Heat Emergencies: Prevention, Diagnosis, and Management

  • Continuing Education
group of people playing in sprinklers.

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Registration Deadline: June 25

Equip clinicians with the knowledge to diagnose, treat, and prevent heat-related illnesses through a comprehensive, evidence-based virtual course covering thermal physiology, epidemiology, and management strategies.

  • Live Online

This course is taught online in real time.

$850

This is the standard price, for a full list of profession pricing see below.
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Continuing Education Credits

Earn up to:
15.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s) ™
15.50 ANCC contact hours
15.50 NCCPA contact hours
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Four Days, 4 Hours/Day

Please view the Schedule for a full description of the program.

On This Page

Overview

The Heat Emergencies: Prevention, Diagnosis, and Management CME Course is a virtual, lecture-based 4 half-day course to educate clinicians about how to diagnose, treat, and prevent heat-related illness. The course will describe the current evidence around all heat-related emergencies, including heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and heat syncope. The course will provide a background on the changing epidemiology of heat-related illness, varying definitions of heat, basics of thermal physiology, and individual and population-based approaches to prevention of heat-related illness.

Learning Objectives

  • Explain the epidemiology of heat related illness and associated disease processes.
  • Recognize the thermal physiology underlying clinical presentations of heat related illness.
  • Create a differential diagnosis and develop comprehensive, evidence-based management plans for all forms of heat related illness, including heat exhaustion, heat syncope, and heat stroke.
  • Describe groups at increased risk for heat related illness and develop anticipatory guidance and prevention plans.
  • Discuss the pharmacological interactions with heat-related illness and develop plans for protecting patients.
  • Identify the resources needed and best steps to take for preparedness, diagnosis and treatment of heat related illness during event medicine and in low-resources settings.
  • Explain the impacts of heat across organ systems, including impacts on mental health and behavioral health and kidney disease.
  • Apply preventive solutions for heat related illness including from a community based, public health, and health systems approach.

Developed and Offered By:

  • Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Logo

Continuing Education courses are developed by faculty from Harvard Medical School's teaching hospitals and accredited by Harvard Medical School. This course is offered by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Participant Types

General Physicians, Specialty Physicians, Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners, Nurses, Pharmacists, Primary Care Physicians, and Others

Schedule

All agenda sessions are in Eastern Time.

Day 1

Monday, June 16, 2025

Welcome, Overview, and Importance of Heat Clinical Education

Tess Wiskel; Caleb Dresser

1:00-1:30 pm

Defining Heat

Caleb Dresser

1:30-2:15 pm

Heat Physiology

Robert Meade

2:15-3:00 pm

Epidemiological Impacts of Heat

Antonella Zanobetti

3:00-4:00 pm

Case Studies of Heat Related Illness

Gayle Kouklis; Mary Meyer; Tara Benesch

4:00-4:45 pm

Closing Remarks and Q&A

Caleb Dresser; Tess Wiskel

4:45-5:00 pm

Day 2

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

Welcome and Recap

Caleb Dresser; Tess Wiskel

1:00-1:15 pm

Event Medicine and Heat Related Illness

John Jardine, MD

1:15-2:00 pm

Current Evidence on Heat Related Illness

Kurt Eifling

2:00-3:00 pm

Diagnosis of Heat Related Illness

Tess Wiskel

3:00-3:45 pm

Management of Heat Related Illness

Caleb Dresser

3:45-4:45 pm

Closing Remarks and Q&A

Tess Wiskel; Caleb Dresser

4:45-5:00 pm

Day 3

Monday, June 23, 2025

Welcome and Recap

Caleb Dresser; Tess Wiskel

1:00-1:15 pm

Heat, Kidney Disease, and Outdoor Work

Nathan Raines

1:15-2:00 pm

Pharmaceutical Considerations in Hot Weather

Hayley Blackburn

2:00-2:45 pm

Small Group Discussions: What Special Populations Are You Worried About in Your Practice, and What can be Done to Meet Their Needs?

Caleb Dresser; Tess Wiskel

2:45-3:15 pm

Heat-Related Illness in Special Populations

Bruce Bekkar; Marissa Hauptman; Manijeh Berenji; Nisha Shah

3:15-4:00 pm

Heat and Behavioral Health

Elizabeth Pinsky

4:00-4:45 pm

Closing Remarks and Q&A

Caleb Dresser; Tess Wiskel

4:45-5:00 pm

Day 4

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Welcome and Recap

Caleb Dresser; Tess Wiskel

1:00-1:05 pm

Prevention and Management of Heat Related Illness in Low Resource Settings

Satchit Balsari

1:05-2:00 pm

Practical Resources for the Busy Clinician

Geoffrey Comp; Caleb Dresser; Tess Wiskel

2:00-2:45 pm

Health System Impacts and Preparedness for Extreme Heat

Jeremy Hess

2:45-3:45 pm

Preventive Solutions Through Public Health and Public Policy

Jane Gilbert

3:45-4:30 pm

Closing Remarks and Q&A

Caleb Dresser; Tess Wiskel

4:30-5:00 pm

Faculty

Harvard Medical School Continuing Education attracts the best and brightest faculty from all around the world. As a student in this course, you’ll have access to outstanding course directors and faculty.

