What Being an ENP Means to Me

Marsena Collins, FNP-C ENP-C

You may wonder what being an ENP means to me. In a word: Accomplished. Being an Emergency Nurse Practitioner makes me feel accomplished and proud! How many people can actually say that they are working their dream job?  Well, I knew since I was 5 years old that I would be a nurse. I also won pizza for a year in kindergarten for artwork illustrating my perception of my future career. My kindergarten brain also thought at that time that a nurse was the female version of a doctor. I learned later in life there was a difference.

Growing up, I didn’t have an abundance of medical exposure or mentors, but I was so fascinated yet inquisitive about body and disease processes that my goals never changed. I’m an extrovert who loves to engage and interact with people, but most importantly I truly care about people. I knew from a very early age I was destined to care for people. My career path would eventually lead me to become a Nurse Practitioner (NP).

My Path

I became a Family Nurse Practitioner in 2012. I had practiced Emergency Medicine (EM) nursing prior to graduating and at that time there were not any options for Emergency Medicine Certification for Nurse Practitioners. Fortunately, I was able to practice in the ER immediately after graduation as an FNP. I was able to perform acute care procedures based off procedural courses/skills/trainings/labs taken throughout the years. I had also attended tons of emergency medicine conferences. 

In January 2017, the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) launched the Emergency Nurse Practitioner Specialty Certification. Even though certification was not a current job requirement at the time, I wanted the designation.  Designation—because I loved and worked so hard for so many years in emergency medicine. Also, this is my specialty field of practice and to have it puts me even more within my scope of practice. I immediately visited the AANP site and gathered the eligibility requirements to sit for the exam.

Certification

At the time the certification launched, I was transitioning in a new role as a lead Advanced Practice Provider in a busy ER and as a new mother of an infant girl. Overwhelmed was an understatement! I set a goal to have the certification completed by Jan. 2019. I studied whenever I could. There wasn’t any review courses or study guides like provider essential review available during this time, so I prepped with Tintanalli’s and leaned on my clinical training.

On Dec 21, 2018, I met the requirements for national certification as an “Emergency Nurse Practitioner”.  Being an ENP is not always easy (especially during this COVID season), but it’s the job I picked for my life, and that is what being an ENP means to me! So, “keep moving, keep growing and keep learning. See you at work.”

Marsena Collins FNP-C, ENP-C

“So, keep working, keep striving, never give up, fall down seven times, get up eight.

Ease is a greater threat to progress than hardship.

Ease is a greater threat to progress than hardship.

So, keep moving, keep growing, keep learning.

See you at work.” – Denzel Washington

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