The document summarizes a nursing student's experience attending a professional conference with seminars on various nursing topics. It provides details on 5 seminars attended, including the credentials of the nurse presenters. The nursing student chose to attend because the topics were relevant to their career and breaks/meals were provided. The student found the drug abuse seminar most challenging but was surprised by statistics on drug use and stories of uncovered child abuse. The conference overall reinforced the student's interest in nursing by exposing them to diverse nursing roles and specialties.

1. Running head: PROFESSIONAL NURSING ACTIVITY 1

2. PROFESSIONAL NURSING ACTIVITY 2
Professional Nursing Activity
Question 1: Description of the Seminars I attended
During the conference, I attended five stations each with the following topics;
Pediatric Abuse- In this workshop, the presenter introduced the topic. According to the
presenter, pediatric abuse refers to maltreatment subjected to children. As per the illustration of
the presenter, pediatric abuse can encompass neglect, sexual, emotional or physical abuse. Men
are considered as the perpetrators of the pediatric abuse. Besides, the presenter addressed the
most common drawbacks encountered while taking care of critical but non-trauma patients. Most
importantly, children were vulnerable to these challenges.
Psychological First Aid- The presenter gave a general illustration of PFA as an approach
aimed at reducing symptoms arising from exposure to traumatic events. Besides, PFA helps in
recovery especially through the implementation of the eight core strategies in assisting survivors
of trauma.
Grandma’s Don’t Bounce- according to the speaker, the topic describes Geriatric
trauma. These illustrate the risks of injuries and reasons why the older adults are prone to these
challenges. Notwithstanding, the presenter mentioned three factors that make older adults
susceptible to trauma. Precisely, older adults are prone to motor vehicle crashes, inflicted injuries
and falls. Besides, the presenter gave description of the four major body system changes that
occur as one becomes older

3. PROFESSIONAL NURSING ACTIVITY 3
Post-traumatic Stress Mental Health- the presenter, provided the description of PTSD
as a concept of prolonged distress due to exposure to traumatic events. According to the
presenter, the condition affects about 7.8% populations in the healthcare system. PTSD has a
devastating effect on the personal as well as professional life of the patients diagnosed with the
condition. During the seminar, the presenter addressed the diagnosis, impairments related to
PTSD and the support therapies rendered to those having the condition.
Drugs of Abuse, Americas New Smoking Guns- in the introduction, the presenter gave
a general description of drug abuse as improper use of prescription medications or hard drugs.
Apparently, the presenter provided description and classification of street drugs. Moreover, the
presenter gave treatment options for various conditions arising from substance abuse. Besides,
the presenter provided statistical evidence of incidences of morbidity as well as mortality
stemming from substance addiction in the United States of America.
Each of the seminar sessions was allotted 1 hour. Hence every person had the liberty to
attend sessions appealing to them. I opted to attend the five sessions as they addressed topics
important for my career. The presenters came from different states in America. They were
professionals who included EMS, MD, and Registered Nurses. The presentation was part of the
Continuous Medical Education (CME) held in the hospital setting. As such it aimed at
inculcating theoretical knowledge learned during course studies. For the purpose of clarity, each
presenter projected their work through the use of power point presentation.
Question 2: The credentials of the nurses who spoke during the conference

4. PROFESSIONAL NURSING ACTIVITY 4
Nurse Eric Clauses who took the floor on the topic of Paediatric Abuse holds Master of
Science in Nursing. The speaker is a registered nurse and the Director of EMS Center of
Excellence at the Vanderbilt University. Besides, Eric has worked as EMS instructor, flight
medic, charge nurse and nurse educator. Moreover, Eric is the author of the article Stressed: It
Changed Everything.
Nurse Joan Somes who addressed the topic of Grandma’s Don’t Bounce holds a Ph.D.
Joan is experienced as a nurse educator. The presenter has been an educator of Regions EMS for
23 years. For 15 years, Joan has been part of National ENS Committee in revising the geriatric
education for the training of registered nurses. The presenter has been part of the ENA Board of
Directors for four years. In a period of 40 years, Jones has served as an emergency nurse,
educator, and a paramedic. Joan is a nurse teacher for local, national and international
universities. Presently, Joan is a section editor and frequently contributes to the geriatric part of
the Journal of Emergency Medicine (JEMs).
In the topic of Drugs of Abuse, Americas New Smoking Gun nurse Kirk Hughes
presented an excellent discussion on the same. Kirk is a registered nurse and a Certified
Specialist in Poison Information. Besides, Kirk is an Education Director for the Hennepin
Regional Poison Center. Kirk serves as a Certified Advanced Hazmat Life Support Instructor.
Moreover, Kirk is a Hazmat Technician as well as certified in Advanced Medical Life Support.
Question 3: Reason for the choice of events completed
The events preferred provided many options concerning stations to visit. Besides, the
descriptions in the various stations had interesting topics with many presentations. I also opted

