Published January 6, 2021
There are a wide range of continuing medical education (CME) options for the primary care physician, nurse practitioner, and physician assistant. These CME primary care programs are virtual, free, and offer a range of topics to choose from that fulfill clinician interests and state CME requirements. These are the top 10 topics primary care physicians are seeking today with Pri-Med’s online CME programs.
1. COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic is the most pressing topic in medicine right now. Pri-Med offers COVID CME discussions on all of the topics that interest primary care clinicians including:
- How COVID-19 affects their patients
- What treatments might be available for people who do not require hospital admission
- What underlying diseases or medications put people at risk for significant disease
- How to prevent transmission
- How to assess individual risk factors for severe disease
- Information regarding children with COVID-19
- How to approach mental health issues during these stressful times
- Information about the post-viral syndrome
- How the pandemic affects clinician practice ability
2. Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, and suicide, have been on the rise, but they are made significantly worse with isolation and fear during the COVID-19 pandemic. Clinicians who are eager to know what treatments exist for these patients, how they can reliably assess suicide risks, and what cognitive therapy options are best for treatment are seeking COVID primary care CME programs.
3. Vaccines
The COVID-19 pandemic brings to the forefront discussions about the safety and use of vaccines. Primary care physicians are the leaders in providing education about vaccines, and they are the front-line for the implementation of the programs. With the advent of newer vaccines, clinicians need the latest information on their safety and efficacy.
4. Upper Respiratory Infections Including Influenza
COVID-19 is not the only viral illness that causes disease during the winter months. The primary care clinician needs to be able to differentiate minor upper respiratory illnesses from COVID-19 and be able to educate patients on how to care for their illness appropriately. Primary care clinicians also need to know how to encourage preventive techniques for people in the home. It is also essential to understand how these viral illnesses relate to other underlying disease processes.
5. How To Build Telemedicine Into Clinical Practice
To provide appropriate care safely, some clinician offices have had to close altogether or, at the very least, have had to incorporate telemedicine into the practice. Primary care clinicians are looking for the tools to set up telemedicine in their vicinity, get reimbursed for the visits, and learn the best practices when conducting a telemedicine visit. These telemedicine CME programs offer best practices and tips.
6. Pain Management During the Opioid Epidemic
The opioid epidemic has become a leading public health crisis in the United States, particularly with a rise in prescription opioid use. Primary care physicians need to understand how the opioid epidemic affects their patients, the best prescribing practices, and when opiate use is safe and effective. These primary care CME opioid programs will help physicians understand alternative options to chronic pain management, know how to treat opioid addiction, and to be aware of the role of naloxone and suboxone in treating addiction.
7. Controlled Substances
Primary care clinicians need to understand prescribing practices for controlled substances, how best to treat chronic pain, the details of the opioid epidemic, and be aware of new regulations regarding the use of other controlled substances, like psilocybin and marijuana. As several states have moved to decriminalize and legalize marijuana, primary care clinicians are seeking to understand the laws of their state and the risks and benefits of marijuana use.
8. Tobacco and Vaping
The primary care physician wants to know current strategies that support tobacco cessation. They also want to understand the risks associated with e-cigarettes and vaping and how best to discuss these problems with adolescents since their use is rising quickly. Primary care physicians are also looking for vaping CME to adequately describe the long-term complications of e-cigarette use.
9. Hypertension
These primary care continuing medical education programs detail the challenges in controlling hypertension, provide updates about the newest treatments and goals, describe how best to manage hypertension in the age of COVID-19, and list other useful tools, such as diet and weight loss, as aids to blood pressure management.
10. Transgender Medicine
Primary care physicians need to understand the barriers to providing adequate care for transgender patients, and they need to address any internal bias. With this transgender CME program, they will gain an understanding into the surgeries and treatments that their patients may be undergoing and how best to incorporate these treatments into effective overall care.
With hundreds of topics covered within primary care CME, clinicians are increasingly looking for the topics that keep them educated on current events while fulfilling their state credit requirements. Explore all CME courses available online through Pri-Med for your CME credits.