The Big Sick - On-Demand

The cutting edge of critical care, resuscitation and cognitive sciences.

The first decisions matter when a patient is critically ill or severely injured. The Big Sick brings together clinicians from around the world to explore airway management and resuscitation. Discover new perspectives on trauma care and the human factors that shape decisions under pressure.

Follow complex clinical cases and learn from clinicians working in emergency departments, intensive care units, air ambulances, and some of the world’s most demanding environments.

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The Sickest Patients. The First Hours. The Decisions That Matter.

The Big Sick connects clinical knowledge with the judgment required to use it. From a difficult airway or uncontrolled hemorrhage to a major incident or a conversation at the end of life, these sessions explore what to do, when to act, and how to adapt care to the patient in front of you.

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    Watch or listen to 43 presentations on all aspects of responding to the serious trauma victim

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    Taught by a diverse, international faculty of recognized experts

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    Clinically relevant instruction emphasizing real-world experience

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    Instruction focused on moving the needle when it comes to trauma care

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    Accredited for 14.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (Approved for 14.75 hours of Trauma CME)

Sample Lectures

International Clinical Perspectives

Learn from clinicians, researchers, and educators whose experience spans hospitals, air ambulances, military medicine, and mountain rescue. Explore how different settings and systems approach the same challenge: caring for the sickest patients.

Decisions Under Pressure

Sharpen your clinical judgment when every decision counts. Explore how experienced clinicians adapt their approach as a patient’s condition changes and new challenges arise.

The Human Side of Critical Care

Discover how stronger teams deliver more compassionate care under pressure. Learn to build a culture where patients feel heard and colleagues feel supported.

Sharpen your clinical judgment. Strengthen your team. Deliver better care when it matters most.

On-Demand Presentations

ExpandDay 1 - On-Demand Presentations

The 2026 Critical Care Review

Iain Beardsell, MD, Brian Burns, MD, Simon Carley, MD

Biomarkers for Traumatic Brain Injury

James Price, MD

Why Psychological Debriefing Doesn't Work — and What Actually Does

Emily Holmes, MD

What We Learn When We Listen

Eleanor Overgaard-Brown, MD

Airway Evaluation and Strategies

Michael Seltz Kristensen, MD

Point-of-Care Gastric Ultrasound: Predicting Aspiration Risk at the Bedside

Michael Seltz Kristensen, MD

Finding the Cricothyroid Membrane Using Ultrasound

Rasmus Hesselfeldt, MD

The Expected Difficult Airway

Søren Rudolph, MD

Awake Intubation

Rasmus Hesselfeldt, MD

The Physiologically Difficult Airway

Søren Rudolph, MD

The Unexpected Difficult Airway

Camilla Strøm, MD

ExpandDay 2 - On-Demand Presentations

Tube Tip in Pharynx Ventilation - A Simple Rescue Technique

Michael Seltz Kristensen, MD

Cuirass Ventilation

Michael Seltz Kristensen, MD

The Soiled Airway

Luca Uenlue, MD

The Pre-hospital Airway

Michael Friis Tvede, MD

Adaptive Support Ventilation

Melody Bishop, MD

The Bloody Airway

Søren Rudolph, MD

Ventilator-assisted preoxygenation

Jouni Nurmi, MD

Hyperbaric Emergencies

Jeff Kerrie, MD

Supporting Circulation - Blood Product

Stuart Cox, MD

Transesophageal Echo

Darren Braude, MD

Defibrillation 2.0

Michael Heller, MD

Training Medics

Sean Bilodeau, MD

DSED - Double Sequential External Defibrillation

Sheldon Cheskes, MD

The Death of the Golden Hour - Rewriting Disaster Medicine Under Fire

Baruch Berzon, MD

When the Voice Fades

Katya Evans, MD

ExpandDay 3 - On-Demand Presentations

Far-Forward Trauma Resuscitation in Ukraine

Eric Akrish, MD

The First Hours of a Major Incident — Lessons from London

Claire Park, MD

Trauma Surgeon in South Africa

Andrew Nicol, MD

London's Air Ambulance - Driving Change

Anne Weaver, MD

Targeting Prehospital Bleeding

Cosmo Scurr, MD

High Performance by Heroics or by Design?

