On April 25, BCEN was proud to announce our 2022 Distinguished CPEN Award winner:
Jessica Evins, BSN, RN, CPEN
Clinical Nurse III, Pediatric Emergency Department
NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital
New York, NY
What does this award mean to you?
It means that everyday bedside nursing matters and the pursuit of excellence in caring for our patients matters. It means that certified nurses around the country are recognized for their dedication to patients and the impact they make through the challenging and often underappreciated work of bedside emergency nursing.
I am so humbled and honored to receive this award on behalf of all the incredibly smart, hardworking, and dedicated certified nurses in this field. I was flattered to even be nominated by my amazing colleagues at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital. Knowing and working with so many wonderful CPENs, I’m honored to be recognized as part of such a special group of nurses.
How does earning and maintaining the CPEN credential make a difference in your practice and roles?
When I initially earned my CPEN credential, it felt like a recognition of the work that I had put in to develop a strong base of knowledge in the area of pediatric emergency nursing. As a newly graduated nurse in the pediatric ED, I had a lot to learn! Studying for the CPEN was a way of continuing my education as I became a more competent and confident nurse.
Now that I am further along in my career, maintaining my CPEN credential has led to continuous learning and professional development. I regularly use the CPEN content in my role as a preceptor. I am passionate about the joys and challenges of caring for the pediatric ED population and strive to instill this passion in my colleagues.
What difference has being a CPEN made for your patients and their families?
CPEN nurses have the knowledge base to care for such a huge range of patients and clinical presentations. For example, a neonate with a congenital cardiac defect and a teenage trauma patient require such drastically different types of care, and the CPEN credential ensures that we are equipped to handle cases that run the gamut. Some of our most rewarding but challenging experiences are the high stakes, low frequency cases that the CPEN prepares you for.
How does the CPEN advance emergency nursing?
Emergency care is such a niche in the world of pediatrics, and pediatrics is such a specialized subset of emergency medicine. The Certified Pediatric Emergency Nurse (CPEN) certification aptly recognizes this as a distinct field with its own knowledge base that is unique from both emergency medicine and pediatrics — a nuanced, challenging, and extremely rewarding area of nursing. Having CPEN-certified nurses enhances the high-quality care provided to the pediatric population in the emergency setting.
Here’s what Tara Doherty, who nominated Jessica, had to say:
“Jessica is an exceptional CPEN in the pediatric ED. She is also a NYSAFE nurse, providing care for patients who have been sexually assaulted, and helps to educate fellow nurses and medical staff on empowering and safe care for this population.
Jessica is a consummate professional, not only with patients but with staff members across multiple disciplines and departments, as evidenced by her being trusted to lead the department as a charge nurse. So much of what Jessica does at work is focused on not only providing high-quality patient care to our high-acuity and chronic condition patient population, but also educating other nurses, students and medical staff to give them the tools to provide exceptional care.
Her proficiency is not only with our high-acuity cardiac, oncology, psychiatric, and trauma patients but also extends to our patient population that utilizes the pediatric ER for more minor injuries and illnesses. Jessica provides thorough patient education for parents to help empower them to care for their children at home …. She is a friendly, compassionate, intelligent nurse who displays all the qualities that a CPEN-certified nurse should strive to exemplify for other nurses.”
Read more about Jessica and how she supports certification on her unit on the BCEN Awards page.
Read about all of BCEN’s 2022 Distinguished Award honorees here.
The Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN) is proud to recognize Jessica Evins, BSN, RN, CPEN, as the BCEN 2022 Distinguished CPEN Award recipient. This annual, national award honors one top board certified pediatric emergency nurse. Jessica is a Clinical Nurse III with NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital Pediatric Emergency Department in New York City. Jessica resides in New York City.
