“It’s about service.”
Throughout her career, Tisha Thompson has used her nursing skills not only to care for patients but also in ways that serve her community and profession.
A Brooklyn native who spent much of her career in New York City hospitals, Thompson relocated to Maryland in 2023. She is currently the senior director of emergency services for University of Maryland Shore Regional Health on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay, overseeing four emergency departments, two of which are freestanding EDs. Rural health care was new to her.
“I come from the big city. I’m used to things being available 24/7,” Thompson said. "It’s been quite a learning experience, and very rewarding.”
Access to care can be a challenge, where the ability to see specialists may be limited or some radiological exams are only available certain hours and days. Her role has provided another lens through which she views diversity, equity and inclusion.
“You hear ‘DEI,’ and you think race. But that’s not the bulk of what it is. There’s the health equity piece,” Thompson said. “We have to think about our patients’ experiences, and we have to put ourselves aside and we have to meet our patients where they are so that we can provide nonbiased care.”
Thompson co-chairs ENA’s Justice, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Council, which works to address challenges in promoting health equity and belonging within the profession and ENA community. At the ENA Leadership Conference 2025, she was part of a panel discussion after a screening of “Everybody’s Work,” a documentary on nurses who are fighting for health justice.
“People had questions I thought were meaningful. I want to continue that dialogue,” she said. “We want to make sure every single member of ENA feels like they belong here, feel that they’re being heard.”
As a nurse in a leadership role, Thompson encourages her staff to continue their education, to be ready for the next step in their career or to practice to the full extent of their license.
“I always can spot a star. I innately love to mentor,” she said. Thompson entered nursing through an associate’s degree program, and she has since earned a bachelor’s, master’s in nursing education and DNP in health care systems leadership. She is currently working toward becoming a nurse practitioner.
In addition to ENA, Thompson is active in several other nursing organizations, often working through them to educate future nurses and serve her community. She taught workplace etiquette to middle school students as part of an introduction to health care careers program, and through the Black Nurses Association she taught several units about mental health and provided career guidance at a local high school.
In New York, where she was president of the Nassau-Queens ENA Chapter, she led coat drives, educational presentations and other volunteer projects. She is treasurer-elect for Maryland State ENA. Thompson has also volunteered with her daughter’s Girl Scout troop for the past 12 years. Now a lifetime Girl Scout member, she has been a co-leader and worked as the camp nurse.
“It’s about service. It’s a way that I can serve,” she said.
Thompson’s service includes almost six years in the United States Navy as a hospital corpsman.
“That’s where I realized I had a love for seeing patients, and it’s that closeness you get because you’re at the bedside,” she said.
When she joined the Navy in 1995, she planned on becoming a doctor. After leaving the military, she started school on a pre-med track and worked as a nursing assistant in a hospital, where she realized her real calling. She became an LPN in 2002, and by 2005 she was an emergency nurse.
“I really enjoy being a nurse. It’s multifaced,” Thompson said. “It’s opened up so many opportunities to give back to the community and to help others.”
