Course Prework
The Difficult Airway Course: Emergency is the only national CME program that teaches the widely-adopted, evidence-based approach to emergency airway management developed by Drs. Ron Walls, Michael Murphy and Robert Luten. In this practice-changing course you will:
  • Increase mastery of high risk airway scenarios with new sessions on the anatomically and physiologically difficult airway.
  • Learn simple, effective airway algorithms for a reproducible approach to any emergency airway.
  • Understand the challenges associated with managing pediatric airways.
  • Participate in hands-on sessions exclusively focusing on difficult and failed airways, emphasizing rescue strategies and devices.
Led by Calvin Brown, III, MD, the course emphasizes small group learning, hands-on sessions and medical simulations to reinforce learning and provide valuable practice time with proven airway devices. Join us for this intensive training and leave assured you are at the leading edge of airway management. Read more

View attendance policy in effect for 2022 courses: Click here

Upcoming Dates and Locations

San Diego, CA
September 22 ‐ 24, 2023
Register
Washington, D.C.
October 20 ‐ 22, 2023
Register
New Orleans, LA
November 17 ‐ 19, 2023
Register

Course Fees:

Regular Tuition:
$1,600 USD
AAEM Rate Tuition:
$1,500 USD
For American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) Members
Gold Rate Tuition:
$1,300 USD
For Physician Assistants, Advanced Practice Nurses, Nurses & Respiratory Therapists
Silver Rate Tuition:
$1,200 USD
For Residents, Fellows, and Schumacher Clinical Partners Medical Staff

Cancellation Policy

Cancellations are subject to a $100 fee. Requests to cancel must be made more than 48 hours before the start of the course to be eligible for a partial refund.

Requests to reschedule to a different course must be made more than 48 hours before the start of the course. The reschedule fee of $50 will be waived for the first reschedule request. Fees will apply for subsequent reschedule requests.

No refunds will be granted to those who do not attend and do not cancel or request to reschedule according to the policies above.

A $15 fee will be charged for returned checks.

I had taken this course several years ago. It was excellent! I just completed the course again in March in San Diego. It was even better. It is the most comprehensive course on airway I have ever taken, it is well presented and the teaching labs are superb. I would recommend this course to any ED or EMS physician.

Jeffrey Gaver, MD, Arizona

Best prepared course I have ever attended. I strongly believe it should be a requirement for all physicians involved in emergency care.

O.F. Fonseca, MD. Virginia

Excellent. I will now be able to anticipate intubations rather than fear that one may be needed during any shifts at the ER.

Michael Garcia, MD. Quebec, Canada

Superlative faculty and cutting-edge information. Thank you!

Cynthia Cristofani, MD. Oregon

Highlights include: 

  • Instruction by a world-class faculty.
  • Code Airway™ stations: Challenging medical simulations to reinforce decision-making and skills.
  • Focused sessions on Pediatric Airways, Trauma, Medical Emergencies, Difficult and Failed Airways.
  • Detailed instruction in a variety of challenging patient scenarios:
    • elevated ICP
    • pulmonary edema
    • cardiogenic shock
    • status asthmaticus
    • foreign body in the airway
    • direct airway trauma
    • multiple trauma with shock
    • and many more.
  • Dynamic and interactive learning environment.

Tuition Includes:

Course textbook: The Walls Manual of Emergency Airway Management (© 2018 Wolters Kluwer), and The Airway Card™

Hands-on Training in
Crucial Airway Techniques

  • Percutaneous and surgical cricothyrotomy
  • Video laryngoscopy
  • Fiberoptic stylets and guides
  • Optically enhanced laryngoscopy
  • Extraglottic devices
  • Awake intubation
  • Flexible endoscopic intubation
  • Pediatric airway skills
  • Techniques for the obese patient

Endorsed By:

         

Accreditation

Additional accreditation applications have been submitted.  Please check back or contact us at support@theairwaysite.com if you have questions.

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of SCP Health and Airway Management Education Center. SCP Health is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
AMA CME Credit

SCP Health designates this live activity for a maximum of 22.0 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

AAPA Credit

Physician Assistants may claim a maximum of 22.0 hours of Category 1 credit for completing this activity.

NCCPA accepts AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM from organizations accredited by ACCME or a recognized state medical society.