Nathalie Pattyn, MD

Humanity and Medicine in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Leo Celi, MD

Mountain Rescue Medicine in the French Alps

Pierre Muller, MD

One Giant Leap - From the Mountains to Space

Jennifer Dow, MD

Emergency Care in Extremes

Craig Wylie, MD

Beyond The Box - Improvised Medicine

Aebhric O'Kelly, MD

ExpandDay 4 - On-Demand Presentations

Prehospital Nerve Blocks

Tom Mallinson, MD

Injectable Oxygen Rescue

John Kheir, MD

Our Medical Culture and Why it Matters

Peter Brindley, MD

High Performance Teams

Dave Weber

Team Dynamics

Dave Weber, MD

Traumatic Hand and Finger Injuries

Mike Abernethy, MD

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Course Faculty

  • Mike Abernethy, MD

    Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine, USA

    HEMS Physician with 35+ Years of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services Experience

    Core Faculty, ATACC (Anaesthesia, Trauma and Critical Care) Course

  • Eric Akrish, RN

    Lieutenant Commander and En Route Care Flight Nurse, U.S. Military

    Endovascular and Point-of-Care Ultrasound Specialist

  • Iain Beardsell, MD

    Consultant in Emergency Medicine, University Hospital Southampton, Southampton, UK

    Associate Clinical Sub-Dean, University Hospital Southampton

    Senior Editor and Podcast Lead, St. Emlyn's

    Founder, MedPod Learn

  • Sean Bilodeau, DO

    Associate Medical Director, Portland Fire Department, Portland, Maine, USA

    Attending Physician, BlueWater Health

    Faculty, Master's in Austere Critical Care, College of Remote and Offshore Medicine

  • Melody Bishop, RRT

    Registered Respiratory Therapist and Certified Clinical Anaesthesia Assistant, Canada

    Clinical Educator, Critical Care Transport

    College Professor, Mechanical Ventilation and Respiratory Education

  • Darren Braude, MD

    Professor of Emergency Medicine and Tim Fleming Endowed Professor of EMS, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA

    Medical Director, UNM Lifeguard Air Emergency Services

    International Medical Director, The Difficult Airway Course: EMS

  • Peter Brindley, MD

    Professor of Critical Care Medicine, Anesthesiology, and Medical Ethics, Canada

    Co-host, The Critical Care Commute Podcast

    Author of 150+ Peer-Reviewed Manuscripts

  • Brian Burns, MD

    Professor and Emergency Physician, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, Australia

    Aeromedical Retrieval Specialist, New South Wales

  • Simon Carley, MD

    Consultant in Adult and Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Manchester NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK

    Professor, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre

    Prehospital Care Consultant, North West Air Ambulance

    Co-founder, St. Emlyn's Blog and Podcast

  • Leo Celi, MD

    Principal Investigator, Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC), USA

    Organizer of 100+ Health Data Science Events in 40 Countries

  • Sheldon Cheskes, MD

    Professor, Division of Emergency Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Medical Director, Sunnybrook Centre for Prehospital Medicine

    Principal Investigator, DOSE VF Trial

  • Stuart Cox, ACCP

    Advanced Critical Care Practitioner, NHS Intensive Care and Helicopter Emergency Medical Service, UK

    25+ Years in Critical Care, Including Military Intensive Care and International Transport

  • Jennifer Dow, MD

    Emergency Physician, Alaska, USA

    Medical Director, National Park Service, Alaska Region

    Medical Director, Guardian Flight Alaska and National Ski Patrol, Alaska Division

  • Katya Evans, MD

    Specialist Emergency Physician, Mitchells Plain and Heideveld Hospitals, Cape Town, South Africa

    Faculty, University of Cape Town

    Special Interest in Palliative Care in Emergency Medicine

  • Michael Heller

    Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer, corpuls, Germany

    Paramedic in Germany and the United States Since 2002

    Degree in Rescue Engineering, University of Applied Sciences Cologne

  • Rasmus Hesselfeldt, MD

    Lead Consultant, ENT and Maxillofacial Anaesthesia, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark

    HEMS Consultant

    Co-host, International Airway Management Course

  • Jeff Kerrie, MD

    Assistant Clinical Professor, University of British Columbia, Canada

    Executive Medical Director for Quality, Safety, Research/Innovation, and Ethics, Island Health

    Dive and Hyperbaric Medicine Physician, Vancouver

  • John Kheir, MD

    Pediatric Cardiac Intensivist, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, USA

    Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School

    Lead Investigator, HydrogenFAST Trial

  • Michael Seltz Kristensen, MD

    Airway Management Specialist, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Past President, European Airway Management Society (EAMS)

