By Laura Gasque

University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing Associate Professor Melanie Gibbons Hallman, DNP, CRNP, CNS, FNP-BC, ACNP-BC, ENP-C, FAEN, FAANP, FAAN (BSN 1983, MSN 1990, MSN 1995, DNP 2012), is the recipient of the Frank L. Cole Nurse Practitioner Award, given by the Emergency Nurses Association, an international nursing organization representing nearly 50,000 members. The award recognizes excellence as a nurse practitioner in emergency care. Hallman will be recognized during the ENA Emergency Nursing 2025 Conference in New Orleans in September.

“I am deeply honored and humbled to receive this national award,” Hallman said. “I am grateful to be recognized by peers and colleagues for doing what I absolutely cherish, caring for emergency patients and elevating the education of future emergency providers. I am grateful to all who have supported and mentored me throughout my career. I share this honor with my pre-hospital and hospital-based colleagues and mentors; and the nursing faculty that challenged and inspired me over decades.”

Hallman has been a leader in prehospital and hospital-based emergency care for more than 40 years and has practiced as an emergency nurse practitioner for 30 years. She is a founding member and current President of the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Emergency Nursing, a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

She also serves as co-chair of the AANP Emergency NP Community and was recognized by AANP in 2022 with the Alabama Nurse Practitioner State Award for Excellence. She is co-editor of the second edition of the AAENP Emergency NP Core Curriculum and co-author of the 2021 joint AAENP-ENA Emergency NP Competencies.