Why would you like to serve as Member-at-Large on the Academy of Emergency Nursing Board and what would you like to contribute while serving in that office?
I would like to lend my 43-year expertise as an experienced EMS provider, emergency nurse and advanced practice emergency nurse to assist the Academy in pursuing its goals of mentorship, leadership and partnership to the Emergency Nurses Association and its members.
Please share your perspectives and strategies on how the Academy of Emergency Nursing can help advance the profession of emergency nursing.
When originally inducted as a Fellow of the Academy of Emergency Nursing in 2016, I envisioned that i was joining a group of diverse individuals dedicated to achieving a collaborative partnership with and showing leadership and mentoring to the Emergency Nurses Association and its members.
In 2020, at the virtual Academy business meeting, I saw again first-hand what this Academy can achieve, even in the virtual setting, as we came together and used our collective drive to set a path towards strengthening our roles as leaders and mentors for a global community of emergency nurses.
I would like to continue building on these fledgling virtual steps, to exhibit to the ENA and its growing, thriving membership, that we are more than a figurehead. We are the role models for emergency nursing practice and achievement, that even in the virtual world we are accessible and available to be the mentors and leaders they wish us and need us to be.
I believe I demonstrated effective leadership as I co-led a “Trailblazer” team in creating a clinical document shared with ENA members for more effective triage processes.
I still consider myself in the mid-point of my career and within the legacy of ENA and the AEN. I have pursued my professional goals over the last forty-three years yet despite my longevity I still relish in the discovery and sharing of newfound knowledge. To all emergency care providers, regardless of age, length of service, or level of practice, I feel I share a connection through my demonstrated ability for knowledge translation, otherwise known as "FOAMed", Free Open Access Medical education, and its nursing counterpart "FOANed", Free Open Access Nursing education. This was again demonstrated at EN25 when I distributed “OMI” lapel pins to attendees which inspired on the spot questions and education opportunities aimed at saving lives.
It is through the expanding virtual role and use of social media that I daily interact on an international scale with emergency nurses and emergency nursing leaders and researchers to widely distribute current, up-to-date, and evidence based practice information. I feel that the Academy may also utilize this global knowledge sharing pathway to help partner with, mentor, and support the international emergency nursing population, regardless of where they practice. I would enjoy aiding the Academy as a member of the board to help grow our presence as recognized emergency nursing leaders.