Critical Care Certificate Course

Paul Langlois, APN, PhD, CCRN, CCNS, is a critical care clinical specialist in the surgical, medical, neurologic, burn, CCU, and trauma ICUs of Cook County Hospital, Chicago. Drawing on over 40 years of experience assessing and managing patients with life-threatening diseases, Dr. Langlois provides advanced-level training to nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, respiratory therapists, and physicians.

Dr. Langlois is committed to providing the highest quality of care to patients through advanced education. His presentations are evidence-based, timely, and go beyond content review to sharpen the clinical reasoning underneath it, using illness scripts, anticipatory thinking, and layered case studies to help experienced clinicians reason out loud rather than simply recall answers. As a bedside clinical nurse specialist, he has developed several institution-wide protocols for the multidisciplinary assessment and management of patients.

His presentations are enthusiastically delivered and offer highly practical tips that help make the most challenging concepts easy to understand, from cognitive-bias traps that shape a shift to the SBAR calibration that gets a "come now" call heard the first time. Linking knowledge to clinical practice is the goal of every educational program, and Dr. Langlois builds that link through near-miss scenarios and "what would you do?" cases designed to sharpen judgment, not just test it.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Paul Langlois has employment relationship with Cook County Hospital and Emergency Care Consultants. He receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Paul Langlois is a member of the American Nurses Association, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, and the Society of Critical Care Medicine.

Sean G. Smith, MSc, FP-C, C-NPT, CEN, CFRN, CTRN, TCRN, CPEN, CCRN-CMC (Adult), CCRN-K (Neonatal), CCRN-K (Pediatric), is a humanitarian/flight nurse-paramedic who is triple board-certified in neonatal, pediatric, and adult critical care and emergency medicine. He brings 30+ years of education and team/leadership experience to his presentations from a career that includes global health, tropical medicine, research molecular neuroendocrinology, nuclear engineering technology, US Navy aviation/NASA manned space flight support, and high-performance teams/high-yield pedagogy, dozens of national/international conference presentations and various awards and honors. Author/co-author/review credits include a best-selling laboratory medicine textbook, a chapter on shock in Nursing Core Curriculum a section in the newly released Resuscitation Crisis Manual, numerous other industry-standard textbooks, and several professional association critical care/emergency medicine curriculums and board certification review courses (AACN, ANN, ENA, SCCM, etc.). Additionally, Sean routinely consults on clinical, legal, and certification matters for numerous high-profile hospital systems (Yale, Mayo, etc.). He holds an MSc in Pharmacy/Forensic Science, bachelor’s degrees in business administration, nursing, and molecular biology, and post graduate certificates in Forensic Death Investigation, Legal Consulting, and Tropical Medicine. In addition to being active in a number of professional associations (SCCM, AACN, WADEM, etc.), Sean is a life member of Mensa, The Emergency Nurses Association, and the Air Surface Transport Nurses Association. He has served on the executive committees and in various leadership roles of numerous charities and professional associations and has led/participated in 50+ medical missions (Dominican Republic, Honduras, Morocco, Liberia, Nepal, Iraq, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Haiti). Sean served as a clinician and educator during the largest Ebola and Cholera outbreaks in recent history and is currently active in building sustainable neonatal-pediatric cardiac critical care capacity in Iraq, as well as serving as part of a national-level multidisciplinary child sexual assault forensics team in Guyana, South America. Hobbies include Scuba diving and vintage science kits, tube amplifiers, and motorcycles.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Sean Smith is an independent contractor. He receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Sean Smith is a member of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, the Emergency Nurses Association, and the Society for Critical Care Medicine.

Rebecca Bierle, MSN, APRN, ANP-BC, is an electrophysiology nurse practitioner at Monument Health Heart and Vascular Institute in Rapid City, South Dakota. Rebecca has been recognized for her clinical excellence and leadership in heart failure and electrophysiology.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Rebecca Bierle has employment relationships with Monument Health Heart and Vascular Institute and the University of Illinois. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Rebecca Bierle is a member of the Heart Rhythm Society, the American College of Cardiology, the Heart Failure Society of America, the American Heart Association, and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

