MER Primary Care Conferences Neurology for Primary Care Aug 21-23, 2026

Neurology • Primary Care • Epilepsy • Dementia • Parkinson’s Disease • Stroke • Headache • Neuropathic Pain • Sleep Disorders

Strengthen your practical approach to common neurological problems with MER Primary Care Conferences Neurology for Primary Care Aug 21-23, 2026, a focused clinical education program from Medical Education Resources (MER).

Held August 21–23, 2026, at Boar’s Head Resort in Charlottesville, Virginia, this three-day program provides office-based primary care clinicians and other healthcare professionals with practical updates on the evaluation, diagnosis, and management of neurological conditions frequently encountered in clinical practice.

The curriculum covers neurological examination, epilepsy and status epilepticus, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, Parkinson’s disease and movement disorders, weakness, lower back pain, sleep disorders, neuropathy and neuropathic pain, cerebrovascular disease, headaches and migraines, dizziness, and vertigo.

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Course Details

• Course: Neurology for Primary Care
• Provider: Medical Education Resources – MER
• Year: 2026
• Dates: August 21–23, 2026
• Venue: Boar’s Head Resort
• Location: Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
• Specialty: Neurology
• Primary Focus: Primary Care / Clinical Neurology
• Original Live Activity: 12 Credit Hours
• Pharmacotherapeutic Content: 5.25 ANCC Pharmacotherapeutic Contact Hours
• Language: English

The official MER listing identifies the program as Neurology for Primary Care – 12 Credit Hours and confirms the venue and dates.

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Course Overview

Neurological complaints are common in primary care and can range from relatively benign symptoms to conditions requiring urgent neurological evaluation.

Primary care physicians may encounter patients presenting with:

• Headache
• Dizziness
• Vertigo
• Weakness
• Memory impairment
• Tremor
• Sleep disturbance
• Back pain
• Neuropathic pain
• Seizures
• Transient neurological symptoms
• Movement abnormalities

MER Neurology for Primary Care 2026 provides a structured approach to evaluating these presentations and determining appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

A practical neurological approach can be summarized as:

History → Neurological Examination → Localization → Differential Diagnosis → Diagnostic Testing → Treatment → Referral When Appropriate

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Learning Objectives

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

• Perform a neurological exam.
• Explain the differential diagnosis of seizures.
• Compare the side effect and clinical pharmacology profiles of anti-epileptic drugs.
• Discuss the spectrum of sleep disorders and current management strategies.
• Discuss evidence-based management options for Alzheimer’s disease.
• Evaluate weakness and recognize cardinal features of Parkinson’s disease as well as other movement disorders.
• Utilize history and physical examination to distinguish weakness from non-specific symptoms.
• Evaluate and treat low back pain.
• Discuss the mechanism of neuropathic pain.
• Utilize prevention and treatment strategies for cerebrovascular disorders.
• Describe the differential diagnosis and treatment options for migraine headaches.
• Recognize diseases that present with a complaint of dizziness.

These objectives correspond closely with MER’s official 2026 conference agenda and learning-objective document.

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MER Neurology for Primary Care 2026 Curriculum

Day 1 – August 21, 2026

The Neurological Exam

A careful neurological examination remains fundamental to the evaluation of patients with suspected nervous-system disease.

The official program reviews:

• Objectives of the neurological examination
• Examination phases
• General mental-status assessment
• Neurological examination techniques
• Examination considerations across age groups
• Practical performance of the neurological exam

The session helps provide a foundation for the remainder of the course because neurological diagnosis often begins by combining the clinical history with localization from the physical examination.

A useful framework is:

Mental Status → Cranial Nerves → Motor Function → Sensory Function → Reflexes → Coordination → Gait

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Diagnosis of Epilepsy, Paroxysmal Disorders, and Status Epilepticus

The program reviews how to distinguish seizures from other episodic neurological conditions.

Major areas include:

• Paroxysmal neurological disorders
• Seizure diagnosis
• Seizures versus epilepsy
• Seizure classification
• Epileptic syndromes
• Treatment initiation
• Treatment discontinuation
• Therapeutic monitoring
• Difficult-to-control epilepsy

The official agenda places this session on the first morning of the conference.

A structured approach can be summarized as:

Describe Event → Determine Whether It Is a Seizure → Classify Seizure → Identify Cause → Assess Recurrence Risk → Determine Treatment

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Treatment of Epilepsy and Status Epilepticus

The following session moves from diagnosis to treatment.

The curriculum addresses:

• Goals of epilepsy treatment
• Anti-seizure drug therapy
• Initiating treatment
• Discontinuing treatment when appropriate
• Therapeutic monitoring
• Refractory epilepsy
• Status epilepticus

The program also supports the learning objective of comparing the clinical pharmacology and adverse-effect profiles of anti-epileptic medications.

