On September 17, BCEN was pleased to announce our 2025 National Certification Champion Award – Health System category winner:
The University of Tennessee Medical Center Emergency & Trauma
Knoxville, Tennessee
What does being named a BCEN National Certification Champion mean to your organization and the communities you serve?
Being named a BCEN National Certification Champion represents the highest validation of our commitment to excellence in emergency, trauma, and transport nursing. It affirms our belief that the pursuit of specialty certification elevates not only individual nursing practice, but the quality of care delivered to our patients and their families.
For our community, it means receiving care from nurses who are among the best prepared and most knowledgeable in their field — individuals who are held to nationally recognized standards of excellence. This recognition also inspires confidence in the safety and expertise embedded in our care environment.
What sets nurses who are board certified through BCEN apart in their daily practice and in their professional development and career trajectories?
Nurses who have earned BCEN certifications demonstrate an exceptional depth of clinical knowledge, critical thinking, and professionalism. They are leaders in high-acuity environments, often serving as preceptors, charge nurses, and policy influencers. Certified nurses are more likely to pursue advanced roles, including leadership, education, and specialized care pathways. Their ability to integrate evidence-based practice into real-time decision-making elevates team performance and enhances patient outcomes. These nurses also serve as mentors, setting a standard that inspires others to pursue excellence through certification.
As your nurses earn an emergency, trauma, transport or burn specialty credential, what changes do you notice in them and the teams they work with?
We see a tangible boost in confidence, critical thinking, and professional pride. Certified nurses often bring renewed energy and heightened engagement to the workplace. Their expertise contributes to more cohesive, efficient teams and improved interprofessional communication.
Team members frequently report greater trust in certified colleagues’ clinical judgment, which enhances collaboration and safety in patient care. Certification also fosters a culture of lifelong learning and accountability, encouraging others on the team to follow suit.
What do you most want other healthcare organizations to know about why and how to support nursing specialty certification?
Specialty certification is not just a personal achievement — it is a strategic investment in quality care, staff retention, and organizational excellence. Certified nurses are better prepared, more engaged, and more likely to stay with organizations that value their professional growth.
Supporting certification — through reimbursement, recognition programs, and a culture that encourages professional advancement — creates ripple effects that touch every aspect of care delivery. It also strengthens community trust and supports better patient outcomes. Encouraging certification sends a powerful message: that our organization is committed to excellence at every level.
In nominating her workplace for this award, The University of Tennessee Medical Center Emergency Department Assistant Nurse Manager Debbie Smallwood, MSN, RN, FP-C, CEN, said:
“Certification is more than an individual achievement — it is a reflection of our collective commitment to clinical excellence and professional growth. We view certification as a key benchmark of nursing competency, and we continue to implement intentional initiatives to encourage and grow certification across departments.
Most importantly, our commitment to BCEN certification has created a department-wide culture that values learning, accountability, and clinical mastery. This culture translates into more cohesive teams, higher standards of care, and improved trust — both among peers and from patients.”
The University of Tennessee Medical Center Senior Vice President & Chief Nursing Officer Sandy C. Leake, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, said:
“Being named a BCEN Certification Champion affirms our deep commitment to nursing excellence.
Specialty-certified nurses bring advanced clinical expertise, confidence and leadership to every shift — raising the bar for patient care and team performance. We’re proud to support certification as a strategic investment in quality, professional growth and the health of the communities we serve.”
