Janis Farnholtz Provinse, MS, BSN, RN, CNS, CEN, TCRN, CAISS, FAEN, is a Clinical Nurse Specialist with over 30 years of experience in trauma and emergency care. She earned her BSN from California State University, Hayward, and her MS from the University of California, San Francisco, with a double major in Critical Care/Trauma and Cardiovascular Nursing and a minor in Education.
Janis began her career in the ICU and as a flight nurse before joining the Emergency Department at Highland Hospital in Oakland in 1994. There, she moved into leadership as a Clinical Nurse Specialist and developed a structured, multi-tiered training program for both new graduates and experienced nurses. She introduced a flipped-classroom approach across all domains—triage, trauma, code rooms, and general ED care. A champion of specialty certification, Janis also created a CEN prep course that significantly increased the number of certified nurses in the department.
She has been an active member of the Bay Area Trauma Education Consortium (TEC), helping to plan regional trauma conferences and serving as TEC President. Janis also served as Trauma Committee Regional Director for the California Emergency Nurses Association. Currently, she is the Trauma Performance Improvement Nurse Coordinator at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, where she collaborates with a multidisciplinary team to improve injury prevention and trauma outcomes. She also serves as an Associate Clinical Professor, at the UCSF School of Nursing, mentoring future nurses and CNS students.
Nationally, Janis has served on ACEP’s Educational Meetings Subcommittee since 2004. Through ENA, she has contributed to the Peer Review Education and Clinical Practice Guideline Committees, and served as an item writer for the 5th edition CEN Review Manual and a section editor for the 8th edition of TNCC.
She is passionate about advancing emergency care through interprofessional collaboration, mentorship, and evidence-based education.
About This Award
The Honorary Membership Award is presented to an individual who has rendered outstanding service to the College or to the specialty of emergency medicine.
