MCE Conferences Primary Care Update Geriatrics, Neurology, and Pain Management October 16 – 18, 2026

Description

+ Include:  videos + file sub vtt +  pdf, size:  GB

+ Target Audience: Primary Care Physicians, Family Physicians, Internists, Geriatricians, Neurologists, Geriatric Neurologists, Pain Management Specialists, Anesthesiologists, Psychiatrists, Addiction Medicine Specialists, Rheumatologists, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) Specialists (Physiatrists)

+ Sample video: contact me for sample video

+ Information:

• Conference Title: Primary Care Update: Geriatrics, Neurology, and Pain Management

• Organizer: MCE Conferences

• Dates: October 16–18, 2026

• Location: Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort – Pigeon Forge, TN (On-Site and Livestream)

• Presenting Faculty Speakers: Robert Bolash, MD (Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Department of Pain Medicine; Medical Director, Utilization Management, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center) and Jessica L. Zwerling, MD, MS, FAAN (Professor, Neurology & Psychiatry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine)

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this activity, participants will be able to:

• Improve physical examination techniques for evaluating spine-related pain conditions

• Apply best practices for opioid tapering, medication rotation, and the safe use of adjunctive analgesics in patients with chronic pain

• Differentiate the role of pharmacologic, non-pharmacologic, and interventional therapies in the management of common chronic pain conditions

• Recognize red flags associated with secondary headaches

• Determine the appropriate selection and timing of laboratory tests and neuroimaging for cognitive decline

• Apply targeted history taking techniques to screen for cognitive decline

Target Audience

This activity is designed for primary care physicians, family medicine physicians, internists, and other healthcare professionals seeking clinical updates in geriatrics, neurology, and pain management.

Best for Primary Care Physicians, Family Physicians, Internists, Geriatricians, Neurologists, Geriatric Neurologists, Pain Management Specialists, Anesthesiologists, Psychiatrists, Addiction Medicine Specialists, Rheumatologists, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) Specialists (Physiatrists).

Topics

Friday, October 16, 2026

• 7:15 AM: On-Site and Livestream Check-In Opens

• 7:15 AM – 8:45 AM: Breakfast Provided for Registered Participants

• 7:30 AM – 8:30 AM | 1 – Evaluating Cognitive Impairment: History, Exam & Telemedicine — Dr. Jessica L. Zwerling

  • Objectives: 1) Discuss targeted questions in history taking in patients with suspected cognitive decline 2) Review the elements of a mental status examination and relevant supporting elements of the neurological exam 3) Highlight the utility of telemedicine in the evaluation of patients with cognitive impairment

• 8:30 AM – 8:35 AM: BREAK

• 8:35 AM – 9:35 AM | 2 – Cognitive Assessment in Older Adults: Screening, Diagnosis & System-Based Care — Dr. Jessica L. Zwerling

  • Objectives: 1) Review important necessary labs and imaging 2) Identify patterns of cognitive impairment 3) Discuss system improvements for older adults, such as age-friendly, annual wellness visit, and social determinants of health screening

• 9:35 AM – 9:45 AM: BREAK

• 9:45 AM – 10:45 AM | 3 – Assessment and Treatment of Low Back Pain — Dr. Robert Bolash

  • Objectives: 1) Discuss how multiple structures in the lumbar spine may serve as pain generators, including the disc, facet joint, myofascial, and ligamentous structures 2) Review, demonstrate, and practice basic physical exam techniques used for assessing spine-related pain conditions 3) Differentiate lumbar radiculopathy signs and symptoms from other causes of low back pain, including facet-mediated, soft tissue, and sacroiliac joint pain

• 10:45 AM – 10:50 AM: BREAK

• 10:50 AM – 11:50 AM | 4 – Approach to Neuropathic Pain — Dr. Robert Bolash

  • Objectives: 1) Discuss the heterogeneous neuropathic pain conditions 2) Select amongst treatments best suited for the management of neuropathic pain 3) Identify diagnoses optimally suited for multidisciplinary management modalities for acute and chronic neuropathic pain diagnoses

