Rebecca Salisbury Lash, PhD, MPP, RN, CEN, CNL. NPD-BC, of California

Rebecca Salisbury Lash demonstrates enduring and substantial contributions to the

advancement of emergency nursing through pioneering work at the intersection of research and education, specifically focused on the recognition and management of oncologic emergencies in the emergency department. Driven by early clinical observations of triage gaps and suboptimal management for cancer patients, her population-based research was the first to link cancer registry data with statewide utilization data, which revealed patients with cancer use the ED at significantly higher rates than previously reported, while also identifying the unique vulnerabilities of this high-acuity population.

Lash’s influence as a visionary scholar is felt at the highest levels of national research and policy. Through her work with the National Cancer Institute’s Comprehensive Oncologic Emergencies Research Network, she helped shape the national research agenda for this under-recognized field and served as a principal investigator on multiple studies that inform clinical practice and guide future research. Her scholarship, which has been cited more than 200 times, serves as a cornerstone for evidence-based oncologic emergency care. The culmination of her work is the landmark development of the Foundations of Oncologic Emergency Nursing curriculum in collaboration with ENA.

As the first standardized, comprehensive educational offering of its kind, this program translates years of rigorous research into a lasting tool for clinical practice. Through her leadership, Lash has ensured emergency nurses are not only prepared to meet the complex needs of oncology patients but are empowered to drive excellence in patient outcomes across the specialty. She is a nurse scientist at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.