Acute care nurse practitioners (ACNPs) are a unique and highly trained subset of nurse practitioners. Pediatric and adult nurse practitioners have been in practice since the 1990s; however, it was not until 2004 that the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Facilities (NONPF) published a description of an acute care nurse practitioner. Between 2012 and 2013, the organization collaborated with the American Association of Colleges of Nurses to delineate more specific adult and geriatric population acute care nurse practitioner competencies. Typically, patients in the cardiothoracic intensive care unit (CTICU) require a high level of care. Acute care nurse practitioners working in a CTICU must be knowledgeable of various procedures such as coronary artery bypass, cardiac valve replacement or repair, heart or lung transplants, and use and management of mechanical circulatory devices, as well as the management of surgical and nonsurgical complications in this patient population. Acute care nurse practitioners...

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