Gain clinical proficiency and confidence at the various hands-on learning sessions at Emergency Nursing 2025. In addition to the dozens of education sessions at the conference, a cadaver lab, an ultrasound lab and drop-in skills stations give attendees the chance to put their knowledge into practice in real-world scenarios.
Sharpen Your Skills | Sept. 18, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sept. 19, 9 a.m.-noon | Experience Hall
The Sharpen Your Skills Stations lets attendees practice various basic and advance procedures.
The Sharpen Your Skills stations offers guidance and hands-on practice for procedures many nurses don’t do on a regular basis.
“Even if a procedure is not part of a nurse’s daily scope of practice, understanding the step-by-step process helps unify the care team and improves communication under pressure,” said Renee Cecil, DNP, RN, CEN, TCRN, SANE, NREMT, a longtime member of the ENA Conference Education Planning Committee, which supervises several stations. “We want every nurse to walk away with one new tool in their toolbox, something that will help them feel more equipped and more empowered in their role.”
The committee will lead three skills stations: basic airway management, advanced airway management, and chest trauma and pulmonary interventions.
“These are core skills that can have a direct impact on patient survival in high-risk situations,” Cecil said.
Two stations will be devoted to advanced practice skills: suturing and abscess incision and drainage. While these skills are not within a nurse’s scope of practice, attendees may want to observe procedures they may be called upon to assist with or to get an idea of what’s in store if they pursue advanced certification, according to ENA Nursing Content Specialist LaToria Woods, MSN, APRN, RN, CCNS, who manages the advanced skills stations.
Presented by the ENA Emergency Nurse Residency Program, the “Are You Smarter Than a Resident?” station will add game-show style fun to Sharpen Your Skills. Anyone can drop by and become a contestant in this friendly competition that tests core emergency nursing concepts covered in ENRP.
Outside the Experience Hall, the cadaver and ultrasound labs offer additional in-depth skill building. Pre-registration and additional fees are required for these sessions.
Cadaver Lab | Sept. 18, 8 a.m.- 4:15 p.m.
The cadaver labs let attendees see the anatomy before, during and after an intervention under the guidance of a clinical instructor.
Three sessions of labs using cadaveric specimens review anatomy and how it relates to procedures used in emergency medicine. Attendees learn to use different tools and practices that cover both fundamental and advanced airway interventions, vascular access, and how to stop bleeding.
Ultrasound Lab | Sept. 18, 9 a.m.-3:45 p.m. and Sept. 19, 8-11:30 a.m.
Each session, which lasts one hour and 15 minutes, includes two stations that review ultrasound assessments and needling techniques for ultrasound-guided peripheral access. The lab can help attendees gain awareness and procedural confidence for device insertion in patients with difficult venous access.