Saturday, October 17, 2026

• 7:15 AM: Livestream Check-In Opens

• 7:15 AM – 8:45 AM: Breakfast Provided for Registered Participants

• 7:30 AM – 8:30 AM | 5 – Overview of Opioid Pharmacology, Assessment, and Management — Dr. Robert Bolash

  • Objectives: 1) Highlight pharmacologic differences between various opioids used for chronic pain management 2) Describe risk factors that may help to predict problematic opioid use, including addiction and misuse 3) Review validated screening tools used to help identify possible aberrant behaviors related to long-term opioid use 4) Review and utilize Patient Provider Agreements (PPAs) and Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs), as a means of improved monitoring of patients using opioid products

• 8:30 AM – 8:35 AM: BREAK

• 8:35 AM – 9:35 AM | 6 – Rational Polypharmacy for Chronic Pain Management — Dr. Robert Bolash

  • Objectives: 1) Apply new pathophysiologic understanding to treating pain 2) Determine mechanisms of action for the various muscle relaxers and anticonvulsants commonly used to treat various chronic pain states 3) Highlight case examples to better understand titration and adjustment of adjuvant analgesics

• 9:35 AM – 9:45 AM: BREAK

• 9:45 AM – 10:45 AM | 7 – Healthy Aging and Geriatric Syndromes: An Evidence-Based Approach — Dr. Jessica L. Zwerling

  • Objectives: 1) Develop a deeper understanding of differential diagnostic strategies 2) Recognize geriatric syndromes as well as cognitive impairment using evidence-based pathways

• 10:45 AM – 10:50 AM: BREAK

• 10:50 AM – 11:50 AM | 8 – All Dementia is NOT Created Equal: Atypical Dementia Presentations — Dr. Jessica L. Zwerling

  • Objectives: 1) Recognize common risk factors for dementia 2) Determine the causes of atypical dementia 3) Identify sub-phenotyping and classification of dementia 4) Frame several treatment decisions around case-based scenarios

Sunday, October 18, 2026

• 7:15 AM: Livestream Check-In Opens

• 7:15 AM – 8:45 AM: Breakfast Provided for Registered Participants

• 7:30 AM – 8:30 AM | 9 – Sometimes it is the Zebra You Are Hearing: Stroke Basics and Stroke Mimickers — Dr. Jessica L. Zwerling

  • Objectives: 1) Recognize common stroke syndromes and review imaging 2) Review the neurological examination of paroxysmal disorders that can mimic stroke 3) Highlight the red flags associated with secondary headaches 4) Explore secondary headache syndromes and how to improve your history taking in the primary care visit

• 8:30 AM – 8:35 AM: BREAK

• 8:35 AM – 9:35 AM | 10 – Too Much of a Good Thing or Not Enough? Vitamin Deficiencies and Excess — Dr. Jessica L. Zwerling

  • Objectives: 1) Review the neurological manifestations of vitamin deficiencies 2) Recognize case-based scenarios of vitamin excess or deficiency 3) Discuss the pathophysiological pathways of vitamin excess and deficiency 4) Review laboratory and imaging data clues to these disorders

• 9:35 AM – 9:45 AM: BREAK

• 9:45 AM – 10:45 AM | 11 – Individualized Pain Treatments Demystified — Dr. Robert Bolash

  • Objectives: 1) Review best practices for opioid tapering, medication rotation, and the safe use of adjunctive analgesics in patients with chronic pain 2) Differentiate the role of pharmacologic, non-pharmacologic, and interventional therapies in the management of common chronic pain conditions 3) Apply evidence-based treatment strategies to case-based pain management scenarios involving fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, neuropathic pain, and complex chronic pain syndromes

• 10:45 AM – 10:50 AM: BREAK

• 10:50 AM – 11:50 AM | 12 – Approaching Difficult Conversations about Chronic Pain — Dr. Robert Bolash

  • Objectives: 1) Discuss the best approach in addressing the patient who is resistant to change 2) Describe a strategy for treating patients with anxiety around pain therapy 3) Characterize patients with clear addiction 4) Manage patients who are angry or upset in the office 5) Discuss the approach to patients who have lost self-control