ENA Committees Deadline Extended to October 15

Serve on a National Committee of the Emergency Nurses Association

ENA needs your expertise! We are looking to fill several open spots on a number of our national committees. In our recent membership survey, ENA members said they wanted more opportunities to become involved in their Association. This is your chance to have a voice in your Association at the national level. ENA invites members to submit applications to serve on the following committees:

2005 Committees:

2005 Ad Hoc Workgroups (as needed periodically)

2005 Special Interest Groups (SIGS)

Please review the above lists to determine which committee would benefit most from your particular knowledge and skills set. ENA values the contributions of all of its members; we are especially looking to engage the talents and insights of a diverse representation of our membership.

The majority of committee work is conducted through conference calls and e-mail. The Association will manage costs for face-to-face meetings, and we have budgeted for those expenses. The contributions we ask of our national committee members are commitments of their time and expertise.

National committee terms are typically one or two years, beginning in January. Committee meetings, conference calls, and projects are planned according to the availability and schedules of the committee members.

Clinical Experts

ENA has been working to establish a cadre of known leaders who possess sufficient knowledge and skills to qualify as a “clinical expert” on specific topics. These individuals should have a demonstrated proficiency in a particular focus area so that they can serve as a resource to the Board of Directors and/or staff to monitor a particular issue, provide a review and/or opinion on position statements, documents or proposals, and serve as a representative of the Association when requested to do so by the President. They differ from committees in that committee members are assigned established charges, specific tasks and goals they must complete during an identified term. Experts should possess additional credentials and may be tasked to respond to an unexpected request that may occur outside the parameters or experience of a particular committee.

Clinical experts may or may not be called upon during the year to provide advice or service to ENA. Their term of service should be relatively short in nature to respond quickly to and accomplish focused goals. Travel may or may not be required. There can be several clinical experts in a particular focus area so that resources and individual qualifications can be better matched with a specific request.

Examples of focus areas may include workforce issues (e.g., staffing, recruitment and retention, working conditions), clinical practice, standards and/or accreditation, education, trauma, overcrowding, ambulance diversion, triage, patient transport (acute care, critical care, interfacility), patient safety (including medical errors), worker safety, EMTALA, public policy, ED management, research, pediatrics, geriatrics, end of life, EMS, injury prevention (please indicate if your experience is even more specific, e.g., gun safety, etc.), grant writing/review, mass casualty preparedness (please specify: natural disasters, threat/risk assessment, biological haz-mat, chemical or nuclear haz-mat, training, equipment).

Criteria for clinical expert selection include:

• A willingness and desire to serve ENA
• Demonstrated expertise in the focus area as determined by meeting one or more of the following:
  • A minimum of three years experience in a particular area or topic.
  • Participation on committees (hospital, regional, state, or national) on the specified or a closely related topic.
  • Participation in research and/or publication on the topic.
  • Specialized certification.
  • Serve as faculty on a given topic.
• A commitment for meeting deadlines (identified at the time of assignment) is essential.

Application Information

To apply to serve on a national ENA committee or to serve as a clinical expert, submit the following information to the Emergency Nurses Association:

- 2005 Committee applications are available online at www.ena.org/committees/ or call Katie Bales at 800/900-9659 ext. 4096 for a printed version. Please select your first and second committee choices and/or your area of expertise if applying to serve as a clinical expert. In the event ENA cannot provide you with an appointment to a committee selected as your first or second choice, please indicate your willingness to serve on an alternate committee if openings exist.

- A current curriculum vitae. Include any previous ENA or other related activity at the local, chapter, state, or national level. (Preferred method of submission is Word document e-mail attachment.)

- You may also submit applications via mail to Patti Howard, 915 Lee Street, Des Plaines, Illinois, 60016; via e-mail at execoffice@ena.org, or by fax at 847/460-4005. Contact Katie Bales at 800/900-9659 ext. 4096 with questions.


Applications must be received with a postmark date of October 15, 2004.

ENA refers to all collaborative efforts, including advisory groups, workgroups, ad hoc workgroups, and task forces, as “committees.”