By Laura Gasque
The Alabama Emergency Nurses Association is recognizing a faculty member and a student at the state’s No. 1 ranked nursing school, the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing, for their excellence and contributions to advanced practice emergency 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 Outstanding Emergency Nurse Educator Award. This inaugural award recognizes an emergency nurse who has made significant contributions to the education of colleagues, students, patients, families and the community as well as inspires the next generation of emergency nursing professionals.
“I am deeply honored to receive this inaugural recognition from the Alabama Emergency Nurses Association,” Hallman said. “Throughout my career, my passion has been to elevate the quality and safety of care provided to the most vulnerable emergency patients by training and uplifting others—mentoring colleagues, guiding students and empowering our communities—because the future of emergency care depends on the strength, compassion and knowledge we build together. This award reflects not just my journey, but the collective dedication of the many nurses and interdisciplinary healthcare professionals who invested in my growth and inspire me every day.”
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 Past-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. In 2025, she received the Frank L. Cole Nurse Practitioner Award, given by the Emergency Nurses Association. The award recognizes excellence as a nurse practitioner in emergency care.
Hallman 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.
Doctor of Nursing Practice student and UAB Hospital Emergency Nurse Practitioner Andrew Semegram, APRN, FNP-C, ENP-C, is the recipient of the Excellence in Advanced Practice Emergency Nursing Award. Semegram was recognized for delivering compassionate care in an emergency care setting and for elevating the role of emergency nursing.
“I am truly grateful to be recognized by the Alabama Emergency Nurses Association for this award,” Semegram said. “Emergency nursing has always been both a calling and a craft, one that demands not only clinical excellence but deep commitment to the patients and communities we serve. The UAB School of Nursing has challenged and expanded my thinking in ways that have made me a better practitioner, educator and advocate, and I am very excited to be part of the UABSON community. This recognition belongs equally to the colleagues and mentors who have shaped my practice, both in Vermont and Alabama, and to the patients whose trust drives everything we do. I want to especially recognize and thank Dr. Hallman, who exemplifies everything that it means to be leader in emergency nursing, for her support and mentorship.”
Semegram is a dual board-certified Family and Emergency Nurse Practitioner who brings 14 years of nursing experience and eight years of advanced practice to his role. His DNP scholarly project, focused on improving HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis screening and prescribing in the emergency department, has been accepted for poster presentation at the 2026 American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners national conference.
Semegram and Hallman were recognized during the Alabama Emergency Nurses Association Conference in April.