Emergency Nursing 2025 ended on a joyous, triumphant note. Impact: An ENA Celebration closed out the conference by shining the spotlight on the best of the best in emergency nursing. The jubilant event celebrated ENA’s award recipients and honorees for their service to their communities, patients and fellow nurses as well as their commitment to emergency nursing excellence.
Attendees cheered on these luminaries, innovators and rising stars as they shared their inspiring stories of impact, including the important lessons and opportunities that have been instrumental to their professional achievements.
Early Momentum
Shon’tiana Butcher was recognized with ENA Connection’s 20 Under 40 honor this year in part for her work as a forensic nurse examiner advocating for her patients in the emergency department and the courtroom.
Shon’tiana Butcher, BSN, RN, CEN, was recognized with ENA Connection’s 20 Under 40 honor this year in part for her work as a forensic nurse examiner that supports survivors of violence and ensures they have a voice in the emergency department and the courtroom. She credits her early career success to tackling challenges head on in the name of her patients and for her professional growth — even when they were uncomfortable.
“This award is a meaningful reminder that progress in nursing begins with courage,” Butcher said. “The courage to try something new, the courage to speak up, the courage to speak in front of all of you, my own peers, and the courage to stand firmly by our patients. For me, the 20 under 40 award is not a finish line. It is a great responsibility to keep moving forward, to keep progressing and to keep effecting positive change.”
Mentoring 101
Several ENA award recipients cited the importance of mentors in helping them find their niche in emergency nursing, setting them on their career path and helping them to excel. Retired Col. Gwyn Parris-Atwell, DNP, FNP-BC, CEN, FAEN, for instance, pointed to 1987 ENA President Peggy McMahon, MN, APN, NP-C, CEN, FAEN, who served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War in 1968 and 1969, as one of her mentors. When she met McMahon at an ENA state conference early in her nursing career, McMahon’s military service inspired Parris-Atwell to join the Army. Parris-Atwell ended up serving in the Army and Air Force for 31 years, including combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. She retired in 2022 from the Delaware National Guard, where she served as the medical group commander. Parris-Atwell pays its forward by continuing to mentor new nurses as an occupational medicine nurse practitioner at Jefferson Health.
“She inspired me. Sir Isaac Newton has a quote that we stand on the shoulders of our giants. Peggy was my giant,” said Parris-Atwell, who also thanked other mentors in her storied career, including former ENA presidents AnnMarie Papa, DNP, RN, CEN, NE-BC, FAEN; Jean Proehl, MN, RN, CEN, CPEN, TCRN, FAEN, FAAN; and Sue Sheehy, PhD, RN, FAEN, FAAN.
Tania D. Strout, PhD, MS, RN, who was inducted as a fellow in the Academy of Emergency Nursing this year, also lauded her mentors for their encouragement and support as she conducts research and seeks to enhance practice in areas that include behavioral health, patient care and workplace safety in emergency nursing. She gave a shoutout to several of her mentors, including Journal of Emergency Nursing Editor-in-Chief Anna Valdez, Phd, RN, PHN, CEN, CFRN, CNE, FAEN, FAADN, and ENA Lead Nurse Scientist Lisa Wolf, PhD, RN, CEN, FAEN, for sharing their diverse perspectives and insights, which have helped to strengthen her research and career.
ENA Nurse Leader Award recipient Kristin Malvik (left) and ENA Clinical Nurse Specialist Award recipient Dawn Zakzesky spoke with ENA President Ryan Oglesby about how professional development of nurses improves patient care.
“Every day I wake up excited to contribute to making the world a little bit better, a little bit healthier through science and discovery and the application of our science to the practice of emergency nursing and helping new nurse scientists learn and develop through ENA,” she said. “I’ve met and been able to work with just an amazing, amazing bunch of people who are doing work that is similar to mine and some people who are doing work that’s very different than mine. It’s just been a lovely, amazing experience.”
The Path to Belonging
The closing session also celebrated ENA members who are working to improve diversity, equity and inclusion in health care. The association honored Hershaw Davis Jr., DNP, MBA, RN, co-chair of the ENA Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council, with the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives of the Year Award for his work to empower emergency nurses to lead inclusive care, address systemic disparities, influence equity-driven policies and mentor diverse nurse leaders.
Hershaw Davis Jr. (left) received the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives of the Year Award for his commitment to improve inclusive care and advocate for equity-driven policies.
Davis said he was honored to receive this award because it represents that there is a place for him not only in ENA but in emergency nursing — something he wasn’t so sure about when he began his nursing journey. As a nursing student, he didn’t have the funds to complete his undergraduate education. But the Maryland ENA State Council, especially then-council President Mary Alice Vanhoy, MSN, RN, CEN, CPEN, NRP, FAEN, believed in his potential. They awarded him a scholarship to attend the University of Maryland. In return, he promised them he would stay involved in ENA and make a difference in emergency nursing.
“I believe this award as we work this year to create a sense of belonging within our organization is the fulfillment of a promise made, promise kept,” Davis said.
ENA President Ryan Oglesby hailed Davis and the other ENA award recipients and honorees as the personification of tenacity, which was the theme for Emergency Nursing 2025. Their grit and grace are transforming emergency nursing, he said: “Today’s stories exemplify what each of us know: Emergency nurses are awesome.”