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Alzheimer’s Disease & Other Dementias

Cognitive impairment is an increasingly important concern in primary care.

The official session addresses:

• Alzheimer’s disease
• Other dementias
• Neurological changes associated with aging
• Dementia pathology
• Etiologic concepts
• Vascular dementia
• Diagnostic investigation
• Social considerations
• Symptomatic treatment
• Research therapies

A clinical pathway can be summarized as:

Cognitive Complaint → History & Functional Assessment → Cognitive Evaluation → Exclude Reversible Causes → Determine Likely Etiology → Management & Follow-Up

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Parkinson’s Disease & Other Movement Disorders

Movement disorders may initially present to primary care with tremor, slowed movement, gait difficulty, stiffness, or other motor abnormalities.

The program reviews:

• Parkinson’s disease epidemiology
• Cardinal clinical features
• Secondary manifestations
• Pathology
• Neurochemistry
• Differential diagnosis
• Treatment
• Complications
• Other movement disorders
• Medication-induced movement disorders
• Chorea

Recognition of the classic motor features of Parkinson’s disease can help guide appropriate evaluation and neurological referral.

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Day 2 – August 22, 2026

Evaluating Weakness

Weakness can represent neurological disease, systemic disease, musculoskeletal pathology, medication effects, or a nonspecific symptom.

The official session focuses on using history and physical examination to distinguish true neurological weakness from nonspecific symptoms and recognizing patterns associated with different nervous-system disorders.

A useful localization pathway is:

Brain → Spinal Cord → Peripheral Nerve → Neuromuscular Junction → Muscle

The clinical pattern can help determine which level of the nervous system requires further investigation.

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Evaluating the Patient with Lower Back Pain

Low back pain is common in primary care, but neurological assessment becomes particularly important when symptoms suggest nerve-root, spinal-cord, or other neurological involvement.

MER’s program reviews:

• Clinical magnitude of low back pain
• Relevant anatomy
• Pain classification
• Important history
• Physical examination

A practical primary-care assessment involves:

History → Neurological Examination → Identify Red Flags → Determine Mechanical vs. Neurological Features → Select Testing When Indicated → Treatment

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Sleep Disorders

Sleep disorders often present initially in primary care.

The conference reviews:

• Sleep patterns
• Insomnia
• Causes of insomnia
• Treatment of insomnia
• Sleep apnea
• Evaluation of sleep apnea
• Management of sleep apnea
• Narcolepsy
• Narcolepsy symptoms and treatment

The spectrum of sleep disorders means that evaluation must distinguish problems involving:

Sleep Initiation + Sleep Maintenance + Abnormal Breathing + Excessive Daytime Sleepiness + Circadian Patterns

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Neuropathy and Neuropathic Pain

Peripheral neuropathy can produce:

• Pain
• Burning
• Numbness
• Tingling
• Sensory loss
• Weakness
• Abnormal reflexes

The official curriculum reviews the spectrum of neuropathic signs and symptoms, bedside examination, causes of neuropathy, mechanisms of neuropathic pain, and available therapeutic approaches.

A clinical framework includes:

Symptom Pattern → Distribution → Neurological Examination → Identify Potential Etiology → Diagnostic Testing → Pain Management / Disease-Specific Treatment

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Cerebrovascular Disorders

Cerebrovascular disease remains a major cause of neurological disability and requires both prevention and rapid recognition.

The official MER agenda includes:

• Epidemiology
• Identification of high-risk patients
• Treatment effects
• Transient neurological deficits
• Carotid symptoms
• Vertebrobasilar symptoms
• Nonspecific cerebral symptoms
• Migraine versus transient ischemic attack
• Treatment approaches

Primary care plays an important role across:

Risk Identification → Prevention → Recognition of Acute Symptoms → Emergency Referral → Secondary Prevention

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Day 3 – August 23, 2026

Headaches & Migraines

Headache represents one of the most common neurological complaints.

The official program covers headache mechanisms and clinical history, as well as multiple diagnostic possibilities including migraine, tension-type patterns, cluster headache, trigeminal neuralgia, giant cell arteritis, intracranial tumors, and subarachnoid hemorrhage.

The session also reviews emergency considerations and treatment strategies.

A clinical pathway can be summarized as:

Headache History → Look for Red Flags → Neurological Examination → Identify Primary vs. Secondary Headache → Determine Need for Imaging/Testing → Treat

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Migraine

Migraine diagnosis relies heavily on clinical history.

Important elements include:

• Headache characteristics
• Duration
• Associated symptoms
• Triggers
• Frequency
• Neurological symptoms
• Medication use
• Functional impact

The program helps clinicians differentiate migraine from other causes of headache and consider appropriate therapeutic options.

