Emergency nurse receives BCEN award

The annual national award recognizes one top Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN) from among the nearly 42,000 CEN’s practicing across the US and around the world.

The BCEN 2021 Distinguished CEN Award winner is Heidi Cote, Clinical Nurse III and Clinical Nurse Coordinator at the Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine, US. Cote will be spotlighted, along with all of BCEN’s 2021 nurse and organizational award winners, during BCEN’s virtual ‘Certibration’ event on 22 July. 

BCEN CEO Janie Schumaker commented: “Heidi Cote represents the best of certified emergency nursing practice. Every shift and every day, she raises the standard of care through her own bedside practice, her role as a nurse educator, and her commitment to helping her colleagues achieve the highest levels of clinical and professional excellence through CEN certification.”

The CEN is one of the oldest and most widely held nursing specialty certifications. Nurses who earn the CEN designation have demonstrated advanced knowledge, expertise and clinical judgment across the entire body of emergency nursing knowledge for patients of all ages.

Representing emergency nursing in a positive light

“Heidi represents emergency nursing to our public in such a positive light, and we couldn’t be more proud of her,” added Maine Medical Center Director of Emergency Services Faye Collins. “I can honestly say that in my 30 years of nursing, I have never had the privilege of knowing someone so uniquely appropriate and deserving of this award. Heidi is an amazing certified nurse, and a role model for all of us.”

When asked what receiving the BCEN Distinguished CEN Award means to her, Cote said: “There is no other kind of nursing I would rather do, and I’m greatly honored to be selected given the many hard-working and deserving emergency nurses out there. I did not earn this on my own. I have several mentors and colleagues and my leadership who have helped me along the way and given me avenues to succeed.”