MER Primary Care Conferences Neurology & Psychiatry for Primary Care Apr 24-26, 2026

1. Overview

This is a continuing medical education conference titled “Neurology & Psychiatry for Primary Care” organized by Medical Education Resources (MER), a non-profit organization. The event is scheduled to take place from April 24-26, 2026, at the Francis Marion Hotel in Charleston, SC.

2. Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this program, participants should be better able to:

• Perform a neurological exam.

• Discuss evidence-based management options for Alzheimer’s disease.

• Describe the differential diagnosis of headaches and migraines.

• Discuss the spectrum of sleep disorders and current management strategies.

• Discuss mood stabilizing psychosocial and pharmacologic treatments of bipolar disorder as well as frequent co-morbid psychiatric disorders.

• Review current evidence for the treatment of anxiety disorders.

• Describe strategies for identifying and treating substance use disorders.

• Compare the benefits and side effect profiles of pharmacologic treatment options for ADHD.

• Utilize history and physical examination to distinguish weakness from non-specific symptoms.

• Evaluate weakness and recognize cardinal features of Parkinson’s disease as well as other movement disorders.

• Compare the side effect and clinical pharmacology profiles of anti-epileptic drugs.

• Discuss the mechanism of neuropathic pain.

3. Target Audience

• This program is targeted to office-based primary care providers and other health professionals with updates in primary care medicine.
• Best for internists, primary care physicians, neurologists, and psychiatrists.

4. Topics

Friday, April 24, 2026

• Neurology – 1 – The Neurological Exam: Characteristics and objectives of the examination; exam phases; assessing general mental status; long-term predications; examination of infants; demonstration on conducting an exam.

• Neurology – 1 – Alzheimer’s & Other Dementias: Definition; statistics; neurological changes of normal aging; pathology; etiological theories; vascular dementias; investigations; social issues; symptomatic treatment; research therapies.

• Neurology – 1 – Headaches & Migraines: Basic headache mechanisms; headache history: characteristics, precipitating factors, medical conditions; migraine: common tension, classic, treatment, complicated, cluster, sinus; trigeminal neuralgia; Giant Cell Arteritis; brain tumor; subarachnoid hemorrhage; emergency room treatment.

• Psychiatry – Bipolar Spectrum Disorders: Bipolar spectrum disorders in adults as compared to youth; Comprehensive history-taking; Differential diagnosis; Co-occurring psychiatric and medical conditions; Phase specific treatment considerations and interventions.

• Psychiatry – Anxiety Disorders: The nature of anxiety; Generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder; etiology and diagnosis; Co-occurring conditions; Treatment options for these disabling conditions.

Saturday, April 25, 2026

• Psychiatry – Substance Use Disorders: Substance abuse history-taking to encourage patient honesty; Accurate diagnosis; Use of screening tools; Brief intervention; Recovery and treatment options; Motivational interviewing; Family symptoms and codependency.

• Psychiatry – The Complexity of Adult ADHD: ADHD in adults with an emphasis on symptom identification; Co-occurring conditions; Psychiatric and medical differential diagnosis; evidence-based and FDA approved pharmacological treatments.

• Neurology – 1 – Sleep Disorders: Epidemiology; assessing sleep patterns; causes and treatment of insomnia; causes, evaluation and treatment of sleep apnea; symptoms and treatment of narcolepsy.

• Neurology – 2 – Evaluating Weakness: Using the history and physical examination to distinguish weakness from non-specific symptoms; characteristics of neurological diseases that produce weakness; presentations of representative diseases of the nervous system.

• Neurology – 2 – Parkinson’s Disease & Other Movement Disorders: Epidemiology; cardinal features; secondary features; pathology; neurochemistry; differential diagnosis; treatment; complication; other movement disorders; neuroleptic- induced movement disorders; chorea.

Sunday, April 26, 2026

• Neurology – 2 – Treatment of Epilepsy and Status Epilepticus: Treatment of epilepsies; goals of treatment; initiation and discontinuation of drug therapy; therapeutic monitoring; intractable epilepsy.

• Neurology – 2 – Neuropathy and Neuropathic Pain: Discussion of the spectrum of neuropathic signs, symptoms and causes; the approach to bedside examination; discussion of the mechanism of neuropathic pain; effective therapies.