Robin Gilbert, MSN, RN, CEN, CPEN, has over 25 years’ experience in emergency nursing. She is both a certified emergency nurse and certified pediatric emergency nurse. Robin has experience as an emergency department manager, manager of cardiac & pulmonary rehabilitation and currently as the regional manager for staff development at Central Main Medical Center. She instructs the NCLEX review class for Kaplan and tutors nursing students online for a local college of nursing. Her experience also includes having been an item writer for the Board Certification of Emergency Nursing and a former chairperson. In her current role, Robin is able to remain up to date in the trends and best practice standards for care in emergency nursing. Robin received her BSN from Curry College, Massachusetts and her MSN from Saint Joseph’s College, Maine. Robin is an active member of the Emergency Nurses Association, the American Nurses Association, Society of Critical Care Medicine, and is a reviewer for the ANCC’s Pathway to Excellence.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Robin Gilbert has employment relationships with EBSCO, Rumford Hospital, Pathway to Excellence, and Kaplan University. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Robin Gilbert is a member of the Emergency Nurses Association.

Filissa M Caserta, MSN, ACNP-BC, CNRN, is certified as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner and Neuroscience Registered Nurse who works in endovascular neurosurgery at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD. She has worked in the field of neurosciences, specifically neuro-critical care and endovascular neurosurgery in various capacities for most of her 34-year nursing career. In addition to her role as a Nurse Practitioner, Filissa has held positions as nurse manager, adjunct faculty at The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, and program director for nursing practice.

She instituted the Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program for The Johns Hopkins Hospital Neuroscience Critical Care Unit. Filissa has contributed to a wide variety of academic publications on neurocritical care and advanced practice nursing. She has shared her specialty expertise through national and international lectures.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Filissa Caserta has employment relationships with John Hopkins University and AnitCancer 360, LLC. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-Financial: Filissa Caserta is a member of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses (AANN) and the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN).

Cyndi Zarbano, MSN-Ed, CCRN, PCCN, CMSRN, LNC, NLCP, brings 30 years of frontline nursing experience across intensive care, emergency, and flight nursing – and she continues to take patient assignments as an intensive care nurse at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. That direct patient care isn’t just background; it’s the foundation of everything she teaches.

A sought-after speaker on national and international stages, Cyndi is known for delivering evidence-based clinical content with the kind of real-world perspective and genuine humor that makes learning stick. She practices what she preaches when it comes to professional growth, currently pursuing her third master’s degree – this one in leadership.

Her expertise extends well beyond the bedside. Since 2008, Cyndi has served as a legal nurse consultant on more than 300 cases spanning plaintiff, defense, and boards of nursing matters. She has accumulated critical perspectives on clinical documentation, standards of care, and the moments when nursing judgment makes all the difference. A 10-year US Navy veteran who left service as a Lieutenant Commander, she carries that same precision, discipline, and commitment to excellence into every room she enters.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Cynthia Zarbano is the owner of Clinical Review Consultants and has an employment relationship with Mayo Mankato. She receives a speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Cynthia Zarbano has no relevant non-financial relationships.

Pam Collins, MSN, CMSRN, RN-BC, has 40 years of varied nursing experiences that includes administration, nursing faculty, staff nurse, extensive experience as a nursing professional development practitioner with a focus in leadership development, and work as an education and legal consultant. Pam has served as an expert witness for plaintiff and defense medical malpractice cases, specific to nursing. She is dually certified in medical-surgical nursing from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses, is also certified in nursing professional development, and has a proven track record of helping nurses achieve certification in medical-surgical nursing and nursing professional development.

Pam’s accomplishments include being a published author in nursing journals and textbooks, and just recently authored a medical-surgical certification review book. Pam has served on the advisory panel for the American Nurses Credentialing Center, has been the recipient of various awards for her contribution to education and nursing professional development, and was a flight nurse in the United States Air Force Reserve. Pam presents nationally on clinical and legal topics and is known for her ability to engage the audience.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Pamela Collins maintains a private practice and has an employment relationship with Atrium Health System. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Pamela Collins is a member of the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses, the American Nurses Association, and the § Association for Nursing Professional Development.

Dr. Eddy Gutierrez, better known as Dr. Eddy Joe, is a critical care intensivist in Jacksonville, Florida. He is dually board certified in Critical Care and Internal medicine and has over a decade of diverse experiences, especially in critical care. His Saving Lives Podcast: Critical Care w/eddyjomd offers reviews of evidence-based strategies for caring for critically ill patients in the ICU.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Eddy Gutierrez has an employment relationship with Baptist Medical Center and receives a speaking honorarium from Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Edwards Lifesciences, and Abiomed. He previously received a speaking honorarium from Percusense. Dr. Gutierrez receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc. All relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations have been mitigated.
Non-financial: Dr. Eddy Gutierrez is a member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the American College of Chest Physicians.