Schedule Download PDF

2020 Typical Course Schedule (final schedule distributed on-site)

Day 1

6:15-7:15 am

Registration

General Session

7:15-8:30am

Emergency Airway I: RSI Techniques and Pharmacology

8:30-9:15am

Emergency Airway II: Identifying the Difficult Airway

9:15-9:30am

Break/Exhibits

9:30-10:00 am

Foundations in Pediatric Airway Management

10:00-12:00 pm

Workshops:
The Surgical Airway, The Trauma Airway,
The Pediatric Airway, The Medical Airway

12:00-1:00 pm

Lunch on Your Own

1:00-3:00 pm

Workshops:
The Surgical Airway, The Trauma Airway,
The Pediatric Airway, The Medical Airway

3:00-3:15 pm

Break/Exhibits

3:15-4:15 pm

Emergency Airway III: Managing the Adult Difficult Airway

4:15-4:45 pm

Emergency Airway IV: Challenges in the Pediatric Difficult Airway

Day 2

6:30-7:30 am

Registration/Breakfast

7:30-9:30 am

Sessions:
Code Airway™ I, Techniques in Airway Management

9:30-9:45 am

Break

9:45-11:45 pm

Sessions:
Code Airway™ I, Techniques in Airway Management

11:45-1:00 pm

Panel Lunch - Q&A

1:00-1:15 pm

Human Fiberoptic Tour of the Airway

1:15-3:55 pm

Skills Stations:
Flexible Endoscopy, Pediatric Airways, Adult Video & Optical Devices

3:55-4:10 pm

Break/Exhibits

4:10-5:30 pm

Skills Stations:
Flexible Endoscopy, Pediatric Airways, Adult Video & Optical Devices

Day 3

6:30-7:30 am

Registration / Breakfast / Exhibits

7:30-11:30 am

Rotate Sessions
Advanced Code Airway™, Self-Evaluation, Skills Practice

11:30-12:15 pm

Final Points & Pearls

"Without a doubt, the best definitive education I have ever received for airway management."
Gilbert Thayer, MD
Texas
"Best prepared course I have ever attended. I strongly believe it should be a requirement for all physicians involved in emergency care."
O. F. Fonseca, MD
Virginia
"Beyond a doubt — the most practical and appropriate course that I have ever attended.  Fabulous!"
Jeff Weinberg Ontario,
Canada
"I traveled 10,000 miles from the UK for this course and I was not disappointed."
Simon Wyer, MRCS (Glas) MRCS (Eng) MFAEM
United Kingdom
"Superlative faculty and cutting-edge information. Thank you!'
Cynthia Cristofani, MD
Oregon
"Second time taking this course - still the best CME course I ever attended. I'll be back."
David Lublin, DO
Georgia
"One of the most important courses I have ever attended. The lectures, demos and hands-on workshops were all amazing"
Andrew Jones, MD
Florida
I wanted to write and let you know that shortly after I completed the airway course in Las Vegas I had an opportunity to practice the skills I learned. A 12-year-old was involved in a serious ATV accident and needed a crash airway. The cognitive and motor skills I practiced in your class directly resulted in a first pass intubation with a fantastic outcome. Part of the privilege of being a medical educator is that you not only save lives where you are the physician in charge but also in the lives saved where your education of an individual plays a significant role. The latter I am sure you don't hear about enough and I wanted to write and congratulate you on a life saved in rural Wyoming. I am going to make your course mandatory for our clinical staff. Thanks again.
James H. Quirk Jr, MD
Pinedale, Wyoming
Last night, I had that nightmare airway every ER physician hopes to never see: obese male with Ludwig’s, severe epiglottitis and hoarseness. Luckily, he was still breathing on own with stridor in the upright position but comfortable. Had I not taken your course, I would not have been able to perform an upright, awake, bronchoscope nasal intubation. The airway opening around the arytenoids through the scope was just slightly larger than the size of the bronchoscope!  Thank you a thousand times over!!!
Sandra Mostaccio, MD
Texas

Purpose & Objectives

Airway Management is one of the most critical skills in Emergency Medicine. This course is designed to provide participants with
state-of-the-art information and hands-on experience that ensure effective and appropriate management of airway emergencies.

Upon successful completion of the course, the participant will be able to:
1
Have a clear conceptual framework for Difficult Airway Management in the emergency setting.
2
Be able to identify the Difficult, Unanticipated/Emergency Difficult and Failed airway.
3
Have a rapid and systematic approach for the management of each of these clinical dilemmas.
4
Be familiar with the devices and techniques needed to manage these clinical dilemmas, and when and how to use them.

Target Audience

The Difficult Airway Course: Emergency is intended for healthcare providers including Emergency Physicians,
all other physicians who work in the Emergency Department, Physician Assistants, Paramedics, Flight Nurses and Respiratory Therapists.

Endorsed by: