Shawntay Harris is a nurse from Killeen, Texas, and founder of Eminent CPR, who recently became the first Black woman inducted into the Academy of Emergency Nurses.
Harris started her nursing career 23 years ago because she wanted to help people. She worked as an emergency nurse, then in 2006, opened Eminent CPR, a facility where people can learn CPR to help train others.
“It’s an AHA American Heart Association training center, and I also offer courses from the Emergency Nurses Association, then my own courses,” says Harris.
Harris’ hard work and dedication to the field for the last 23 years were nationally recognized when she was inducted into the Academy of Emergency Nurses. The program began in 2004 to highlight nurses who are significantly impacting the industry.
Daily Nurse is proud to honor Shawntay Harris as the Nurse of the Week for her dedication to emergency nursing and for inspiring nurses to join the profession.
The Academy of Emergency Nurses recognizes nurses who have made “enduring, substantial contributions to emergency nursing and helped advance the emergency nursing profession, including the healthcare system in which emergency nursing is delivered.
“When I was approached as a potential candidate to be inducted, I was like, ‘Oh, am I worthy? Have I done enough? How do I feel?’” Harris recalled. “Then when I looked at the other academy members, I was like, ‘Oh, no, there’s no one else who looks like me,’ — I will be making history if inducted.”
“It feels amazing to know that I’ve broken this ceiling so other nurses of color know they can, their work is great and exciting, has global impact, is sustainable, and they’ll see someone that looks like them,” she says.
Harris says she hopes to inspire current nurses of color and encourage more people to join the industry because diversity in healthcare is so important.
“Patients have better outcomes when treated by healthcare partners that look like them,” she adds.
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