Other Titles
Special Session/Plenary Session
Abstract
For over 20 years, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has championed Healthy Work Environment (HWE) standards as essential for nursing excellence. While HWEs improve patient and staff outcomes, they may be underutilized in academia. As faculty and clinical staff face record burnout and turnover, the nursing pipeline's survival depends on a unified HWE approach that bridges clinical practice and academia through intentional collaboration.
Notes
Presenter notes available in attached slide deck.
References:
Barden C., Cassidy L., & Cardin S. (2016). AACN standards for establishing and sustaining healthy work environments: A journey to excellence (2nd ed.). American Association of Critical-Care Nurses; 2016.
Duxbury, E., Bonsall, L., Brinker, D. (2026). American Association of Critical-Care Nurses' healthy work environment standards in nursing education: A guide for faculty and staff, Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 21(1), 67-71.
Halm, Margo A. (2025). The impact of the work environment on patients, families, and care delivery in critical care. Critical Care Nursing Clinics, 37(4), 543-565.
Ulrich, B., Barden, C., Cassidy, L., Varn-Davis, N., Delgado, S. (2022). National nurse work environments October 2021: A status report. Critical Care Nurse, 42(5), 58-70.
Sigma Membership
Beta Rho
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Expert Opinion (nationally/internationally recognized)
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Corporate Culture, Work Environment, Universities & Colleges, Nursing Education, Nursing School Faculty
Recommended Citation
Kidd, Michelle, "AACN HWE Standards: Bridging Clinical Excellence and Academic Resilience" (2026). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 66.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2026/presentations_2026/66
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Washington, DC, USA
Conference Year
2026
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
None: Event Material, Invited Presentation
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-05-02
AACN HWE Standards: Bridging Clinical Excellence and Academic Resilience
Washington, DC, USA
For over 20 years, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has championed Healthy Work Environment (HWE) standards as essential for nursing excellence. While HWEs improve patient and staff outcomes, they may be underutilized in academia. As faculty and clinical staff face record burnout and turnover, the nursing pipeline's survival depends on a unified HWE approach that bridges clinical practice and academia through intentional collaboration.