 

John Lunde, DNP, AGACNP/FNP-BC, RN, CCRN, TCRN, FCCM, is an advanced practice nurse with over 25 years’ experience in resuscitation roles, critical care, flight nursing and trauma program management. He holds multiple national certifications in emergency flight, critical care and trauma. Dr. Lunde currently works as a critical care nurse practitioner, is a journal reviewer for a nursing trauma journal and provides trauma education to advance practice providers, nursing, allied health and medical residents. He is a Fellow in the American College of Critical Care Medicine, member of the Fundamental Critical Care Support Course Committee Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), and serves on the Fundamental Critical Care Support Committee, and the Critical Care Pharmacology Committee.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. John Lunde has employment relationships with Jacksonville University Keigwin School of Nursing, Chamberlain College of Nursing, Jacksonville University, Orange Park Medical Center, and Orange Park Medical Center Intensive Care Consortium, Inc. He receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. John Lunde is a member of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

Danielle Dunwoody, PhD, RN, is an advanced practice nurse with extensive experience working in the acute care setting; specifically critical care nursing, acute pain management and procedural pain management. She is currently in a leadership role as a Patient Care Manager at Halton Healthcare in Milton, Canada. She is also an adjunct professor at York University in the Graduate Nursing Program with a program of research focused on clinical decision-making around opioids, opioid-induced sedation, and delivering quality pain management.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Danielle Dunwoody has employment relationships with Brock University and York University. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Danielle Dunwoody is a member of the Canadian Pain Society, the American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nursing, the American Society of Pain Management Nursing, the Canadian Association of Critical Care Nursing Member of Canadian Pain Society since 2019, Sigma Theta Tau International, the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, and the Clinical Nurse Specialist Association of Ontario.

Christa A. Schorr, DNP, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, is a clinical nurse scientist at Cooper University Health Care and Professor of Medicine at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. Dr. Schorr has more than 25 years of clinical, quality improvement, and research experience in critical care. She has authored or co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed articles, invited book chapters, and abstracts. Dr. Schorr was the group-head for the 2021 surviving Sepsis Campaign Guidelines Long-Term Outcomes and Goals of Care Section. In 2021, she was the recipient of the prestigious Asmund S. Laerdal Memorial Award in conjunction with the 50th Annual Society of Critical Care Medicine Congress – Recognition for research and publications.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Christa Schorr has an employment relationship with Cooper University Hospital. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Christa Schorr is a member of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses and the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. She is an editor and manuscript reviewer for several publications, please contact PESI, Inc for a complete list.

Angelica Dizon, MD, MSN, MBA-HCM, BSN, RN, NP-C, is a physician, advanced care practitioner and a registered nurse, with more than two decades of experience in clinical practice. Angelica serves as the director of clinical services in one of the leading home healthcare agencies in Maryland. She has extensive past experiences both in the acute care and long-term care settings as well. Her diverse experiences provide her with unique perspectives on the importance of an in-depth understanding of pathophysiology. As a clinician, she sees complicated patient cases that require a keen understanding of overlapping disease processes. Angelica enjoys sharing her expertise and excels at putting complex topics into a plain English approach. As such, she is a sought-after presenter, sharing her vast knowledge with experienced interdisciplinary audiences across the country.

 

Speaker Disclosures:

Financial: Angelica F. Dizon is a faculty member for Radians College. She receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc.

Non-financial: Angelica F. Dizon has no relevant non-financial relationships to disclose.

Marcia Gamaly, PhD(C), MSN, MHA, RN-BC, CEN, PCCN, has over twenty years of nursing experience at the bedside and in staff development. Marcia currently works as a clinical nurse educator at St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. In her current role, she oversees and plans the educational needs of over 250 nurses and supports staff on a variety of units, including a step-down, neuro-tele and medical-surgical units. She has developed and presented on a variety of topics including certification courses for critical care, progressive care, medical-surgical, oncology and emergency nursing. Other presentations include telemetry skills day, medical-surgical skills day, cardiac dysrhythmia interpretation, post-operative care and heart failure. Additionally, Marcia is an instructor for BLS, ACLS, PALS, TNCC, ENPC and ASLS and works as a per-diem emergency department staff nurse.

