Emergency Nurses Week honors the nurses who are the frontline of healthcare, caring for patients at their sickest, most injured and most vulnerable, in emergency departments and far beyond. We asked 2026 Distinguished CEN Michael Isaacs, MSN-NE, APRN, ACNPC-AG, NPD-BC, CEN, TCRN, BCMMHC, why emergency nurses deserve to be celebrated, what makes ED nursing unique, and what he would tell nurses considering the specialty.
Why do you think emergency nurses deserve to be celebrated?
I think every nurse should be celebrated, but emergency nurses are literally the frontline of healthcare. That’s not a euphemism. We are the first people that patients see when they are at their sickest, most injured, and most vulnerable. All nurses are able to care for and comfort patients. Emergency nurses do that and so much more. We triage, treat, stabilize, empathize, comfort, and console — and many times, we are doing all of this simultaneously.
And let us not forget, emergency nurses don’t just work in the standard adult emergency room. We are in trauma, rapid response, event medicine (check out the team that works the Indy Car circuit), disaster preparedness and response, flight, transport, pediatrics, burn centers, and the military. There is almost nothing an emergency nurse can’t do. How could we not celebrate that?!
What are the 3 things you love most about being an ED nurse?
No two days are ever the same — literally. I have put in over 37,000 hours in the emergency room and every one of those hours has been a new experience.
We have the opportunity to learn and do an infinite number of things in our field. Every day is an opportunity to grow in our knowledge and practice.
I truly believe there is no more cohesive team in all of healthcare than a well-organized emergency department. When things are working in harmony, the ED can resemble a perfectly choregraphed ballet. From the outside it probably looks like a chaotic mosh pit of insanity, but that is the beauty of it. Those on the inside know it is a beautiful thing.
What would you say to a new or novice nurse who is considering emergency nursing?
The emergency department is not for everyone. If you can think on your feet, handle stress well, love a challenge, and want to work alongside some of the best of the best in our profession, then come on down. If you can juggle multiple things at once, love puzzles, and get giddy over discovering new things, then we have a spot for you. If it is your passion, and I mean truly your passion, to help to people at the absolute worst possible moments of their life, then find an ED and put that passion into practice!
Thank you to Mike and to every emergency nurse for the skill, steadiness and heart you bring to the frontline of care.
Go Deeper
Get to know Mike even better in his 2026 Distinguished CEN Meet the Winner interview.
Interested in emergency nursing? Learn more about CEN certification and what it takes to specialize.