Satchit Balsari, MD, MPH
Director, Climate and Human Health Fellowship, BIDMC / C-CHANGE / FXB
Associate Professor, Emergency Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Associate Professor, Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Co-director, CrisisReady.io

Bruce Bekkar, MD
Climate for Health Fellow, ecoAmerica
Editorial Board, Journal of Climate Change and Health
Founder, Public Health Advisory Council, San Diego
Co-Host, Green Docs podcast

Tara Benesch, MD
Attending Emergency Physician, Alameda Health System and Kaiser Permanente Medical Group
Affiliate Faculty, University of Colorado Climate and Health Program

Manijeh Berenji, MD, MPH, CMLE, QME, FACOEM, FACPM, FIAIME
Chief of Occupational Health, VA Long Beach Healthcare System
Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, UC Irvine Joe C. Wen School of Population and Public Health
Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, UC Irvine School of Medicine
Academic and Community Partnerships Lead, UC Center for Climate, Health, and Equity

Hayley Blackburn, PharmD
Associate Professor, University of Montana
Director of Education & Outreach, Skaggs Institute for Health Innovation, University of Montana Skaggs School of Pharmacy

Geoff Comp, DO, FACEP, FAWM
Associate Program Director, Creighton University School of Medicine/Valleywise Health Medical Center (Phoenix) Emergency Medicine Residency
Division Chief, Wilderness Medicine and EMS, Department of Emergency Medicine, Valleywise Health Medical Center
Assistant Professor, University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix
Assistant Professor, Health Sciences Associated Faculty Creighton University School of Medicine

Kurt Eifling, MD, FAWM
Attending Physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Medical Director, Institute for Field Research

Jane Gilbert, MPA
Chief Heat Officer & Director of Urban and Community Forestry
Miami-Dade County Office of Resilience

Marissa Hauptman, MD, MPH, FAAP
Co-Director, Pediatric Environmental Health Center
Co-Director, Region 1 New England Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU)
Chief Medical Advisor, Bureau of Climate and Environmental Health, Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Pediatrician, Children's Hospital Primary Care Center (CHPCC)
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School

Jeremy Hess, MD, MPH
Professor, Emergency Medicine, Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, and Global Health
Director, Center for Health and the Global Environment (CHanGE)

John Jardine, MD
Chief Medical Officer, Korey Stringer Institute, University of Conneticut 
Emergency Medicine Attending Physician, Kent Hospital
RI Medical Director, Falmouth Road Race

Gayle Kouklis, MD
Emergency Medicine Physician, UCSF - Frenso
Climate Change and Health Science Policy Fellow, University of Colorado

Rob Meade, PhD, MPH
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Mary C. Meyer, MD, MPH
Emergency Medicine Physician, Kaiser Permanente Diablo and East Bay

Elizabeth Pinsky, MD
Associate Director for Advocacy, Mass General Center for Environment and Health, Massachusetts General Hospital
Associate Director, Pediatric Psychiatry Consultation Service, Massachusetts General Hospital
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Pediatrician, Massachusetts General Hospital

Nathan Raines, MD
Internal Medicine Physician, BIDMC
Nephrology Physician, BIDMC
Instructor, Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Nisha Shah, DO
Hospice Physician, Family Hospice, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Alumna, Climate and Health Science Policy Fellowship, University of Colorado School of Medicine

Antonella Zanobetti, PhD 
Principal Research Scientist, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

David Hao, MD

Paul Mathew, MD, DNBPAS, FAAN, FAHS

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Course Fees

Fee Disclaimer

You may register through our secure online environment and will receive an email confirmation upon receipt of your payment.

At the end of the registration process, a $10 non-refundable processing fee will be added to your registration.

Review the cancellation policy.

Role Standard Price
Physician (MD/DO) $850.00
Nurse (RN/APRN) $450.00
PA $550.00
Psychologist $550.00
Resident/Fellow $450.00
Social Worker $450.00
Allied Health Professional / Other $500.00

Accreditation

In support of improving patient care, Harvard Medical School is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

The Harvard Medical School designates this live activity for a maximum of 15.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

For the purpose of recertification, the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board and American Nurses Credentialing Center accept AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ issued by organizations accredited by the ACCME (Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education). We would also suggest that learners check with their state licensing board to ensure they accept reciprocity with AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ for re-licensure. 

The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) states that AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ are acceptable for continuing medical education requirements for recertification. We would also suggest that learners check with their state licensing board to ensure they accept reciprocity with AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ for re-licensure.

The American Medical Association (AMA) has an agreement of mutual recognition of continuing medical education (CME) credit with the European Union of Medical Specialties (UEMS). Additional information regarding this agreement may be found on the European Union of Medical Specialties website.

The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada recognizes conferences and workshops held outside of Canada that are developed by a university, academy, hospital, specialty society or college as accredited group learning activities.

Competencies

This course is designed to meet the following Institute of Medicine Core Competencies:

  • Provide Patient-Centered Care
  • Work in Interdisciplinary Teams
  • Employ Evidence-Based Practice

This course is designed to meet the following American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) / Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Educational (ACGME) competencies:

  • Patient Care and Procedural Skills
  • Medical Knowledge
  • Practice-Based Learning and Improvement
  • Systems-Based Practice

Disclaimer & Disclosure

CME activities accredited by Harvard Medical School are offered solely for educational purposes and do not constitute any form of certification of competency. Practitioners should always consult additional sources of information and exercise their best professional judgment before making clinical decisions of any kind.

Note: AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ is calculated based on submission of a preliminary agenda and may be subject to change.

In accord with the disclosure policy of the Medical School as well as standards set forth by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), course planners, speakers, and content reviewers have been asked to disclose any relationships they have to companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. In addition, faculty have been asked to list any off-label uses of pharmaceuticals and/or devices for investigational or non-FDA approved purposes that they plan to discuss.

Registration for courses managed by Harvard Medical School can only be completed through Harvard Medical School’s official registration portal: cmeregistration.hms.harvard.edu. Attendee registrations made through any other sites cannot be honored and will not be refunded. Please report any unauthorized websites or solicitations for registrations.

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