Melanie Gibbons Hallman, DNP, CCRNP, CNS, FAAN, FAANP, FAEN, of Alabama

Frank L. Cole Nurse Practitioner Award

Recognizes excellence as a nurse practitioner in emergency care. The NP is recognized by nursing and physician colleagues, and patients, as a clinical expert who delivers compassionate, competent care. The recipient is actively involved in promoting the role of NPs and strengthening the image of NPs in emergency care. Melanie Gibbons Hallman, an associate professor at University of Alabama at Birmingham, has been a champion for emergency nurse practitioners. In 2016, she led the development of the ENP subspecialty at the university and is currently the subspecialty co-coordinator. In 1995, she was one of three nurse practitioners to first work in the ENP role in Alabama. Prior to that, she was the inaugural chief nurse of the Alabama Disaster Medical Assistance Team for Jefferson County in 1991. Hallman has been a committed ENA member since 1988, serving as a General Assembly delegate 17 times and playing a role on numerous committees. She has also been a leader within the Alabama ENA State Council, including as its president in 2016. She has authored and contributed to numerous papers in the Journal of Emergency Nursing and presented a variety of topics at many ENA conferences. She is part of the Advanced Practice Scope and Standards Task Force and worked on ENA committees for membership, research, awards, scholarships and others. She represents emergency nurses at her state’s chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians.