Burn recovery rarely follows a straightforward path. For many patients, healing involves relearning daily routines and redefining what life looks like after injury. In those moments, progress depends on more than clinical milestones and is shaped by understanding what matters most to the person behind the wound.
“We have to get creative about our patients’ motivations to recover,” said burn nurse Laura Madsen, BSN, RN, CBRN. “Walking their dog again, cleaning up their garden, going fishing with friends… those details help us understand what recovery means to each individual patient.”
Grounded in a patient centered approach, Madsen brings decades of experience caring for burn patients across acute and outpatient settings. That perspective guides her involvement in developing the nationally accredited Certified Burn Registered Nurse (CBRN) certification, administered by the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing. She carries that national expertise back to the UCHealth Burn and Frostbite Center – University of Colorado Hospital (UCH), where care focuses on helping patients return to the lives they value.
Madsen serves as both a CBRN exam item writer and reviewer, contributing to the development of the questions that define the certification. Selected through a national application process in 2022, she participates in intensive exam development workshops and collaborates with burn nurses from across the country.
The group brings diverse regional and practice setting perspectives to establish a shared framework for burn nursing, no matter where patients receive their care. The result is a comprehensive certification, recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet Recognition Program, that supports consistent patient care from early resuscitation through long term rehabilitation.
As the only UCHealth burn center, the Burn and Frostbite Center – UCH serves patients across eight states and has been verified by the American Burn Association (ABA) since 1998, making it the region’s oldest ABA‑verified burn center. The center brings together a dedicated team of burn surgeons, bedside nurses, pharmacists, psychologists, registered dietitians, physical and occupational therapists, wound care specialists and others who focus exclusively on burn recovery. Ten nurses at the center currently hold CBRN certification, and 13 are certified across UCHealth, reinforcing consistency and depth of expertise across the organization.
Today, more than 750 nurses worldwide hold the Magnet-recognized CBRN credential, a number that continues to grow. For Madsen, that reach represents both responsibility and pride. “I’m incredibly proud of our team,” she said. “To represent them through this work is a big responsibility and an honor. The strength of our burn center comes from collaboration, and that teamwork is what defines who we are.”
Through national leadership and daily bedside practice, Madsen extends the reach of UCHealth’s expertise, ensuring it informs burn care for patients both locally and globally.
The visual companion to our 2026 Nursing Year in Review showcases the print edition’s visual storytelling with connections to all of the articles.