Maurene Harvey, RN, MPH, CCRN, FCCM has become the first nurse president of the Society of Critical Care Medicine. Harvey is also the first nurse president of any major medical society.

Harvey has been an active member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine for more than 25 years, serving on over 15 committees and task forces, including the strategic planning committee, outreach task force, coalition and internal affairs division. She joined the governing board in 1992 and was awarded the Norma J. Shoemaker Award for Nursing Excellence in 1998. She was inducted into the American College of Critical Care Medicine (ACCM), the Society's most prestigious organization, in 1989.

A critical care professional for more than 30 years, Harvey spends most of her time as a consultant to critical care nurses. She has taught more than 400 CCRN review courses in 47 states and 20 countries, including Russia, Europe, Taiwan, India, and Egypt.

Harvey's background includes work as both a nurse and clinical instructor. She was the head nurse in the regional dialysis center at Brooke Army Medical Center, Ft. Sam in Houston, TX and in the coronary care unit at Boca Raton Community Hospitals in Boca Raton, FL. Harvey was also an educator at Critical Care Services, Inc. and a Clinical Instructor of Critical Care at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA. She graduated in 1966 with her RN Diploma and received her MPH in 1985.

The Society of Critical Care Medicine is the leading professional organization dedicated to ensuring excellence and consistency in the practice of critical care medicine. With nearly 10,000 members worldwide, the Society is the only professional organization devoted exclusively to the advancement of multidisciplinary, multi-professional intensive care through excellence in patient care, professional education, public education, research and advocacy. Members of the Society include intensivists, critical care nurses, critical care pharmacists, clinical pharmacologists, respiratory therapists and other professionals, which may include technicians, social workers, dieticians, and members of the clergy.