The website I chose to critique is The American Association of Critical Care Nurses, http://www.aacn.org. It's purpose is dedicated to providing information, education and resources to nurses that work in the critical care capacity.
It is a very easy to navigate page offering vast amount of information. The design is white background with two shades of blue for the tabs making it very appealing to the eyes. As stated on the home page, the site provides “Easy-to-use clinical resources and publications provide the standard for acute and critical care nursing practice”. Some of the links available are: standards practice alerts practice resource network grants healthy work environments On the left hand site there is a 'bar' called “What's New”. In this area information is provided on the newest hot topics or hot button issues currently in healthcare.
One of the best features that I really like about this website is that there are educational resources and certifications available. The fees are reduced with membership. The registration process is as easy as a click of the mouse.
I learned through this site about a designation called “Beacon Award for Excellence”. This award recognizes 'North American hospital units that employ evidence-based practices to improve patient and family outcomes. Recipients of a Gold Beacon Award demonstrate excellence in sustained unit performance and patient outcomes. Silver-level recipients demonstrate continuous learning and effective systems to achieve optimal patient care. Bronze-level awardees demonstrate success in developing, deploying and integrating unit-based performance criteria for optimal outcomes.' There only 17 'UNITS', not hospitals in New Jersey to receive Beacon Awards and only 6 of the 17 are of the “Gold” level.
There are 4 other tabs that I really liked, “Market Place” where you can buy books, miscellaneous items and discounted