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The Best 5 Urgent Care CME/CE Courses to Take in 2022

Reading Time: 7 Minutes | Author: Christine Zink, MD, Emergency Medicine

Little girl urgent care visit concussion

Published April 14, 2022

There are more than 9,000 urgent care centers in the United States, and the number is expected to grow.1 Working in an urgent care setting is unique because it is not like working in a primary care office, and it is still different from working in an emergency department. Clinicians who work in an urgent care center function as frontline workers, which requires a different skill set than that required in a primary care clinic.

Clinicians working in urgent care must be able to recognize, diagnose, and treat a variety of medical problems right away. In this sense, urgent care is like an emergency department, but generally, the patients’ symptoms and diagnoses are not considered true emergencies. Urgent care clinicians must stay knowledgeable about evidence-based healthcare protocols to appropriately diagnose and treat all conditions. 

To help keep you up-to-date on urgent care trends and best practices, Pri-Med offers free online urgent care CME/CE that can be completed on your own time and even during shift work. All clinicians must complete required CME/CE to maintain certification and state licensure. Much of this continuing medical education can be completed through online courses, and Pri-Med offers specific lessons to suit your urgent care practice needs. 

We have chosen the five best and most diverse urgent care CME/CE courses for nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and physicians for 2022. Read highlights about each course below.

Course #1: Screening Patients Early & Routinely for Prescription Drug Misuse – Frankly Speaking Podcast EP 269

View Course | Faculty:

  • Frank J. Domino, MD; Professor, Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Massachusetts Medical School 
  • Jill M. Terrien, PhD, ANP-BC; Associate Professor and Director of NP Programs, University of Massachusetts Medical School-Graduate School of Nursing

Prescription drug misuse is still a significant problem in the United States, and all clinicians must be able to screen patients for the problem. This podcast teaches about the trajectories of prescription drug misuse from adolescence to adulthood. Experts explore findings from a longitudinal cohort study that demonstrate the need for drug misuse screening. Take away tools and resources to appropriately screen patients and determine the next best steps for overall management. Listen now, and earn 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.

Course #2: CURBSIDE CONSULTS: Top Questions From PCPs on Pneumonia Disease, Sleep Apnea, and Colorectal Cancer Screening

View Course | Faculty:

  • Ellie JC Goldstein, MD; Clinical Professor of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
  • Michelle Zeidler, MD, MS; Professor, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; Director, GLAVA-HS Sleep Center; Director, UCLA Sleep Fellowship 
  • Folasade P. May, MD, PhD; Assistant Professor of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; Associate Director, UCLA-Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity; Director, Melvin and Bren Simon Gastroenterology Quality Improvement Program 

Some of the most commonly missed diagnoses in urgent care include pneumonia, decompensated heart failure, acute renal failure, cancer, and urinary tract infections.2 Clinicians need to have a keen eye to make these diagnoses, especially in urgent care where resources are more limited than an emergency department. Take home vital points about pneumonia and cancer in our course.

Join these expert faculty as they review appropriate treatments for community-acquired pneumonia and the role of cultures. They will also review colorectal cancer screening guidelines and discuss ways that you can teach patients to reduce their risk of colorectal cancer. Finally, take home the indications and ways to treat obstructive sleep apnea. Watch now, and earn 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ and 1.00 ABIM Medical Knowledge MOC Point, or 1.00 AANP contact hour of continuing education, including 0.33 hour of pharmacology.

Course #3: CURBSIDE CONSULTS: Top Questions From PCPs on Diabetes, Atrial Fibrillation, and Heart Failure

View Course | Faculty:

  • Matthew Freeby, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine and Associate Director, Diabetes Clinical Programs, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; Director, UCLA Diabetes Center of Santa Monica
  • Karol E. Watson, MD, PhD; Professor of Medicine/Cardiology; Co-director, UCLA Program in Preventive Cardiology; Director, UCLA Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Health Program, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
  • Jon A. Kobashigawa, MD; Director, Advanced Heart Disease Division, Department of Cardiology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

One in 10 Americans lives with diabetes.3 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that over 25,000 people annually die from complications related to atrial fibrillation, and diabetes is a risk factor for developing the dysrhythmia.4 And, as already mentioned, decompensated heart failure is often a missed diagnosis in urgent care. Primary care clinicians need to understand how to diagnose and manage these conditions since so many of their patients make up these groups. Clinicians can target all of these disorders in one free urgent care CME/CE course.