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Dizziness & Vertigo

“Dizziness” can describe several different sensations and therefore requires careful clarification.

The final official session covers:

• Terminology
• Physiologic mechanisms
• Medical evaluation
• Neurological evaluation
• Laboratory assessment when appropriate
• Disorders presenting with dizziness
• Paroxysmal vertigo
• Positional vertigo
• Ménière’s disease
• Acoustic neuroma
• Cerebellar hemorrhage

An effective evaluation begins by determining whether the patient is describing:

Vertigo → Presyncope → Disequilibrium → Nonspecific Dizziness

This distinction can significantly narrow the differential diagnosis.

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Neurology in Primary Care

Primary care physicians are frequently the first clinicians to identify symptoms of neurological disease.

Typical presentations may include:

• New headaches
• Tremor
• Memory decline
• Weakness
• Sensory symptoms
• Syncope-like episodes
• Possible seizures
• Balance problems
• Sleep disturbance
• Back pain with neurological symptoms
• Transient focal deficits

A practical question sequence is:

Is This Neurological? → Where Is the Problem Localized? → Is It Urgent? → What Testing Is Appropriate? → Can It Be Managed in Primary Care? → When Is Neurology Referral Needed?

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Epilepsy & Seizure Disorders

The combined epilepsy sessions provide both diagnostic and therapeutic coverage.

Major concepts include:

• Paroxysmal events
• Seizure classification
• Epileptic syndromes
• Anti-epileptic therapy
• Medication monitoring
• Refractory epilepsy
• Status epilepticus

This structure allows clinicians to move from:

Event Recognition → Diagnosis → Classification → Treatment → Long-Term Management

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Dementia & Cognitive Disorders

The dementia section addresses both normal aging and pathological cognitive decline.

Primary care evaluation can include:

• Cognitive history
• Functional status
• Medication review
• Neurological examination
• Screening for reversible contributors
• Laboratory evaluation when appropriate
• Neuroimaging when indicated
• Safety and social considerations
• Treatment planning
• Caregiver support

The official program specifically includes Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, investigations, social issues, symptomatic therapy, and developing research areas.

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Parkinson’s Disease & Movement Disorders

Recognition of movement disorders requires careful observation of:

• Tremor
• Bradykinesia
• Rigidity
• Gait
• Posture
• Involuntary movements
• Medication exposure

The course places Parkinson’s disease in the broader context of other movement disorders and drug-induced movement abnormalities.

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Cerebrovascular Disease & Stroke Prevention

Primary care has a central role in reducing cerebrovascular risk.

Risk-factor assessment may involve:

• Hypertension
• Diabetes
• Dyslipidemia
• Tobacco use
• Atrial fibrillation
• Vascular disease
• Previous stroke or TIA
• Other clinical risk factors

The MER curriculum focuses on identifying high-risk patients and applying prevention and treatment strategies for cerebrovascular disorders.

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Neuropathic Pain

Neuropathic pain differs mechanistically from many forms of nociceptive pain.

Clinical assessment can involve:

• Distribution of symptoms
• Sensory abnormalities
• Motor findings
• Reflex changes
• Underlying systemic disorders
• Medication history
• Neurological examination

The course connects the mechanism of neuropathic pain with practical therapeutic approaches.

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Faculty

The faculty information supplied for this program includes:

• Paul W. Brazis, MD
• Bradley V. Vaughn, MD
• Joanne M. Wojcieszek, MD

These faculty members contribute expertise across areas represented in the curriculum, including neurological examination, epilepsy, sleep medicine, movement disorders, weakness, pain, cerebrovascular disease, headache, and dizziness.

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Target Audience

This program is targeted to office-based primary care providers and other health professionals seeking updates in primary care medicine. MER’s official agenda uses the same primary-care audience description.

The program is especially relevant for:

• Primary Care Physicians
• Neurologists
• Family Medicine Physicians
• Internal Medicine Physicians
• General Practitioners
• Physicians who regularly evaluate neurological complaints

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Who Should Take This Course?

MER Primary Care Conferences Neurology for Primary Care Aug 21-23, 2026 is particularly relevant for clinicians seeking practical updates in:

• Neurological examination
• Epilepsy
• Status epilepticus
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Dementia
• Parkinson’s disease
• Movement disorders
• Weakness
• Low back pain
• Sleep disorders
• Neuropathy
• Neuropathic pain
• Cerebrovascular disease
• Migraine
• Headache
• Dizziness
• Vertigo

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Why This Course Is Useful

The strength of MER Neurology for Primary Care 2026 is its focus on neurological problems that primary care clinicians commonly encounter.

The curriculum progresses from fundamental examination skills to disease-specific evaluation and management:

Neurological Exam → Seizures → Dementia → Movement Disorders → Weakness → Back Pain → Sleep → Neuropathy → Cerebrovascular Disease → Headache → Dizziness

This structure supports both recognition of neurological disease and decisions about treatment, diagnostic testing, urgent referral, and specialty consultation.

