You've already seen the textbook cases. But today's acute and specialty units are asking for faster triage instincts, layered decision-making under real time pressure, and judgment calls with no single right answer.

The challenge isn't a knowledge gap. It's translating what you already know into decisive action when the picture doesn't match the algorithm.

The danger usually isn't the case you don't recognize. It's the one that looks routine until it isn't.

Practice With Greater Confidence Because You'll Know How To:

A Critical Thinking Challenge Built for Nurses Who've Seen It All

The topics have been designed exclusively for RNs across the full spectrum of acute and specialty care — from med-surg, critical care, and the ED to cardiac, neuro, and geriatric units. Whether you're at the bedside, charge nurse, rapid response, or precepting the next generation, this course sharpens the clinical judgment every RN relies on.

Thursday, December 3 & Friday, December 4, 2026

8:00 am – 4:00 pm CT (Lunch break from 11:50 am – 1:00 pm CT, 10-minute mid-morning and mid-afternoon breaks)

The agenda is packed with everything you need to sharpen your clinical judgment, built around complex challenge cases, "what would you do?" scenarios, audio/visual clips, and near-miss cases.

• Illness Scripts, Side by Side: Early sepsis vs. cardiogenic shock — same instability, different story
• "Something's Wrong, But I Can't Name It": Turning gut instinct into data the provider can act on
• Anticipatory Thinking: Your patient from hour 4 to hour 8 — indications a problem is brewing
• Cognitive Bias Bootcamp: Whiteboard diagnosis influence; trust the monitor vs. the patient in front of you
• A Full Patient Assignment: Deciding what can wait 20 minutes and what can't, in real time
• SBAR Recalibrated: A "heads up" call vs. a "come now" call — and how the provider hears the distinction

Myocardial Infarction

• 12-lead pearls, cardiac catheterization lab interventions, medication logic
• Near-miss case: The troponin written off as demand ischemia — until it wasn't

Heart Failure

• HFrEF vs. HFpEF presentation and treatment divergence
• Mechanical support: Impella, intra-aortic balloon pump, VADs
• Diuretic / ACE-ARB / nitrate decision-making
• Complex challenge case: The HFpEF patient whose numbers look reassuring — until they aren't

VTE & Pulmonary Embolism

• Near-miss case: The "anxiety attack" that was a PE
• Catheter-directed thrombolysis, IVC filters, mechanical thrombectomy vs. DOACs

Pericarditis

• Heart sounds (audio) and physical findings that separate it from an MI
• NSAIDs, colchicine, IL-1 blockers — when each earns its place
• What Would You Do? scenario: Chest pain…is the dx pericarditis or something more dangerous?

Asthma & COPD

• Spirometry interpretation, pharmacologic escalation, surgical options (bullectomy, transplant)
• Lung sounds audio library for pattern recognition, not memorization
• Complex challenge case: The COPD patient not weaning off oxygen the way the algorithm predicts

Pneumothorax & Foreign Body Airway Obstruction

• Chest tube management and cricothyroidotomy — visual technique demonstration
• What Would You Do? scenario: Sudden decompensation with an airway you can't fully assess

Pneumonia

• Bacterial vs. viral vs. fungal: Reasoning to the right empiric call, not just naming the drug
• Near-miss case: The "pneumonia" that didn't respond to antibiotics because it wasn't pneumonia

Stroke

• Ischemic vs. hemorrhagic, 2026 guideline updates, clipping/coiling/embolization, BP targets
• Complex challenge case: The stroke mimic that almost received tPA

Seizures

• Type and presentation recognition; rescue (benzodiazepines) vs. maintenance therapy
• What Would You Do? scenario: Status epilepticus not responding to first-line rescue med

Meningitis

• Reading the LP: Gram stain, PCR, cell count — and how each one changes the pharmacy call
• Near-miss case: The stiff neck written off as muscle strain

Spinal Cord Injury

• Assessment, immobilization, decompression, rehab, and stem cell treatment updates
• Complex challenge case: A trauma spinal injury masked by something more obvious and painful

GI Bleed

• Endoscopic interventions, PPI/vasoactive/antibiotic logic, transfusion thresholds
• Near-miss case: The "hemorrhoid bleed" that was actually a brisk upper GI bleed

Bowel Perforation

• Complications (peritonitis, sepsis, abscess) and the fluid/antibiotic race against them
• What Would You Do? scenario: Vague abdominal pain that quietly turns septic

Obesity Pharmacotherapy

• Tirzepatide, semaglutide, orforglipron — and the 2026 WHO guidance shaping their use
• Complex challenge case: GLP-1 side effects mimicking a surgical abdomen

Acute Kidney Injury

• Hemodialysis vs. peritoneal vs. CRRT: Which one, and the reasoning behind the choice
• What Would You Do? scenario: Dialysis modality decision with time pressure and conflicting labs

Renal Stones & Pyelonephritis

• Testing pathways and treatment decisions, inpatient and out
• Near-miss case: The "kidney stone" pain that was actually a ruptured AAA

Emerging Threats

• Ebola, Hantavirus, M-Pox: Recognition and treatment when these aren't top-of-mind
• What Would You Do? scenario: A returning traveler with a differential that includes a rare and deadly cause

Enduring Threats

• TB, COVID, influenza: Current pharmacologic treatment and immunization guidance
• Complex challenge case: The "flu" that turned out to be something else entirely

Medication as Assessment

• What the antimicrobial choice on the MAR tells you about the clinical picture underneath it

• Dyslipidemia Management: New LDL-C targets, coronary artery calcium score, lipoprotein(a)
• Sepsis & Septic Shock: Screening, fluid selection, vasopressor sequencing, transfusion strategy
• Pediatric Stroke Guideline Updates: Recognition and symptoms in kids; endovascular intervention; first-time seizures
• VTE/PE Treatment Shifts: DOAC vs. thrombolytic decision points and updated catheter-directed therapy criteria
• Transfusion Threshold Updates: Restrictive vs. liberal strategies for GI bleed and critical illness