10 for 10 Speaker Series

David Thompson, MD, FACEP,
Schmitt-Thompson Clinical Content
Senior Medical Editor

Join us for a conversation with David Thompson, the driving force behind the adult triage protocols used in ClearTriage. We will talk about why nurse triage is so important to him, how he assembled a team and process to ensure the continuous improvement of these protocols, and how they decide which new protocols are added each year. We will also discuss the recent growth of AI but why the expertise and compassion of human nurses will remain critical for achieving optimal outcomes.

David Thompson, MD contributes the adult telephone triage protocols to the Schmitt-Thompson protocols and is board-certified in both Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine. He’s written many articles on patient satisfaction and chief complaint coding, and uses his findings to continuously improve triage databases and educational tools.

Meet the Senior Medical Editor of the Adult Triage Protocols

January 29th, 2025 at 1 pm ET/10 am PT

Carol Rutenberg, MNSc, RN,
AMB-BC, C-TNP

We’re excited to talk with Carol Rutenberg – leading author, trainer, consultant, and advocate for nurse telephone triage. She will share how her perspective on decision support tools has evolved over the years and what nurses should keep in mind when using these tools in practice. We’ll also touch on a key theme running through these webinars: the indispensable role of human nurses, especially as AI continues to bring changes to the care of our patients.

Carol Rutenberg has perhaps trained and influenced more telephone triage nurses than any other person we know. She is the primary author of the AAACN-endorsed book “The Art and Science of Telephone Triage” and her training materials are the basis for the AAACN’s Telephone Triage Course.

Decision Support Tools and Nurse Telephone Triage

February 19th, 2025 at 1 pm ET/10 am PT

Kathleen Martinez,
MSN, RN, CPN, CIC

The first ninety seconds of your triage call can set you up for success or for a difficult encounter. How you treat the caller after that further affects your ability to guide the caller to an optimal plan of care. Kathleen Martinez is a valued nurse leader who is constantly seeking to learn, understand, and incorporate new evidence-based practice into her role. We were fascinated by a conversation with her last year about listening and can’t wait to share those ideas with you!

Kathleen Martinez is a past president of and multi-faceted contributor to the AAACN, as well as a certified EBP mentor through CTEP, the Center for Transdisciplinary Evidence-Based Practice. She has worked closely through the years with Dr. Barton Schmitt, Senior Medical Editor of the gold-standard pediatric telephone triage protocols, and she is currently the Clinical Manager of the After Hours Nurse Triage Line at Children’s Hospital Colorado.

Listening with Kindness – Building Trust and Accuracy in Triage Calls

March 18th, 2025 at 1 pm ET/10 am PT

Cecilio Murillo, System Vice President,
Ambulatory Access Strategy and Operations
CommonSpirit Health

When a health system grows through acquisitions, it can wind up with different EHR systems at different hospitals or in different regions. It’s not always practical or possible for the health system to move everyone to the same EHR, which means that telephone triage nurses and call center agents may need to look up patient information in different ways, schedule appointments in different ways, and can generally have a difficult time doing their job.

Cecilio Murillo is in charge of triage and patient access for CommonSpirit, the second largest non-profit health system in the United States. He has provided the leadership and strategic vision to build OneConnect, a Salesforce-based solution that spans # of different EHR instances (Epic, Cerner, and more) used in CommonSpirit. OneConnect provides a single solution for the contact center agents to serve CommonSpirit’s patients, with the potential to bring triage nurses into this single solution in the future. Join us to learn about the path to getting this effort approved, where CommonSpirit is in its journey, what is working well and what still needs to be done. In short, this is an opportunity to listen to a bold vision of how healthcare can be delivered seamlessly across multiple EHRs.

Connecting Multiple EHRs with Salesforce

April 16th, 2025 at 2 pm ET/11 am PT

Schmitt-Thompson Nurses
Cortney Book, Jeanine Feirer, Kelli Massaro,
Cheryl Patterson, & Lisa Swerczek

In honor of National Nurses Week, we’re excited to introduce you to the incredible nurses behind the Schmitt-Thompson protocols used in ClearTriage! These remarkable nurses combine their extensive clinical experience with a deep passion for patient care, helping to ensure that the telephone triage protocols nurses around the world rely on everyday remain the gold standard.

During this webinar, you’ll have the chance to learn about their unique backgrounds, hear about their nursing journeys, and gain insight into how their expertise contributes to the creation and maintenance of these trusted resources. From assisting with the development of evidence-based protocols to addressing real-world questions from triage nurses, their work supports triage nurses and ensures quality care for patients. Don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate and connect with these amazing nurses!

Celebrating National Nurses Week: Meet the Nurses Behind the Schmitt-Thompson Protocols

May 6th, 2025 at 1 pm ET/10 am PT

Julie Ortiz, RN
President at Triage4Pediatrics

Join us for an engaging and informative session with Julie Ortiz, founder of Triage4Pediatrics, as she shares her inspiring journey from bedside nursing to becoming a successful entrepreneur. Julie will discuss how her experiences in pediatric nursing and telephone triage led her to recognize the need for a service that combines clinical expertise with genuine empathy, ultimately leading to the creation of Triage4Pediatrics.

She will also provide insights into what makes a triage service exceptional and offer a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to work in this specialized field. Whether you’re interested in pediatric nursing, telephone triage services, or Julie’s entrepreneurial journey, this webinar is a must-attend. Bring your questions and get ready to learn from Julie’s expertise and experience!

June: Building Triage4Pediatrics – Julie Ortiz’s Journey from Nurse to Entrepreneur

June 12th, 2025 at 1 pm ET/10 am PT