In this panel discussion, you’ll learn quick clinical pearls on diabetes, atrial fibrillation, and heart failure. To start, Dr. Matthew Freeby discusses diabetes care and focuses on new technologies that benefit people with type 2 diabetes. Dr. Watson then discusses current treatment approaches for managing atrial fibrillation, including antithrombotic treatments. Finally, Dr. Kobashigawa clears up questions about the development, treatment, and prevention of heart failure. Watch now, and earn 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ and 1.00 ABIM Medical Knowledge MOC Points, or 1.00 AANP contact hours of continuing education, including 0.67 hour of pharmacology.

Course #4: Hot Topics in Pediatric Infectious Diseases

View Course | Faculty:

  • Deborah Lehman, MD; Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

As the number of urgent care facilities grows, so does the number of pediatric patients who use them for acute care.5 However, general urgent care centers do not require clinicians to have specific experience with pediatric patients, and there are very few recommendations on pediatric-specific care in the urgent care setting.5 Therefore, clinicians have varied skill sets when treating children and infants. Some might even feel uncomfortable with pediatric complaints and diagnoses. Build your knowledge by taking advantage of our CME/CE courses.

Dr. Lehman reviews the impact of COVID-19 on pediatric patients and discusses the most recent updates on evaluating pediatric patients with viral symptoms. You will also take away techniques in discussing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy with parents. Finally,  discover more about recent outbreaks of measles in the United States, and prepare to appropriately recognize the next outbreak. Watch now, and earn 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ and 1.00 ABIM Medical Knowledge MOC Points, or 1.00 AANP contact hours of continuing education, including 0.50 hour of pharmacology.

Course #5: Challenging Cases in Urgent Care

View Course | Faculty:

  • R. Michelle Schmidt, MD, MPH; Assistant Professor, Section of General Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine

The number one liability concern for clinicians who work in urgent care is a missed diagnosis.2 Clinicians working in this environment need to establish a skill set to diagnose patients appropriately and promptly. Sometimes, this may mean elevating a patient to a higher level of care in the emergency department. Learn how to recognize challenging diagnoses in our course.

In this course, you will review cases that are frequently encountered in urgent care. First, Dr. Schmidt will review common abdominal symptoms and consider the different causes of abdominal pain. Required laboratory and imaging studies for abdominal complaints will be reviewed as well. Additionally, Dr. Schmidt will also discuss the differential diagnosis for a patient with a red eye and when to refer to an ophthalmologist. Finally, learners will review commonly encountered fractures seen in an urgent care setting. You will also reflect on when it is best to refer a patient to a different level of care, including a specialist. Watch now, and earn 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ and 1.00 ABIM Medical Knowledge MOC Point, or 1.00 AANP contact hour of continuing education.

Pri-Med meets your CME/CE needs, whether in the primary care office or urgent care clinic. Our wide variety of urgent care CME/CE courses make it easy to stay on top of the latest developments. Visit Pri-Med.com to learn more about the online and in-person educational activities that can help you excel in your urgent care practice.

References

1. Finnegan J. Now more than 9,000 urgent care centers in the U.S., industry report says. Fierce Healthcare website. Published February 26, 2020. Accessed March 20, 2022. https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/practices/now-more-than-9-000-urgent-care-centers-u-s-industry-report-says

2. Shufeldt J, Sniegowski A. Malpractice trends in urgent care and retail medicine. The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine website. Accessed March 20, 2022. https://www.jucm.com/malpractice-trends-in-urgent-care-and-retail-medicine/

3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The facts, stats, and impact of diabetes. Updated January 24, 2022. Accessed March 3, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/library/spotlights/diabetes-facts-stats.html

4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Atrial fibrillation. Updated September 27, 2021. Accessed March 14, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/atrial_fibrillation.htm

5. Canares TL, Brown L, Slotkin RM, Garro A. Treating children at Urgent Care Centers: a qualitative study to determine how providers perceive managing pediatric patients. R I Med J (2013). 2014;98(1):48-53.

6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Drug overdose: overview. Updated March 17, 2021. Accessed April 6, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/deaths/prescription/overview.html.