Inspired by Their Past,
Invested in Their Future
Scholarship Recipients Excited to Attend Emergency Nursing 2016
Crystal J. Howard, MSN, RN, a registered nurse in the mergency department at
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical
Center in Los Angeles, has lived
with and financially supported her
mother since she left the military
last year and started working at the
hospital. When Howard’s
grandmother in LA died this year,
Howard paid for relatives’
Howard wondered whether she could afford to attend the
annual conference for the first time, even though it is local for
her this year.
“My hourly salary is good,” Howard said, “but it does not
outweigh the expenses I have recently incurred for my family’s
financial support. Having the opportunity to attend this
conference free from further financial burden will be a great
benefit not only professionally, but personally.”
Dollars for Scholars
Howard was one of 43 ENA members who received annual
conference scholarships to help them attend Emergency
Nursing 2016 in LA from Sept. 14 to 17. A scholarship covers
the full conference registration fee, which was $655 per
member at the early bird rate in spring. At that rate, the 43
scholarships are valued at more than $28,000.
Scholarships are supported through contributions from ENA
members, staff and corporate donors. The foundation is a
501(c)( 3) charitable organization whose mission is to provide
opportunities for emergency nurses through scholarships and
grants. It has awarded hundreds of conference scholarships
since 2007.
Peter D. Dagher, BSN, RN, CEN, a charge nurse at Memorial
Hermann-Texas Medical Center in Houston, was able to attend
Emergency Nursing 2015 because his hospital paid for the trip.
Paying his own way this year, he was not sure he could afford to
attend until he applied for and received a conference scholarship.
“With all great things comes a
price,” Dagher said. “Along with
basic accommodations and
transportation expenses, it would
be a stressor to add on the full
conference fee. I am forever
thankful for the ENA Foundation
and the opportunity it has given me
in my journey as an emergency
nurse. I’m looking forward to
another jaw-dropping conference.”
Paying It Forward
Dagher knew in his early teens that he wanted to become an
emergency nurse. After living in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, for 14
years, he and his family returned to the U.S. so his father could
receive a heart transplant in Houston. This September, his
father and the rest of the family are celebrating the 13th
anniversary of the transplant.
“I’ve always known I wanted to get into healthcare,” Dagher
said. “I remember promising God to never stop giving back to
the community if my dad gets the heart.”
Dagher was not alone in being inspired at a young age. While a
lieutenant nurse officer in the military, Howard lived and
worked on Native American reservations in New Mexico for
five years and was deployed to the sites of natural disasters
around the country. That is when she found her passion for
trauma and emergency nursing. But long before that, her
grandmother, a nursing assistant, showed her the joy of caring
for others in the apartment complex her grandmother
managed. Howard spent a lot of time with the sick and elderly,
feeding and bathing them, helping them with medication and
taking them to medical appointments.
“My granny nurtured me from a child on how to take care of sick
people,” Howard said. “I saw how caring for someone and his or
her daily needs improved health overall. As a little girl, I saw
people recover from their sickness and saw people struggle at
their dying hours. I got firsthand experience on what it takes to
be a nurse. I am a nurse today because of my granny.”
Crystal J. Howard, MSN,
RN
Peter D. Dagher, BSN, RN,
CEN