Recently she added another position to the list. Bucher has been elected to the board of directors of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN).
Established in 1969 to educate nurses working in newly developed intensive care units, AACN, with 240 chapters worldwide, is the largest specialty nursing organization in the world, representing more than 500,000 nurses who have responsibility for caring for acutely and critically ill patients.
In announcing her appointment, AACN President Dave Hanson said, “It is a privilege to welcome Linda to the board.... Her expertise and professional background will be invaluable in assisting the association to effectively address the issues facing acute and critical care nurses.”
“AACN is an active and influential organization. Today, patients are sicker when they enter hospitals and leave earlier, so the role of critical-care nurses is more important than ever,” Bucher said. “AACN establishes standards, administers certification exams, distributes educational material to keep nurses up to date, funds research, gives scholarships and partners with other medical organizations.”
The organization promotes evidence-based practice and research, to determine which interventions are most effective in caring for patients. It also provides critical-care nurses with evidence-based guidelines for practice, she said.
Bucher has been a member of AACN since 1987 and served on the work group for AACN's annual National Teaching Institute and Critical Care Exposition and its Faculty Advisory Task Force. She served as president and treasurer of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of AACN and is a member of its Research Committee and Research Grant Review Subcommittee.
As a nursing research facilitator with Christiana Care Health System, Bucher was involved in the research program investigating blood pressure differences between the forearm and upper arm, which received the Research Dissemination Award from Sigma Theta Tau, the international nursing honorary society.
Another research project involves animal-assisted therapy, studying the effect of visits from trained dogs and their handlers to such patients as high-risk pregnant women who are confined to bed rest in hospitals for long periods of time. “The nurses on the floor enjoy their visits, too,” Bucher said.
She also is involved in a study of diabetic patients, exploring the effects of hyperglycemia after surgery.
Of her 12-hour shifts in the emergency room, Bucher said she enjoys working there and finds it is rewarding. “It is a chance to do what I love and to keep current with issues involving the work place,” she said.
Bucher is an enthusiastic supporter of Operation Smile. She has been to the Philippines, Russia, Bolivia, Brazil and Nicaragua and plans to go to Honduras this fall as a member of the World Journey of Smiles, celebrating the organization's 25 years of service.
There are about 40 members on a team of surgeons, nurses, anesthetists, child specialists, speech therapists, record-keepers and others, she said, and they bring all the supplies they need with them. The Sunday before they begin surgery week, the team gets together just to have fun and get to know each other. “One of the important goals of Operation Smile is to educate local heath care providers so they are eventually able to treat patients, independent of Op Smiles,” Bucher said.
Bucher serves as an abstract reviewer for Sigma Theta Tau and as a member of the editorial advisory board for Nursing 2007 Critical Care. She is the co-author of Medical-Surgical Nursing and Critical Care Nursing textbooks. A graduate of Thomas Jefferson University, Bucher has a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a doctorate in nursing education from Widener University and joined the UD faculty in 1990.
Article by Sue Moncure
Photo by Kathy F. Atkinson