org

For information on nurse practitioners, including a list of accredited programs, contact:

• American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, P.O. Box 12846, Austin, TX 78711. http://www.aanp.org

For information on nurse practitioners education, contact:

• National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties, 1522 K St. NW., Suite 702, Washington, DC 20005. http://www.nonpf.org

For information on critical care nurses, contact:

• American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, 101 Columbia, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656. http://www.aacn.org

For information on registered nurses in all fields and specialties, contact:

• American Society of Registered Nurses, 1001 Bridgeway, Suite 411, Sausalito, CA 94965. http://www.asrn.org