The Deteriorating Patient:

Cardiac and Respiratory Assessment

12 – 20 Oct 2025 | Cruising The South Pacific departing Sydney | 24 CPD Hrs

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07 4151 3884 [email protected]

02 7908 7774 [email protected]

Back To Events

Phone: 07 4151 3884
Email: [email protected]

Phone: 02 7908 7774
Email: [email protected]

Welcome!

We hope you enjoy exploring the conference information below. If you would like to secure your place or have any further questions please complete the enquiry form or contact the team from Education at Sea, our conference partners, on:

02 7908 7774
[email protected]

Ready to sharpen your skills and boost your confidence in cardiac and respiratory assessment?

Join us for an engaging 8-day conference aboard a fabulous cruise ship. Designed for both novice and experienced nurses—as well as midwives looking to expand their knowledge — this event is all about helping you feel more capable, confident, and prepared in your role.

With healthcare becoming more complex, advanced assessment skills are no longer optional — they’re essential for nurses stepping into many varied roles, making critical decisions, and supporting their teams.

This conference offers practical, easy-to-understand strategies that you can start using right away, all in a supportive and enjoyable setting.

Relax, recharge, and learn from highly regarded content that has been praised by nurses and midwives for years. Combine professional development with time to connect with peers and soak up the cruising experience.

What this Conference is About

Advanced assessment skills are essential for nurses because they significantly enhance the quality of patient care, improve patient outcomes, and encourage professional growth. As healthcare becomes more complex, nurses increasingly take on more in-depth assessment and critical thinking roles.

Nurses with advanced assessment skills are more likely to take on leadership roles in clinical settings, such as team leader, clinical nurse specialist, or nurse practitioner. These roles often involve independent decision-making, complex clinical judgment, and collaboration with other healthcare providers.

This conference is for novice and experienced nurses who want to gain confidence in cardiac and respiratory assessment. Its content has been highly evaluated over many years. Midwives would also benefit from this knowledge, as pregnant women have increased co-morbidities that require advanced cardiac knowledge.

The conference commences with cardiac assessment and aims to empower all nurses to perform an expert clinical assessment of a patient deteriorating with cardiac disorders.

Anne will address two vital subjects at length: the interpretation of 12 lead ECGs (electro cardiogram) and life-threatening Long QT interval syndrome. Cardiac auscultation will be demonstrated, and the link to deterioration and scenarios will be explained.

We will then explore the significance of advanced respiratory assessment, commencing with an explanation of a variety of respiratory disorders, many of which are life-threatening.

Continuing, we will also discuss the following:

the increased incidence of vaping by adolescents and the effects on the respiratory system
the increasing prevalence of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and the nurses’/midwives’ responsibilities relating to oxygen administration
chest auscultation,
interpretation of chest x-rays and
interpretation of arterial blood gases (ABG)

Conference Learning Outcomes

At this conference, you will:

Explore the general cardiac assessment of a deteriorating patient with cardiac compromise
Gain expert knowledge and skills in the interpretation of arrythmias and 12-lead ECG
Discuss the general respiratory assessment of a deteriorating patient with respiratory compromise
Investigate communication skills and tips that will obtain immediate action for your patient from other members of the health care team

You Will Also Learn

To recognise a patient deteriorating with a cardiac disorder
To interpret the deterioration of a monitored patient
To recognise a patient deteriorating with a respiratory disorder or condition
Interesting respiratory conditions such as silicosis, psittacosis and, legionnaires disease, and the deadly emerging C.auris
To read a chest X-ray
The presentation on the chest x-ray of a variety of disorders such as heart failure, pneumothorax, pneumonia and placement of various catheters
To recognise Becks Triad and relate to the deteriorating patient with a pericardiac effusion
The anatomy of the lung fields, examining the lobes and landmarks for auscultation
To auscultate both the lungs and the heart
The significance of a postoperative patient who develops crackles and shortness of breath
How syncope or mild fitting can be misdiagnosed and relate this to the Long QT (LQT) interval syndrome
To perform the clinical assessment of a collapsed patient and address the controversy of performing pulses
The vital role ward nurses have in managing a patient after an antidepressant overdose and the required knowledge of all nurses in this serious disorder of LQT
The assessment of chest pain in a pregnant woman or the post-partum period
ANZCOR’s (Australian and New Zealand Committee on Resuscitation) Resuscitation guidelines relating to PEA (pulseless electrical activity) cardiac arrest
The common arrhythmia associated with a post-op haemorrhage or trauma
The significance of recognition of a murmur

Not your typical Nursing CPD Conference

Our Presenter:

Anne Evans-Murray

R.N., BHlthSc, MACCCN, Grad.Dip Ed, MEd, Dip Counselling, GradCertCritCare, CertIV Training and Assessment, CertIV in Mediation

Anne has a passion for teaching, which she does in an unpretentious way that ensures you will understand and retain what she presents and enjoy this learning experience. She has extensive experience, over 26 years lecturing for Gold Coast Health District and Griffith University. Currently, she is a guest lecturer at Bond University medical school.

Anne is a frequent presenter at workshops, conferences & seminars throughout Australia & New Zealand on subjects such as high dependency nursing, cardiac arrhythmias & ECG interpretation, chest x-rays interpretation, clinical assessment of the deteriorating patient, assertion training and leadership.

She conducts accredited advanced life support training for nurses, doctors, and paramedics. Anne is passionate about empowering all clinical staff through increased awareness and knowledge of the critically ill patient’s condition so that timely intervention is implemented, which will benefit patient outcomes.

She is the author of three books: “ECGs Simply”, “Interpretation of Chest X-rays Simply” and ‘Uncomplicating Life, Simply’. Her ECG book is a textbook sold in many universities in Australia.

Conference Program:

The Conference is delivered in two formats in the spirit of adult learning. The live presentations are delivered in the Conference Room, and the online library is open one month before the actual Conference dates. The library is an essential component of the entire Conference program.

The library consists of Conference material supplied by the Presenter/s, which can include any of the following:

Research documents
Links to external information
Recorded Conference presentations
Electronic Notepads

The research documents and recorded Conference presentations form part of the Continuing Professional Development activities. They are delivered to you before the commencement date so you can start your Conference Program early. If you choose not to undertake these activities prior, there is a two-week window post the Conference where the library remains open to you. You can also undertake the library activities during the actual Conference.

Below is a snapshot of the Conference Program

Day one:
12 Oct 2025 | Depart Sydney | 1530

1530: Make sure you are up on deck to be a part of the “setting sail” festivities as we say farewell to destination.

1700 – 1800: Enjoy this opportunity to mingle with the other attendees at the complimentary drinks and Conference Registration function.