    Co-editor, Core Topics in Airway Management (Cambridge University Press)

  • Pierre Muller, MD

    Emergency Physician, Sallanches, France

    Rescue Physician, French Alpine Rescue (Gendarmerie), Northern Alps

    Mountain Guide

  • Andrew Nicol, MD

    Director, Groote Schuur Hospital Trauma Centre, Cape Town, South Africa

    Professor of Surgery, University of Cape Town

    Co-editor, Handbook of Trauma

  • Jouni Nurmi, MD

    Consultant Anaesthesiologist, HEMS, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland

    Senior Researcher, University of Helsinki

    Author of 100+ Peer-Reviewed Publications

  • Aebhric O'Kelly

    Founder and Dean Emeritus, College of Remote and Offshore Medicine Foundation

    Board-Certified Wilderness Paramedic and Former U.S. Army Green Beret

    Faculty Advisory Board, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh

  • Eleanor Overgaard-Brown, RN

    Patient Liaison Nurse, London's Air Ambulance, London, UK

    Senior Sister, Children's Critical Care, King's College Hospital

    Creator and Director, Paediatric Major Trauma Course: From Roadside to Recovery

  • Claire Park, MD

    Consultant in Prehospital Care, London HEMS, London, UK

    Consultant in Critical Care and Trauma, King's College Hospital

    Medical Adviser, Metropolitan Police Service

  • Nathalie Pattyn, MD

    Associate Professor in Human Performance, Royal Military Academy, Brussels, Belgium

    Emergency Physician and Flight Surgeon, Belgian Defence

    Former Station Physician, Halley VI (British Antarctic Survey)

  • James Price, MD

    Emergency Physician, Cambridge University Hospitals, Cambridge, UK

    HEMS Consultant and Research and Development Lead, East Anglian Air Ambulance

    Clinical Lead, BRAIN-FIRST Study

  • Søren Rudolph, MD

    Senior Consultant Anaesthesiologist and Trauma Manager, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Prehospital Doctor, Danish Emergency Helicopter Service

  • Cosmo Scurr, MD

    Consultant in Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine, London's Air Ambulance, London, UK

    Major Trauma Anaesthesia Lead, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

    Lead for Education and Digital Transformation, London's Air Ambulance

  • Camilla Strøm, MD

    Clinical Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Rigshospitalet and University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Research Focus: Perioperative Care, Airway Management, and Anesthesia Safety in Elderly Patients

  • Michael Friis Tvede, MD

    Consultant Anaesthesiologist, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark

    HEMS Consultant and Base Clinical Lead, Danish Air Ambulance, Ringsted

    Co-creator, CoPE (Copenhagen Paediatric Emergency) App

  • Anne Weaver, MD

    Pre-Hospital Care Consultant, London, UK

    Former Medical Director and Lead Clinician, London's Air Ambulance

    Former Trauma Director for London

    Pioneer of Prehospital Blood Transfusion in the UK

  • Dave Weber

    Founder, Mountain Rescue Collective, USA

    Flight Paramedic and Hoist Rescuer, Intermountain Life Flight

    Climbing Ranger, Grand Teton National Park

  • Craig Wylie

    Director of Emergency Medical Services, Western Cape Government, South Africa

    Advanced Life Support Practitioner with 20+ Years of Clinical and Leadership Experience

Accredited for 14.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (Approved for 14.75 hours of Trauma CME)

Learn on your own time and at your own pace

One of the chief benefits of the on-demand course is its flexibility, allowing participants to learn at their own pace and on their own time—whether at the gym, walking the dog, commuting to a shift, or during any available free time.

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On-Demand CME Accreditation

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint providership of the Center for Emergency Medical Education and the Center for Continuing Medical Education.

The Center for Emergency Medical Education is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The Center for Emergency Medical Education designates this enduring activity for a maximum of 14.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

(Approved for 14.75 hours of Trauma CME)

CME Expiration Date: October 15, 2029

Target Audience

The Big Sick – 2026 On-Demand course is intended for physicians and advanced practice clinicians who practice in emergency departments and urgent care centers.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this enduring activity, participants will be able to:

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    To create an educational experience focusing on controversial topics in emergency medicine

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    To present scientific literature in support of state-of-the-art practice

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    To experience the collective thoughts of experts on controversial emergency medicine topics

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    To focus on topics related to physician wellness

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    To provide short-form, high-yield educational presentations to optimize essential knowledge