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.