MER Primary Care Conferences Internal Medicine for Primary Care Derm Neck & Spine Onc Psych Jul 30 – Aug 02, 2026

The “Internal Medicine for Primary Care: Dermatology/Neck & Spine/Oncology/Psychiatry” conference is a live continuing medical education event scheduled from July 30 to August 2, 2026, at the JW Marriott Washington, DC, in Washington D.C.. Organized by Medical Education Resources (MER)
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this program, participants should be better able to:

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

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

Recommend appropriate pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatment for depression.

Describe strategies for identifying and treating substance use disorders.

Identify clinical practices shown to prevent cancer.

Discuss the diagnostic approach to the patient with suspected cancer.

Evaluate and manage risks of the cancer survivor.

Manage patients on new oral anticoagulants.

Differentiate between the presentations and causes of atopic, contact (irritant and allergic), and nummular dermatitis.

Discriminate the diagnostic principles and treatment options for papulosquamous diseases with red, raised bumps.

Differentiate benign and malignant skin tumors and employ appropriate interoffice procedures.

Detect pre-cancerous and cancerous skin lesions.

Identify early treatment options for the management of lumbar spine disorders.

Evaluate abnormal gait patterns.

Utilize observation, palpation, range of motion and neurologic exams to diagnose cervical spine disorders.

Evaluate a patient’s cervical spine range of motion.

Target Audience
This program is targeted to office-based primary care providers and other health professionals with updates in primary care medicine.
Best for Primary Care Physicians, Dermatologists, Oncologists, Psychiatrists, and Orthopedic/Spine Specialists.
Topics
Thursday, July 30, 2026

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

Bipolar Spectrum Disorders (Psychiatry): 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.

Depressive Disorders (Psychiatry): History taking, diagnosis and treatment of depression across the lifespan; pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatment options; rational polypharmacy.

Cancer Prevention (Oncology): Cancer screening and clinical practices shown to prevent cancer will be reviewed.

Approach to the Patient with Suspected Cancer (Oncology): Symptoms, signs and diagnoses that raise the suspicion of cancer will be reviewed, and an approach to evaluating these patients will be presented.

Friday, July 31, 2026

Management of Cancer Survivors (Oncology): Medical issues related to cancer survivorship and approaches to surveillance for cancer recurrence will be reviewed.

A Primary Care Review of New Oral Anticoagulants (Oncology): Mechanisms of action, clinical indications, therapeutic indices, perioperative management and approaches to reversal of new anticoagulant and antiplatelet medications will be reviewed.

Substance Use Disorders (Psychiatry): 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.

Dermatitis (Dermatology): Overview of the causes and forms of skin irritants; Contact, atopic, irritant, nummular, seborrheic and exfoliative; Treatment of blistering, oozing, crusting and flaking; Diagnostic principles and management strategies.

Papulosquamous Diseases (Dermatology): Diagnostic principles of skin lesions consisting of red or purple papules; Psoriasis, lichen planus, pityriasis rosea, lupus erythematosus; Discussion of how to tell one scaly rash from another.

Saturday, August 1, 2026

Benign Skin Tumors (Dermatology): Proper diagnosis and treatment of common benign tumors; Biopsies and histopathologic examination; Nevi, seborrheic keratosis keloids, hemangiomas and miscellaneous tumors; When to refer.

Premalignant and Malignant Skin Tumors (Dermatology): Recognition of precursors of malignancies; Excisional and punch biopsies; Actinic keratosis, Bowen’s disease, squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, melanoma and other selected tumors; Risk reduction education.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Lumbar Spine Disorders (Neck & Spine): A practical approach to the diagnosis and early management of lumbar spine disorders will be presented. Anatomy, differential diagnosis, as well as physical examination concepts will be covered.

Physical Examination of the Lumbar Spine, Hip, and Sacroiliac Joint (Neck & Spine): Exam techniques will be demonstrated and discussed.

Sunday, August 2, 2026

Diagnosis and Treatment of Cervical Spine and Select Upper Extremity Disorders (Neck & Spine): A practical approach to the diagnosis and early management of cervical spine and selected upper extremity disorders will be presented. Anatomy, differential diagnosis, as well as physical examination concepts will be covered.

Physical Examination of the Cervical Spine and UE Entrapment Neuropathies (Neck & Spine): Exam techniques will be demonstrated and discussed.