Emergency Nurses Association

The organization

ENA was established in 1970 as the Emergency Department Nurses Association, following the merger of two groups. One, also named the Emergency Department Nurses Association, was founded by Judith Kelleher on the West Coast. The other, the Emergency Room Nurses Organization, was started by Anita Dorr in the Eastern United States. The organization adopted its current name in 1985 to focus on the role of emergency nurses rather than the emergency department setting.

By 2021, ENA had over 50,000 members in 35 nations. A 2006 member survey showed high job satisfaction among emergency nurses but also highlighted concerns about workplace violence and safety. ENA has partnered with the Institute of Medicine on emergency care reform and publishes public safety information, including its National Scorecard on State Roadway Laws, which evaluates states on child safety seats, seatbelts, ignition lock devices, and graduated driver licensing.

The association co-wrote the Guidelines for Care of Children in the Emergency Department with the American College of Emergency Physicians and the American Academy of Pediatrics. ENA publishes the bimonthly, peer-reviewed Journal of Emergency Nursing. In the 1970s, the group helped establish the Board of Certification in Emergency Nursing, which sponsors the Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN) examination.