MER Primary Care Conferences Internal Medicine for Primary Care ENT Genetics Geri Ortho Jun 07-11, 2026

1. Overview
This is a primary care medical conference organized by Medical Education Resources (MER), a non-profit organization. The conference is titled “Internal Medicine for Primary Care: Ear, Nose, & Throat/Genetics/Geriatrics/Orthopedics”. It will take place from June 7-11, 2026, at the Andaz Maui at Wailea in Maui, HI.
2. Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this program, participants should be better able to:

Describe the anatomy and function of the knee joint.

Diagnose and treat orthopedic problems in the hip, thigh, knee and shoulder.

Recognize chronic injuries and pain syndromes to the foot and ankle.

Diagnose and treat shoulder injuries.

Diagnose and treat wrist, hand, and finger injuries.

Review common lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) that may progress to urinary incontinence, and initiate treatment options.

Describe the assessment and evidence-based treatment plans for heart failure (both reduced and preserved ejection fraction) in collaboration with cardiology.

Utilize discussion and case-based learning to further incorporate treatment options for heart failure into practice.

Evaluate hypertension in both younger and older adults, differentiate risks and goals of treatment, and recommend appropriate interventions.

Utilize discussion and case-based learning to further incorporate treatment options for hypertension into practice.

Identify when imaging and/or referral to an ENT is necessary for patients presenting with a neck mass.

Recommend appropriate systemic and/or topical antimicrobial agents for the treatment of sinusitis.

Review the basic allergic pathways that affect the body, with particular emphasis on the nasal and sinus regions.

Accurately differentiation between sensorineural and conductive hearing loss.

Identify management approaches for tinnitus.

Identify red flags for heritable conditions that mimic common chronic diseases and understand how adult vs pediatric phenotypes differ.

Implement genetic counseling with efficient family history collection, informed consent, and communication of risk.

Distinguish between karyotype, microarray, gene panels, WES, WGS, and mtDNA.

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, otolaryngologists (ENT specialists), geneticists, geriatricians, and orthopedists.

4. Topics
Sunday, June 7, 2026

Orthopedics – The Knee: Anatomy, Common Injuries, and Exam Techniques: ACL, meniscus, MRI; common sports injuries; osteoarthritis and hyaluronan; bursitis: prepatellar, pesanserine; baker’s cyst; joint injection/X-ray interpretation; pediatrics.

Orthopedics – Hip and Thigh: Emphasizing the tools, physical diagnostic techniques and basic investigations available to the primary care practitioner, a practical approach to the undifferentiated hip problem will be reviewed. Diagnostic triage, historical clues and physical examination pearls pertaining to hip conditions will be covered, and evidence-based management.

Orthopedics – Ankle and Foot: This presentation will address a series of common acute and chronic injuries and pain syndromes to the foot and ankle as they would present in the primary care setting. The focus will be on developing a working differential diagnosis based on the historical mechanism of injury and exam findings.

Monday, June 8, 2026

Geriatrics – Urological Disorders in the Older Adult: Review common lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in older adults that may progress to incontinence; Practical approaches to differential diagnoses and management of Stress Incontinence, Overflow Incontinence, and Overactive Bladder (OAB), leading to Urge Incontinence.

Geriatrics – Heart Failure in Older Adults: Recognition of the high mortality associated with heart failure; Understanding how to diagnose heart failure and the difference between reduced ejection fraction and preserved ejection fraction heart failure; Evidence based treatments available for heart failure.

Geriatrics – Heart Failure Discussion and Q&A: Interactive review of the principles of heart failure diagnosis and treatment in older adults, and audience questions further clarifying the topic.

Orthopedics – The Shoulder: Anatomy, Common Injuries, and Exam Techniques: Rotator cuff syndrome; impingement, frozen shoulder; subacromail bursitis; bicipital tendonitis; A-C joint disease.

Orthopedics – Wrist, Hand, and Fingers: Carpal tunnel, CMC arthritis thumb, ganglion cyst, trigger finger, de Quervains disease.

Tuesday, June 9, 2026

ENT – Evaluation of the Neck Mass: Patients presenting with masses in the neck are challenging and worrisome. The diagnostic and therapeutic process is described. A method for evaluating the mass, guidance on when imaging studies are indicated, and when immediate or routine referral to ENT becomes appropriate is discussed.

ENT – Antimicrobial Therapy in Treating Sinusitis: Symptoms, signs and examination findings helpful in diagnosing sinusitis are outlined. When to use systemic and topical agents as well as emerging resistance to these agents is discussed. Imaging studies and proper referral to specialists is described with clarity.

ENT – Allergic Rhinitis: The lecture will focus on a review of the basic allergic pathways that affect the body. Special emphasis will be given to the nasal and sinus regions, with discussion to include diagnostic testing and modes of treatment, including avoidance, pharmacotherapy and immunotherapy.

Geriatrics – Controversies in the Management of Hypertension in Older Adults: Best evidence for treatment goals for hypertension in diabetics and those with previous stroke; Controversial evidence for the various guidelines for diagnosing and treating hypertension in older adults; Best evidence-based medications for hypertension.

Geriatrics – Hypertension Discussion and Q&A: Interactive review of the principles of hypertension diagnosis and treatment in older adults, and audience questions further clarifying the topic.

Wednesday, June 10, 2026

Genetics – Recognizing Undiagnosed Genetic Disease in Adults: Identification of clinical patterns and multisystem red flags suggestive of an underlying genetic disorder; Key adult and pediatric manifestations of selected genetic conditions; Appropriate referral and testing pathways to reduce diagnostic delay.

Genetics – Practical Genetic Counseling for the Busy Clinician: Putting in place a system to collect a clinically meaningful three-generation family history in less than 5 minutes; Essential elements of informed consent for genetic testing; Strategies to communicate genetic risk and testing implications clearly to patients of varying health literacy levels.

Genetics – The Genetic Rosetta Stone: Understanding Test Types and When to Use Them: Major genetic test types and their appropriate clinical indications; The diagnostic yield and limitations of each modality for common primary care presentations; Appropriate tests based on patient history, urgency, and suspected phenotype.

ENT – A Primary Care Approach to Sudden Hearing Loss: When a patient presents with sudden hearing loss, accurate differentiation of sensorineural versus conductive loss is essential. Techniques to make that differentiation, testing and treatment strategies will be discussed; Urgent treatment and when to render for audiometric testing and ENT referral will be outlined.

ENT – Tinnitus: Primary care approach to proper diagnosis and treatment of common ringing in the ear; includes latest advancements in treatment approaches.

Thursday, June 11, 2026

Genetics – Genetic Testing 2.0: Polygenic Risk Scores & Direct-to-Consumer Results: Discussion of polygenic risk scores, how they are developed and what they measure; The clinical utility and limitations of PRS in primary care; Strategies to counsel patients who present with direct-to-consumer genetic reports.

Genetics – Variants and VUS: Managing Uncertainty in Genetic Results: Discussion of the ACMG/AMP variant classification framework in simple clinical language; Differentiating VUS from actionable findings and outlining appropriate clinical responses; Plans for reanalysis, follow-up testing, and family studies when indicated.