American journal of critical care : an official publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
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Accreditation standards for certification programs require use of a testing mechanism that is job-related and based on the knowledge and skills needed to function in the discipline. ⋯ Certification initiatives should reflect differences between clinical nurse specialists and acute care nurse practitioners.
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To evaluate the effect of a standardized worksheet on physicians' and nurses' perceptions of their understanding of goals of care and on patients' length of stay in an intensive care unit. ⋯ Nurses' and physicians' perceptions of their understanding of the goals of care and of communication between them were improved and stays in the unit were shortened when the worksheet was used.