Canadian Critical Care Nursing Standards Revision Part 1: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Background & Purpose: Critical care nursing demands high professional standards to safeguard patient outcomes. The Canadian Association of Critical Care Nurses (CACCN) publishes national standards to define and guide the practice of Canadian critical care nurses (CCNs). To ensure credibility, transparency, and methodological rigor in revising these standards, this scoping review was conducted as the first phase of a standardized protocol to inform the sixth edition of CACCN’s Standards for Critical Care Nursing Practice. Methods & Procedures: Guided by the JBI methodology for scoping reviews, the research protocol was developed a priori and executed across Medline, CINAHL, and Nursing & Allied Health databases. Peer-reviewed articles and grey literature from 2017–2022 were screened using Covidence software in a two-stage process by independent reviewers. Grey literature was sourced through targeted searches of critical care associations globally. Inclusion criteria required documents to contain published or public-facing standards related to critical care nursing practice. Results: The review included 15 sources: 5 peer-reviewed studies and 10 grey literature documents. Standards were identified from 12 countries and federations. Key topics varied widely, encompassing educational requirements, ethical practice, clinical competencies, advocacy, leadership, communication, staffing, and safety. Most sources described the frameworks used to develop their standards. Discussion: Results revealed variation across regions, highlighting the lack of a universal framework. This variation underscores the need for standardized methodologies to ensure consistency in CCN practice. Conclusion: This review lays the foundation for evidence-based revision of CACCN’s standards and supports the development of a structured approach to future updates. Keywords: critical care nursing, practice standards, scoping review, evidence-based practice