California
Maurene Harvey has 50 years of critical care nursing experience. Mentored by the founder of critical care, Dr Max Harry Weil, in the 1970’s, she developed a firm understanding of the care of the critically ill and the value of the intensive-led multidisciplinary critical care team. After several years practicing at the ICU bedside, she has focused on teaching, speaking and consulting. She became a CCRN in 1976, the year the certification was established. Soon after joining the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) in 1976, she became an active and committed member serving in many different roles. She was elected to SCCM's Council 1992 to 2003. In 2002, she became the first nurse to be elected President of the SCCM or any other medical organization.
Maurene has lectured over 20,000 hours on critical care topics, probably more than any other nurse. She has taught over 400 CCRN review courses, has spoken at 32 AACN National Teaching Institutes, and has taught in 47 states and 38 countries, several of them many times.
She has 67 publications in critical care to her credit including two books. Her areas of special interest include compassionate care, ICU design, post-intensive care syndrome and patient-family centered care. She was instrumental in establishing SCCM’s commitment and initiatives for each of these areas.
Maurene was on the Editorial Board of Critical Care Medicine 2005-2021, and a Fellow in the American College of Critical Care Medicine since 1989. She received SCCM’s Norma J Shoemaker Award for Nursing Excellence in 1998 and AACN’s Lifetime Member Award in 1999. In 2004, she received SCCM’s Distinguished Service Award. In 2012, she was in the first class of twenty to be inducted into the SCCM’s Masters in Critical Care Medicine, and the first nurse in the world to have achieved this honor.
Lifetime Achievement Award: Hindsights Bring Insights
Monday, March 23, 2026
1:30 PM - 2:15 PM Central Time
Disclosure(s): No relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose.
