Learn strategies to optimize patient care and reduce risk on your own schedule!
This year, our conference is evolving from a live virtual event to a fully self-paced learning experience. Participants will now have access to all conference lectures and materials for an entire year, allowing them to learn, review, and revisit sessions at their own convenience. This flexible format ensures that every learner can engage with the content on their own schedule—whether that means exploring topics in depth, catching up on missed sessions, or revisiting key lectures for continued learning throughout the year.
Registration is OPEN!
Lectures available December 9, 2026.
What is The Crashing Patient Conference?
There’s no question that the practice of emergency medicine is high risk. “High risk” implies danger to patients, but we all know that patients aren’t the only ones at risk in the Emergency Department (ED). Each patient visit also represents legal risk for the provider. The threat of malpractice in the U.S. healthcare system, especially in high-risk specialties such as emergency medicine, is an ever-present issue that affects physician workups, practice patterns, and dispositions on a daily basis.¹
This conference has been created to address both parties at risk in emergency medicine - the patient and the provider. Topics have been specifically chosen to educate attendees regarding the optimal care of the sickest patients we see in daily ED practice - sepsis, cardiac ischemia, aortic dissection, etc. - as well as to educate attendees in how to bullet-proof themselves from the plaintiff attorneys. The instructors for the conference are acclaimed educators, winners of more than a dozen national teaching awards, and experienced national and international-level speakers who know how to present information in a practical and entertaining way.
We know how valuable your time is, so we intend to make this conference the most productive you’ve ever attended. Our goal is simple... to teach you how to save lives and to minimize risk of malpractice. Get ready to learn!
Amal Mattu, MD, FAAEM, FACEP
Conference Director
Ref: ¹ Mattu A. Foreword: risk management. Emerg Med Clin N Am 2009;27(4):xv-xvi.
By the conclusion of this Conference, participants should be able to:
- Describe common pitfalls in documentation that reduce legal risks.
- Identify common pitfalls in managing acutely ill patients in the emergency department.
- List some best practices that can help avoid litigation and decrease the risk of morbidity and mortality in the emergency department.
Conference Leadership
Amal Mattu, MD
Conference Director
Mike Winters, MD, MBA
Department Chair (Interim)
Our Speakers
Leen Alblaihed, MBBS, MHA
Laura J Bontempo, MD, MEd, FAAEM
Michele Callahan, MD
Lena Carleton, MD
Rose Chasm, MD
Sarah Dubbs, MD, FAAEM, FACEP
Cheyenne Falat, MD, FACEP
Robert Flint, MD
Lucille Martin, MD
Joseph Martinez, MD, FACEP, FAAEM
Danielle K. Matilsky, MD
Rohit Menon, MD
Neeraja Murali, DO, MPH
Bennett Myers, MD
Kelli Robinson-Dacres, MD
Michael J. Sibel, DO
Charles Siegel, MD
Ryan Spangler, MD, FAAEM, FACEP
Kathleen Stephanos, MD, FAAEM
Shirvani Talwar, MD
Jennifer Wang, MD, MEHP
Rachel Wiltjer, DO
Andrew Windsor, MD, FPD-AEMUS, FAAEM, FACEP
Mike Winters, MD, MBA
The Topics Covered this Year
| Speaker | Topic | Category |
| Leen Alblaihed, MBBS, MHA | Tachycardia Disasters: When the Treatment Kills Faster Than the Rhythm | Cardiovascular & Shock |
| Laura Bontempo, MD, MEd | They Put What Where? Critical ENT Foreign Body Recognition and Removal | ENT & Head/ Neck Emergencies |
| Michele Callahan, MD | Hiding in Plain Sight: Sepsis in Pregnancy | OB/GYN Emergencies |
| Lena Carleton, MD | Bleeding and Breathless: Pitfalls in Resuscitating Diffuse Alveolar Hemorrhage | Airway & Pulmonary Emergencies |
| Rose Chasm, MD | The ED High-Stakes List: Diagnoses That Get Sued the Most and Those That Cost the Most | Medicolegal & Risk Management |
| Sarah Dubbs, MD, FAAEM, FACEP | When the White Count Matters: Acute Leukemia Pearls and Pitfalls | Oncology/ Hematology |
| Cheyenne Falat, MD, FACEP | From Rescue to Revival: Pitfalls in Drowning Resuscitation | Critical Care & Resuscitation |
| Robert Flint, MD | Under Pressure! (In Places We Don't Always Think Of) | Abdominal/ G.I. |
| Lucille Martin, MD | Not Just a Sore Throat! Catching a Fatal Mimic | ENT & Head/Neck Emergencies |
| Joseph Martinez, MD, FACEP, FAAEM | Why in the World Do We KEEP Missing Vascular Catastrophes?! | Cardiovascular & Shock |
| Danielle Matilsky, MD | "I Know You Must Be Busy, But This Is a Murder Trial, Doctor": Writing a Medical Record That Can Survive the Courtroom | Medicolegal & Risk Management |
| Rohit Menon, MD | Low Flow, High Stakes: From VAD to Worse | Cardiovascular & Shock |
| Neeraja Murali, DO, MPH | The Crashing Abdominal Pain Patient: From Subtle Clues to Sudden Collapse | Critical Care & Resuscitation |
| Bennett Myers, MD | Locked In: A Hyponatremia Horror Story | Renal & Metabolic Emergencies |
| Kelli Robinson-Dacres, MD | Keeping up with the Kidneys: Recognizing Complications in Renal Transplant Emergencies | Renal & Metabolic Emergencies |
| Michael Sibel, DO | Death by Intubation: The Physiologically Difficult Airway | Airway & Pulmonary Emergencies |
| Charles Siegel, MD | Breathless to Pulseless: The Crashing Asthmatic | Airway & Pulmonary Emergencies |
| Ryan Spangler, MD, FAAEM, FACEP | Kidneys Lie: Renal Emergencies That Fool Even Experienced Emergency Physicians | Renal & Metabolic Emergencies |
| Kathleen Stephanos, MD, FAAEM | When Zebras Lose Their Stripes: What You Must Know About Vitamin K in Pediatrics | Pediatric Emergencies |
| Shivani Talwar, MD | Cord in Crisis! A High Stakes Guide to Neurogenic Shock | Cardiovascular & Shock |
| Jennifer Wang, MD | How Much Blood is Too Much? Recognizing and Treating Postpartum Hemorrhage | OB/GYN Emergencies |
| Rachel Wiltjer, DO | The Pencil and the Palate: Hidden Dangers of Pediatric Oral Trauma | Pediatric Emergencies |
| Andy Windsor, MD, FPD-AEMUS, FAAEM, FACEP | Accident or Aneurysm? The Dangerous Assumption of "Traumatic" SAH | Critical Care & Resuscitation |
| Michael Winters, MD, MBA | Deadly Aftershocks: Pitfalls in Post-Arrest Resuscitation | Critical Care & Resuscitation |
Check out a highlight from 2025's The Crashing Patient Conference!
A Bloody Mess: Hidden Hazards of Hemophilia
Leen Ablaihed, MBBS, MHA
Presentation from the 15th Crashing Patient Conference on December 10, 2025
CME Information
"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 University of Maryland Department of Emergency Medicine.
"The Center for Emergency Medicine Education is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians."
The Center for Emergency Medicine Education designates this live activity for a maximum of 12.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
NPs, RNs, LPNs, and PAs: You may claim a certificate of participation. ANCC and AAPA accept medical AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for nursing and physician assistant re-licensure.
For additional CME information please click here.