BCEN Honors Three Champions of Emergency, Trauma and Transport Nursing Excellence with 2024 National Certification Champion Award

OAK BROOK, IL (September 19, 2024) – The Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN), the benchmark for nursing specialty certification across the emergency spectrum, today announced the 2024 winners of its annual BCEN National Certification Champion Award. One national winner in three categories (small organization, large organization and healthcare system) was selected based on their exceptional commitment to emergency, trauma, flight, and critical care ground transport nursing professionalism and clinical excellence through nursing specialty certification.

“The 2024 BCEN National Certification Champions show us how nursing specialty certification empowers RNs, elevates patient care, and helps ensure communities of every size have access to advanced emergency and trauma care,” said BCEN CEO Janie Schumaker, MBA, BSN, RN, CEN, ICE-CCP, CENP, CPHQ, FABC. “We applaud their commitment to nursing excellence.”

Nursing specialty certification independently validates advanced knowledge and expertise across a nursing specialty. Board certification of RNs assures patients and families they are receiving care from nurses who are experts in their specialty, as research links nursing specialty certification to improved patient care, safety and outcomes.

The 2024 BCEN National Certification Champion Award winners are:

Small Healthcare Organization: Phelps Health Emergency Department in Rolla, Missouri
Large Healthcare Organization: Marc and Laura Andreessen Adult and Pediatric Emergency Departments at Stanford Health Care in Stanford, California
Healthcare System: ChristianaCare, which is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware

BCEN officials will celebrate the winners at on-site trophy presentations over the next few weeks. Brief profiles of the 2024 honorees are featured in BCEN’s Meet the Winner series.

“Phelps Health is proud to be recognized as a BCEN National Certification Champion, a title that showcases our team’s advanced skills and dedication to excellence,” said Keri Brookshire-Heavin, MHA, BSN, RN-CNML, senior vice president/COO/CNO, Phelps Health. “This achievement reflects our commitment to ongoing improvement, with patient safety and quality care always coming first.”

“At Stanford Health Care, we recognize the importance of our nurses’ professional certifications and promote and celebrate their achievement,” said Dale Beatty, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FAONL, FAAN, Chief Nurse Executive & Senior Vice President, Patient Care Services. “Stanford Health Care appreciates that the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing offers robust nursing specialty certification programs fostering empowered nurses across the emergency spectrum who contribute noticeably to patient care, safety, and outcomes.”

“This prestigious recognition speaks to the passion and dedication of ChristianaCare’s incredible nursing teams, guided by our values of love and excellence, who make the difference for patients during some of their worst moments, going above and beyond to deliver quality care,” said Danielle Weber, DNP, MSM, RN-BC, NEA-BC, Chief Nurse Executive, ChristianaCare. “We are so proud of our certified nurses and their commitment to lifelong learning.”

Over 50,000 RNs and advanced practice registered nurses worldwide hold one or more BCEN nursing specialty credential as follows: over 40,000 hold the Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN), over 5,500 hold the Certified Pediatric Emergency Nurse (CPEN), nearly 8,000 hold the Trauma Certified Registered Nurse (TCRN), over 6,800 hold the Certified Flight Registered Nurse (CFRN), and nearly 600 hold the Certified Transport Registered Nurse (CTRN). BCEN’s Certified Burn Registered Nurse (CBRN) was introduced worldwide in October 2023.

Nominations for the national 2025 BCEN Distinguished Awards, which recognize individual nurses for their commitment to clinical and professional excellence in multiple emergency nursing specialties, will open in early 2025.

About BCEN

Founded in 1980, the independent, not-for-profit Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN®) offers robust nursing specialty certification programs fostering empowered nurses across the emergency spectrum who contribute noticeably to patient care, safety and outcomes. Over 60,000 BCEN credentials are held by registered nurses (RNs) who specialize in emergency, pediatric emergency, flight, critical care ground transport, trauma, and burn nursing. BCEN offers the Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN®), Certified Pediatric Emergency Nurse (CPEN®), Certified Flight Registered Nurse (CFRN®), Certified Transport Registered Nurse (CTRN®), Trauma Certified Registered Nurse (TCRN®), and Certified Burn Registered Nurse (CBRN) certification programs. Learn more at bcen.org.

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CONTACT: Maris Panjada | Director of Marketing & Communications | mpanjada@bcen.org or 630-339-4530