CEN case studies
CEN · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN) credential is a specialty certification for registered nurses who practice in emergency care settings - emergency departments, free-standing EDs, urgent care, flight and transport programs, and triage roles. It is a voluntary professional credential rather than a license; it signals that a nurse has met a national standard of emergency nursing knowledge beyond entry-level licensure. The CEN case studies are 5 cases and about 4,323 words.
1A 68-Year-Old Diabetic With 'Indigestion' and a Recent GI Bleed
A 68-year-old woman with type 2 diabetes and hypertension tells triage she has had 4 hours of 'indigestion,' nausea, and a dull ache between her shoulder blades. She is pale and diaphoretic.
924 words, about 5 min2Wheezing at 84%: COPD, Heart Failure, or Both
A 74-year-old man with COPD (FEV1 38% predicted) and heart failure with an ejection fraction of 30% is brought in for worsening breathlessness over 3 days. He sits bolt upright, speaks three to four words per breath, and uses accessory muscles with mild subcostal retractions.
878 words, about 4 min3A Wake-Up Stroke at 06:40 With a Fogged-In Helicopter
At 06:40 paramedics bring in a 59-year-old right-handed man. His wife says he went to bed at 22:00 and was completely normal, then woke at 06:30 unable to move his right arm or speak clearly.
804 words, about 4 min4An 82-Year-Old on Apixaban Who 'Feels Fine Now'
An 82-year-old woman arrives 90 minutes after a ground-level fall in her kitchen, where she struck the back of her head on a cabinet. She takes apixaban 5 mg twice daily for atrial fibrillation, plus lisinopril and metoprolol; her last dose was about 4 hours ago.
854 words, about 4 min5Pinpoint Pupils, an Empty Acetaminophen Bottle, and a Patient Who Wants to Walk Out
A 24-year-old man is found unresponsive in a parked car by a friend who called 911. On arrival he has a respiratory rate of 6 and shallow, pinpoint pupils, cyanosis, and a track mark on the left antecubital fossa.
863 words, about 4 min