Neurological Emergencies and Urgencies for Primary Care Clinicians
- Continuing Education
Develop practical skills to rapidly evaluate and manage patients with neurological complaints using focused exams, risk screening, and evidence-based algorithms. Identify high-risk conditions, initiate early treatment, and determine appropriate imaging, referral, or in-office management across common neurologic presentations.
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Overview
Neurological Emergencies and Urgencies for Primary Care Clinicians is a two-day, 16-hour course that provides best practices, methods, and algorithms to evaluate and manage the patient with a neurological complaint. Participants will learn to identify and accurately diagnose neurological conditions – asking the right questions, doing the right exam, and sending them to the right place for the next steps.
The goal of this course is to help clinicians:
- Perform a rapid focused neurologic exam
- Efficiently screen for high-risk neurological conditions such as TIA and stroke
- Identify which patients with symptoms such as headache, back pain, numbness, memory loss and dizziness need urgent intervention, imaging or referral and which you can manage in the office
- Understand early management of conditions such as BPPV, vestibular neuritis, migraine, peripheral neuropathy, new onset visual problems, and functional neurologic disorders
- Evaluate elderly patients with new cognitive or memory issues
- Understand drugs to avoid in elderly patients with neurological problems
Learning Objectives
- Apply a diagnostic algorithm based on timing and triggers.
- Identify when and how to use bedside maneuvers to diagnose BPPV in the office and c) use a rapid, office-based physical examination to suspect strokes causing acute dizziness or vertigo.
- Suspect TIA and make the important diagnostic and therapeutic interventions to prevent stroke.
- Define the limitations of acute brain imaging in patients with TIA and stroke.
- Demonstrate the differential diagnosis of thunderclap headache.
- Illustrate the features and acute interventions for giant cell arteritis, and c) develop an initial approach to patients thought to have migraine.
Developed and Offered By:
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.
Who Should Participate
Primary Care Physicians, Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, and Physician Assistants
Schedule
All agenda sessions are in Eastern Time.
Wednesday, February 24, 2027
Welcome and Introduction
7:50-8:00 am
Back Pain 2027: When to Image and When to Refer
8:00-8:45 am
Updates in Imaging for Back Pain: What to Order and How to use the Results
8:45-9:30 am
Managing Low Back Pain: A Practical Approach for PCPs
9:30-10:15 am
Break
10:15-10:30 am
Headache: Who to Work Up and What Tests to Order
10:30-11:15 am
Migraine: Up-to-date Management
11:15 am-12:00 pm
Lunch Break
12:00-1:00 pm
Peripheral Neuropathy: How to Diagnose and Start Treatment
1:00-1:45 pm
Tips on Consultations to Neurologists (by a neurologist in office practice)
1:45-2:30 pm
Altered Mental Status and Prescriptions: Managing Polypharmacy in the Geriatric Population
2:30-3:15 pm
Break
3:15-3:30 pm
New-Onset Visual Complaints
3:30-4:15 pm
Learning Points of the Day
4:15-4:30 pm
Thursday, February 25, 2027
Welcome and Introduction
7:50-8:00 am
Dizziness: Identifying Worrisome Patients in the Office Setting
8:00-8:45 am
BPPV: Office Diagnosis and Treatment of This Very Common Cause of Dizziness
8:45-9:30 am
TIA: The Symptoms May be Gone but the Danger is Not!
9:30-10:15 am
Break
10:15-10:30 am
Episodic Symptoms in the Office Setting: Seizure, TIA or Syncope?
10:30-11:15 am
Focal Weakness: Is it a Stroke or Something Else?
11:15 am-12:00 pm
Lunch break
12:00-1:00 pm
Common Cranial Neuropathies: Who can be Managed in the Office? Who Needs Further Urgent Testing?
1:00-1:45 pm
Parkinson’s Disease and Worsening Symptoms: How to Treat and When to Refer
1:45-2:30 pm
Functional Neurological Disorders that Primary Care Clinicians Should Know
2:30-3:15 pm
Break
3:15-3:30 pm
How to Make the Most of a 15-minute Office Visit
3:30-4:15 pm
Learning Points of the Day
4:15-4:30 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.
Course Directors
Joshua N. Goldstein
MD, PhD
- Director, Center for Neurologic Emergencies, Department of Emergency Medicine, Mass General Brigham
- Professor of Emergency Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Jonathan A. Edlow
MD, FACEP
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
- Professor of Medicine and Emergency Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Steven Atlas, MD, MPH
Distinguished Physician, Medicine-General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Massachusetts General Hospital
Director, Practice-Based Research, Division of General Internal Medicine, Mass General Brigham Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Marc Bouffard, MD
Mass General Brigham Neuro-Ophthalmology Section
Assistant Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School
Rebecca Burch, MD
Assistant Professor, Neurological Sciences, University of Vermont Medical Center
Katherine Coffey-Vega, MD
Geriatrician and Director of Inpatient and Emergency Geriatric Services, Carilion Clinic, Virginia
Associate Professor of Medicine, Virginia Tech and Carilion School of Medicine, Virginia
William Copen, MD
Physician Investigator, Department of Radiology, Mass General Brigham
Sara Finkelstein, MD, MSc
Attending Physician & Associate Director, Functional Neurological Disorder Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital; Assistant Professor in Neurology, Harvard Medical School
Andrea Harriott, MD, PhD
Attending Physician, Neurology, Massachusetts General Brigham
Clinical Investigator and Assistant Professor, NSI Neuro Stroke MGPO, Mass General Research Institute
Assistant Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School"
Pushpa Narayanaswami, MD, FAAN
Director, Quality Improvement, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Associate Professor of Neurology/Neuromuscular Disease, Harvard Medical School
Alexis Roy, MD
Director, Acute Stroke Services, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Medical Director, Comprehensive Stroke Center, Mass General Brigham
Instructor in Neurology, Harvard Medical School
Ludy Shih, MD, MMSc
Clinical Director, Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Member of the Faculty (appointment pending), Harvard Medical School
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Course Fees
Registration Details
You may register through our secure online environment and will receive an email confirmation upon receipt of your payment.
Prices include CME credit, electronic syllabus, some recordings for up to 60 days after course has ended, and refreshments at breaks and breakfast.
At the end of the registration process, a $10 non-refundable processing fee will be added to your registration.
Accreditation
The Harvard Medical School designates this live activity for a maximum of 14.00 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.
This activity meets the criteria of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine for 14.00 credits of Risk Management Study.
Application for CME credit has been filed with the American Academy of Family Physicians. Determination of credit is pending.
The American Medical Association (AMA) has an agreement of mutual recognition of continuing medical education (CME) credit with the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS). Additional information regarding this agreement may be found on the Union of European Medical Specialists 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.