She is a doctoral student at Villanova University, with a research interest in bariatrics. She is certified in medical-surgical nursing, progressive care nursing, emergency nursing, and professional staff development. She is a member of the Emergency Nurses Association, American Association of Critical Care Nurses, and American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

Marcia combines her role in clinical education with hands-on experience to deliver a high-level learning opportunity that is patient-focused and outcome-driven. The meaningful insights she has to share will be applied easily at the bedside to improve your own care of patients!

 

Speaker Disclosures:

Financial: Marcia Gamaly has an employment relationship with St. Mary Medical Center and Lower Bucks Hospital. She receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc.

Non-financial: Marcia Gamaly is a member of the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses; America Association of Critical-Care Nurses; American Nurses Association; American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery; and Emergency Nurses Association.

Ebonye Green, MNSc, ACNPC-AG, CNRN, SCRN, APRN, FNCS, is an inpatient advanced practice registered nurse for the College of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 2013. She previously worked as a staff nurse and as a travel nurse, working in some of the country’s top neurosurgical intensive units and Gamma Knife, including Washington Hospital Center and Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Ebonye is passionate about contributing to her specialty and professional associations and organizations. She is a member of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses and serves as a Director at Large on their Board of Directors, American Association of Nurse Practitioners, Director at Large for Arkansas Nurse Practitioner Association, American Association of Critical Care Nurses, American Association of Neurosurgical Surgeons, Neurocritical Care Society, and is Co-Chair of the Women in Neurocritical Care Advanced Practice Leadership Committee and is also a Fellow of the Neurocritical Care Society. Ebonye is passionate about educating staff to grow their knowledge to better care for our patients and families.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Ebonye Green has an employment relationship with the University of Arkansas. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Ebonye Green is a member of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

Dr. Pamela D. Tabor, DNP-Forensics, AFN-BC, serves as a consultant and expert witness in the private sector and for the Department of Defense in military trials. She has testified before the legislature on numerous occasions, has consulted at the Pentagon, served as the director for the Arkansas Infant & Child Death Review Program and developed the Sudden Unexplained Infant Death Investigation Training Program in Arkansas. Pamela holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree with a forensic focus, is a Board-Certified Advance Forensic Nurse and has an Advance Health Specialty Forensic Science Certification. She is a Certified Law Enforcement Standards and Training Instructor and a Fellow with the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners.

She served two terms on the board of Directors for the International Association of Forensic Nurses and earned the Distinguished Fellow award. Pamela has published articles in peer-review journals, authored a book chapter in Core Curriculum for Forensic Nursing and is currently working on a chapter about stalking for the Academy of Forensic Nurses.
 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Pamela Tabor maintains a private practice. She receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Pamela Tabor is a member of the Academy of Forensic Nurses, Medicolegal Death Investigation Committee and the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners.

Rosale Lobo, PhD, RN, MSN, LNC, has been a registered nurse for 37 years in the capacity of a nurse, legal nurse consultant, administrator, speaker, author, and entrepreneur. Working with people in hospitals, clinics, and home care settings allowed her to study patients and healthcare professional’s experiences from various perspectives.

Dr. Lobo earned her PhD (2017), with research demonstrating the importance of educating nurses on documentation and patient safety. Her company, Lobo Consulting Group, LLC partners with medical malpractice attorneys nationwide to support their pursuit of justice for their clients. Through her versatile background, she has acquired expertise in the nuances and complexities of healthcare litigation and documentation. As a speaker, Dr. Lobo continues to travel the country speaking with nurses and healthcare systems about the pathways to safer practice patterns.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Rosale Lobo has an employment relationship with Southern Connecticut State University. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Rosale Lobo has no relevant non-financial relationships.

Debra Dermady-Ray, RN-BC, MS, ANP-BC, is a nurse practitioner who has worked in pain management for the last 15 years. She has been an interventional pain specialist treating many different chronic pain conditions and opioid management. Debra has been involved in pain management research, has taught NP students on various pain-related topics, and teaches a review course for the ANCC pain management nursing certification exam. Her specialty expertise has been recognized, as she holds certifications in pain management nursing by the ANCC and in opioid management by The American Association of Allied Interventional Pain Management Professionals.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Debra Dermady-Ray maintains a private practice and has employment relationships with Omni Surgery Center and Omni Pain & Precision Medicine. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Debra Dermady-Ray is a member of the American Nurses Association, the American Society for Pain Management, and the New York State Nurse Practitioner Association.