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Original Conference Accreditation

The official MER agenda designates the original live activity for:

• 12 IPCE Credits
• Up to 12 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
• Up to 12 ABIM MOC Points for eligible participants completing the required process
• Up to 12 AAFP Prescribed Credits
• 12 ANCC Contact Hours
• 5.25 ANCC Pharmacotherapeutic Contact Hours
• Additional professional credit pathways under MER requirements.

Important CME / Certificate Notice

These credits relate to participation in the official MER activity and completion of MER’s required processes.

If the MedicalAmboss product consists only of independently delivered educational files, do not advertise:

• 12 CME Credits Included
• 12 ABIM MOC Points Included
• 12 AAFP Credits Included
• 5.25 Pharmacotherapeutic Hours Included
• Official MER Certificate Included

unless official MER registration and credit-claiming access are actually included with the product.

The safer wording is:

Original MER Live Activity: 12 Credit Hours

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Short Description

MER Primary Care Conferences Neurology for Primary Care Aug 21-23, 2026 provides a focused clinical review of common neurological conditions encountered in primary care.

Held at Boar’s Head Resort in Charlottesville, Virginia, the program covers neurological examination, epilepsy and status epilepticus, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, Parkinson’s disease and movement disorders, weakness, lower back pain, sleep disorders, neuropathy and neuropathic pain, cerebrovascular disorders, migraines and headaches, dizziness, and vertigo.

Provider: Medical Education Resources – MER
Dates: August 21–23, 2026
Venue: Boar’s Head Resort
Location: Charlottesville, Virginia
Original Live Activity: 12 Credit Hours
Pharmacotherapeutic Content: 5.25 ANCC Pharmacotherapeutic Contact Hours
Specialty: Neurology / Primary Care

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Topics

• The Neurological Exam: Examination objectives and phases, mental-status assessment, and practical neurological examination.
• Diagnosis of Epilepsy, Paroxysmal Disorders, and Status Epilepticus: Seizure diagnosis, seizure classification, epilepsy syndromes, treatment decisions, monitoring, and difficult-to-control epilepsy.
• Treatment of Epilepsy and Status Epilepticus: Treatment goals, anti-epileptic drug therapy, therapeutic monitoring, and management of epilepsy and status epilepticus.
• Alzheimer’s & Other Dementias: Aging, dementia pathology, vascular dementia, diagnostic evaluation, treatment, and social considerations.
• Parkinson’s Disease & Other Movement Disorders: Cardinal and secondary features, differential diagnosis, treatment, complications, chorea, and medication-related movement disorders.
• Evaluating Weakness: History and physical examination for distinguishing neurological weakness from nonspecific symptoms.
• Evaluating the Patient with Lower Back Pain: Anatomy, pain classification, history, examination, and clinical assessment.
• Sleep Disorders: Insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, sleep-pattern evaluation, and current management approaches.
• Neuropathy and Neuropathic Pain: Neuropathic symptoms, bedside examination, mechanisms of neuropathic pain, causes, and therapy.
• Cerebrovascular Disorders: High-risk patients, transient neurological deficits, carotid and vertebrobasilar disease, TIA versus migraine, prevention, and treatment.
• Headaches & Migraines: Headache mechanisms, migraine and other headache syndromes, trigeminal neuralgia, giant cell arteritis, intracranial causes, and emergency presentations.
• Dizziness & Vertigo: Physiologic mechanisms, diagnostic evaluation, positional and paroxysmal vertigo, Ménière’s disease, acoustic neuroma, and neurological causes of dizziness.

• 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.

• Diagnosis of Epilepsy, Paroxysmal Disorders, and Status Epilepticus: Types of paroxysmal disorders; diagnosis of seizures; seizures vs. epilepsy; classification of seizures and epileptic syndrome; initiation and discontinuation of drug therapy; therapeutic monitoring; intractable epilepsy.

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

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

• 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.

• 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.

• Evaluating the Patient with Lower Back Pain: Magnitude of the problem; anatomy; classification of pain; key elements of history and the clinical exam.

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

• 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.

• Cerebrovascular Disorders: Epidemiology; identifying the high-risk patient; treatment effects; transient neurological deficit: carotid, vertebrobasilar; non-specific cerebral symptoms; migraines vs. TIA; treatment options.

• 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.

• Dizziness & Vertigo: Definition of terms; concepts; physiologic mechanisms; medical, neurological and laboratory evaluation of the patient; diseases that present with a complaint of dizziness; acute paroxysmal vertigo; acute positional vertigo; Meniere’s disease; acoustic neuroma; cerebellar hemorrhage, etc.