OAK BROOK, IL (September 9, 2020) – The Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN), the benchmark for board certification across the emergency nursing spectrum, today recognized two outstanding emergency nurses with its 2020 Distinguished CEN and Distinguished CPEN Awards. These annual national awards recognize one board certified emergency nurse and one board certified pediatric emergency nurse from among nearly 40,000 Certified Emergency Nurses (CENs) and over 5,200 Certified Pediatric Emergency Nurses (CPENs), respectively.
- BCEN’s 2020 Distinguished CEN Award winner is Jude Lark, BSN, RN, CEN, CCRN, emergency services clinical nurse educator at Atlantic Health System’s Overlook Medical Center in Summit, New Jersey.
- BCEN’s 2020 Distinguished CPEN Award winner is Lisa Chambers, MSN, MPS, RN, CEN, CPEN, TCRN, emergency services/trauma clinical educator and clinical nurse III at CHOC Children’s Hospital in Orange, California.
“In a year when the value and impact of nurses and emergency nursing expertise are front and center on the world stage, BCEN celebrates the extraordinary and inspirational ways Jude Lark and Lisa Chambers work to ensure emergency patients of every age receive the best possible nursing care,” said BCEN Executive Director Janie Schumaker, MBA, BSN, RN, CEN, CENP, CPHQ, FABC.
BCEN’s Distinguished Awards recognize one top nurse in each emergency nursing specialty who demonstrates clinical and professional excellence while supporting and advocating for others to earn their specialty board credentials. Nurses who earn the CEN and CPEN designations have demonstrated advanced knowledge, expertise and clinical judgment in the mixed/adult and pediatric emergency specialties, respectively.
Lark and Chambers talked with BCEN about their award-winning work and the importance of certified emergency and pediatric emergency nursing clinical excellence in their “Meet the Winner” Q&As here: CEN winner and CPEN winner.
The chief nursing officers at Overlook and CHOC Children’s had this to say about their award winners:
- “There is no greater champion for the certification and training of emergency nurses at Overlook than Jude Lark. From the moment our nurses join us at orientation, Jude sets the goal for them to attain their CEN within a year, and then works diligently to help them achieve it. She developed and facilitated Atlantic Health System’s first ED residency program across six campuses this year, even as the COVID-19 pandemic arose in our communities and impacted our hospitals,” said MaryPat Sullivan, MSN, RN, CNS, chief nursing officer for Overlook Medical Center. “She is the consummate emergency department nurse – proficient, professional and compassionate – and is highly deserving of this national recognition.”
- “Lisa Chambers is one of CHOC Children’s finest. As an emergency department clinical educator, she passionately guides frontline staff in integrating knowledge, skill, and behaviors to improve nursing practice and patient care,” said Melanie Patterson, DNP, MHA, RN, vice president, patient care services and chief nursing officer, CHOC Children’s. “Lisa is a role model who promotes quality, compassion and inquisitive thinking. We applaud her for this well-deserved distinction.”
When asked what receiving the BCEN Distinguished Award means to them, the honorees said:
- “This award brings to light all the resilient and very capable certified nurses that we have developed here at Overlook ED. Over the past six years, we have increased our certified nurses by 52%. It has made an impact, and I have seen that,” said Distinguished CEN honoree Lark. “I have always thought that certification represents excellence in your field. I am so honored and extremely proud. I just hope every single day that I can make a difference in one of the team members I work with.”
- “I am very humbled and also know there are many other deserving nurses who recognize the importance of being certified and continue to push their colleagues to succeed and exceed their own dreams,” said Distinguished CPEN honoree Chambers. “When you are CPEN-certified, you know you have the knowledge necessary to provide the best care for kids no matter where you work. Hopefully, more emergency nurses will be inspired to move forward, and be encourage that they can do this, and do it for the kids.”
About BCEN’s Annual Nurse and Organizational Awards
Every year, BCEN recognizes individual specialty certified emergency, trauma and transport nurses as well as healthcare facilities and health systems that demonstrate and advance certified nursing excellence and advocate for emergency nurse board certification. Learn more about BCEN’s Distinguished Awards and National Certification Champion Awards at bcen.org/awards.
About BCEN
Throughout 2020, the independent, not-for-profit Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN®) is celebrating 40 years of robust certification programs fostering empowered nurses across the emergency spectrum who contribute noticeably to patient care, safety and outcomes. Over 55,000 BCEN board certifications are currently held by registered nurses (RNs) who specialize in emergency, flight, critical care ground transport, pediatric emergency and trauma nursing. BCEN offers the Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN®), Certified Flight Registered Nurse (CFRN®), Certified Pediatric Emergency Nurse (CPEN®), Certified Transport Registered Nurse (CTRN®) and Trauma Certified Registered Nurse (TCRN®) certifications. The CEN, CFRN, CPEN, and TCRN certification programs are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Specialty Nursing Certification (ABSNC). Learn more at bcen.org. Follow BCEN on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.
