Objective: to reflect on the knowledge, skills and abilities that should be fostered during academic nursing education for an effective professional performance in the face of a mass event, describing the experience of professors and students of the Nursing Undergraduate course in emergency teaching in this scenario. Methods: experience report, with participatory observation, experienced by teachers and students in nursing education in Urgent and Emergency care during mass events in partnership with the Brazilian Red Cross. The experience took place between September and October 2019, from the training process of the volunteers to the days of the event. Results: at the help stations, strategically dimensioned along the procession path, the students developed diversified actions, involving the management of the environment, planning and direct care. Such experience is a strategy that values the construction of knowledge in a participatory and questioning way, allowing direct contact with the user, providing a unique opportunity to apply the theoretical knowledge acquired in the academy, develop skills and dexterity in nursing actions, in addition to work as a team with the various actors in the state Urgency and Emergency network. Conclusion: the reflective study allowed us to glimpse several aspects regarding the thematic pillars peculiarities that involve nursing teaching in mass events, allowing to raise discussions about the competencies and skills essential to the performance of nurses and teaching strategies to promote teaching in this context.