On-demand webinar provides engaging education to help ED nurses identify and treat snakebites  

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (June 30, 2020) – Even with as many as 5,000 venomous snakebites reported to U.S. poison control centers each year, not every emergency nurse has experience with treating these injuries caused by the 20 different varieties of snakes.

To help fill this knowledge gap, the Emergency Nurses Association, in partnership with Miller Medical Communications, on Tuesday released the free one-hour “Venomous Snakebites: A Guide for Emergency Nurses” webinar to provide ED nurses with the fundamentals to identify different types of bites and the right course of treatment for them.

Made possible by a grant from BTG International, the webinar focuses on the epidemiology and clinical course of snake envenomation; elements of clinical and laboratory assessment of patients with snake envenomation; and the efficacy and recommended treatment regimen available for snakebite antivenin therapies.

ENA Director of Content Development Nicole Williams noted that despite the existence of venomous snakes – primarily copperhead and rattlesnakes – in all but three states, most emergency nurses have never encountered a patient with a snakebite diagnosis. The webinar aims to ensure ED nurses and other front-line clinicians will be familiar with all aspects of the clinical presentation, assessment and early intervention of venomous snakebites.

“In some areas, caring for a snakebite patient is often high stakes because of the injury’s high criticality and how infrequent they are seen by health care providers,” Williams said. “Because of these factors, it is important for emergency nurses to be equipped with the knowledge required to safely and effectively care for this unique patient population.”

The webinar is now available anytime, at no-cost, by visiting ena.org/snakebite.