5. PROFESSIONAL NURSING ACTIVITY 5
for the event as we were given breaks after each session. Moreover, breakfast, snacks as well as
lunch were provided to all the participants. Furthermore, free shirts were offered to the
participants. Booths were also available each displaying various paramedic equipment.
a. Subjects covered during the event
 The Statewide System of Cardiac Arrest Care: The Minnesota Resuscitation
Consortium
 Don’t Get Burned
 Puppies & Blood Testing- Let’s Talk Labs
 Pediatric Abuse
 Stop the Bleed
 Cardiac Arrest Skills
 Psychological First Aid
 MRC Advanced Perfusion Reperfusion ACLS for Refrectory VF VT Patients
 Red Lights and Sirens
 Towards Zero Deaths
 Haemorrhage Control Skills

6. PROFESSIONAL NURSING ACTIVITY 6
 Basic Waves: What is Your Monitor Telling You?
 Grandma’s Don’t Bounce
 Cowboy Up and Die: Rodeo Trauma
 Transgender Awareness & Care Considerations
 The Opium Epidemic & EMS. Is Narcan the Answer
 Lessons learnt from the Level One Trauma Bay
 Close Quarter Self Defence
 Event Medicine
 The Minnesota POLST Form
 I’ll Take Litigation for a Millon, Alex
 Post-Traumatic Stress Mental Health
 Code 4, It’s All Safe Now…Right?
 Drugs of Abuse, Americas New Smoking Gun
 Violence Towards EMS & How to Combat It
 Live on Purpose

7. PROFESSIONAL NURSING ACTIVITY 7
 Why Do We Eat Out Young? Breaking the Hazing Trend
 Remote Area Rescue, It’s Not Just A Rural Challenge!
b. Information that challenged me most
The drug abuse session seemed difficult. Various types and names of drugs were
described. I could memorize all the drug names. To my surprise, West Virginia tops as a state
with many cases of Drug abuse. This was according to the report by the presenter. I am
happy to hear that the state of Minnesota has low incidences of cases of substance abuse.
c. Information that surprised me
• Existence of many drugs perturbed me as odd
• Incidence of drug abuse among children was far higher than I expected
• When I heard stories, for instance, involving a paramedic called by 911 and reports
on “he’s choking and turning blue” only to realize that the case was uncovering child
abuse and not a choking incident reported by a parent
• TEN-4 model. (Torso, ear, neck region) used as a method to identify bruises in the
body. Bruises on children are not considered normal
• That 75% of child abuse cases failed to be captured as medical practitioners fail to
undertake a thorough assessment of the child from head to toe.
d. Appealing part of the conference

8. PROFESSIONAL NURSING ACTIVITY 8
I have to say that each presentation was of great importance to me. I enjoyed the sessions
as well as the roles played by other members of the healthcare team such as paramedics.
Besides, the functions of the healthcare professionals in administering medications as well as
communicating to patients also motivated my career as a future nurse. The lingual prowess of
the presenters, as well as wealth of knowledge gained through experience, fascinated me
during the entire sessions. Besides, the lunch was very delicious.
e. Role of the experience in shaping my personality and nursing future endeavors
Listening to the presenters especially the registered nurses was very enjoyable. As the
nurses talked about their roles in various cadres of life, I gained insight that my role will not
be limited bedside duties. I have learned that nurses can become directors, educationist, and
authors of various medical publications. Besides, I have learned nurses can serve as
emergency paramedics. I believe that the insights will serve as benchmarks for diversifying
my nursing career prospects.