Editorial AVOIDING THE CRITICAL CARE NURSING BRAIN DRAIN

Keeping highly educated nurses closely involvedin direct care at the bedside is imperative fordelivering optimal patient outcomes, and is especially important in acute and critical care envi-ronments. Higher educational levels of intensive care unit (ICU) clinical staff nurses not only are associated with better outcomes for critically ill patients and their families, but are vital to sustaining nursing’s contri-butions to highly functional interdisciplinary teams. Enhancing educational preparation of clinical staff nurses is also essential for moving research forward. It is clear that technical skill is absolutely neces-sary, but not sufficient, for nursing practice. In the evolving health care system, nurses must embrace their roles as knowledge workers in order to fully enact their clinical role