Most emergency clinicians can readily identify generalized tonic-clonic and typical absence seizures, but the 2017/2025 ILAE classification recognizes 21 distinct seizure types, many with presentations that diverge sharply from the "classic convulsion" archetype. Focal seizures — the most common new-onset seizure type in adults — frequently present with isolated sensory, autonomic, emotional, or cognitive phenomena, and a normal EEG does not exclude them (only ~21% of focal aware seizures show ictal EEG changes). These atypical presentations are commonly mistaken for syncope, TIA, panic attack, psychogenic nonepileptic events, or primary psychiatric illness, leading to diagnostic delay and inappropriate workup. This talk will (1) review the current ILAE seizure classification framework and retire outdated "simple/complex partial" terminology in favor of focal aware/impaired awareness nomenclature; (2) present a lobe-of-origin framework for recognizing focal seizure semiology relevant to the ED, including temporal (epigastric aura, déjà vu, automatisms), frontal (brief, bizarre, hypermotor, often nocturnal), parietal (lateralized sensory distortion), occipital (elementary visual phenomena), and insular (laryngeal constriction, dyspnea) presentations; (3) highlight the clinical pitfalls associated with each, with an emphasis on cases frequently misdiagnosed as functional or psychiatric events; and (4) discuss the diagnostic implications of distinguishing focal impaired awareness seizures from absence seizures, particularly in patients with known focal epilepsy.

Adam Bloom, DO is Program Director of the Emergency Medicine Residency Program at the University of Vermont's Larner College of Medicine, where he is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine. He has been involved in EM education since 2016, progressing from chief resident to Assistant Program Director and then Associate Program Director at his previous institution before joining UVM. Prior to his academic career, Dr. Bloom served as a military physician with multiple deployments to combat zones. His clinical and educational interests include rural and critical access emergency medicine, evidence-based medicine pedagogy, and resident assessment systems.

Emergency departments are increasingly functioning as the front line of reproductive health care, particularly for populations with limited access to outpatient services. This session synthesizes emerging research on ED-based reproductive healthcare while addressing a challenge unique to this area of emergency medicine: the wide state-by-state legal and regulatory variation that directly shapes what reproductive services clinicians can provide. Drawing from clinical data, implementation science, and the growing field of legal epidemiology, this clinical case-based presentation will review evidence-based approaches to care across diverse legal landscapes. This lecture will cover essential ED reproductive health topics, including family planning, the management of early pregnancy loss, ectopic pregnancy, and pregnancy of unknown location. It will be interactive, relying on audience participation to guide the discussion and clinical sticking points, and move beyond perseverating on barriers to offering concrete strategies and implementation tools. The session will guide emergency providers through actionable strategies to ensure the delivery of safe, legal, and comprehensive reproductive healthcare in the acute setting.

Rebecca Hellmann, DO, MSEd is a board-certified physician in Emergency Medicine. She completed medical school and residency in New York City, then became fellowship-trained in both Women's Reproductive Health and Medical Education, where she obtained her master's in medical education at the University of Pennsylvania. She currently serves as the Director of Clinical Education for FemInEM as well as an Assistant Professor at Weill Cornell Medical Center, where she works both clinically as a nocturnist and leads the Women's Health Collaborative, an interdisciplinary group working to improve the female experience in medicine. She lectures locally, regionally, and nationally using both general and state-specific lectures to review management of reproductive health emergencies in a variety of clinical settings.

Details coming soon.

Details coming soon.

The landscape of athletic performance and injury recovery is undergoing a massive shift. Driven by online accessibility and the heavy monetization of "wellness," a growing number of emergency department patients — ranging from elite competitors to weekend warriors — are utilizing next-generation ergogenic aids and regenerative therapeutics. Chief among these are synthetic peptides and heavy-dose creatine protocols. Because these substances are often sourced through unregulated channels as "research chemicals," emergency clinicians must be equipped to recognize their acute presentations, understand their physiological impacts, and differentiate benign supplement-induced laboratory artifacts from true medical emergencies. Attendees will learn to navigate the cardiorespiratory, renal, and vascular risks associated with unapproved peptide use. Additionally, the presentation will debunk common renal myths surrounding creatine use, explain the phenomenon of "artificial" creatinine elevation, and outline critical history-taking strategies to catch hidden supplement complications in the acute setting.

Director of POCUS for MaineHealth and Co-Director of POCUS for the MMC ED Residency. Massachusetts GED, BA, MD, FACEP, Maine Class C Driver's License, Red Cross White Swim Badge, Maine Fishing & Archery license, Ontario Pleasure Craft Operator, payer of taxes, donator to charity, LOVER AND TEACHER OF ULTRASOUND.

Emergency physicians are required to make hundreds of decisions rapidly in a single shift. Historically, much of this decision-making has been described as "fast," heuristic-based, type 1 thinking, which is prone to error and cognitive biases. However, the reality of real-time decision-making for experienced clinicians is more complex. This talk will provide an evidence-based approach to how decisions are made in real time, the strengths of heuristics and even of cognitive biases, as well as potential pitfalls. We will discuss best practices in how to teach clinical decision-making to learners and identify our own flaws and strengths in decision-making in the high-pressure environment of the ED.

I am triple boarded in emergency medicine, internal medicine, and critical care, and currently practice in both the emergency department and medical ICU at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. I am the co-director of the new Acute Care Medicine clerkship, a required rotation for fourth-year medical students that combines clinical experience in the emergency department and ICU. I additionally serve as associate program director for the critical care medicine fellowship. I have extensive experience teaching and lecturing in a variety of settings to learners of many different levels. My clinical and educational interests include ventilator management, medical decision-making and cognitive biases, and oncologic and infectious emergencies.

Alcohol withdrawal is one of the most challenging presentations we face in the emergency department. These patients are often very sick and simultaneously very difficult to manage. Is the solution to go big or go home with benzodiazepines? Or does the resurgence of phenobarbital usher in a new era in alcohol withdrawal management? With patient safety, sedation risk, and resource utilization all hanging in the balance, this is more than an esoteric pharmacologic debate — it's a frontline dilemma. Two expert clinicians go head-to-head, each armed with a pivotal article and their real-world experience. One defends the traditional benzodiazepine-first approach rooted in decades of use, while the other makes the case for phenobarbital-based strategies, citing new evidence and shifting trends. Expect spirited dialogue, sharp insights, and take-home pearls, including the controversies surrounding adjunctive agents like ketamine and dexmedetomidine. The session will conclude with an extended audience Q&A.

I am an emergency physician and medical intensivist by training, and regularly practice in both environments. I teach the management of alcohol withdrawal at my institution to residents, fellows, and students. I have also lectured nationally at ACEP and AAEM on the topic of alcohol withdrawal and the use of phenobarbital. At my institution I was responsible for designing and educating on the use of phenobarbital protocols in alcohol withdrawal.

Details coming soon.

Dr. Peter Weimersheimer is an emergency physician with 30 years of clinical and POCUS experience. He is Professor Emeritus of Emergency Medicine at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, where he founded and directed the UVM Emergency Ultrasound Program, the EM Residency POCUS curriculum, the TEE resuscitation program, and the ED ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia program. He completed his residency at Boston City Hospital / Boston Medical Center, served as UVM Health Network Director of Clinical Ultrasound, and was VP of Clinical Implementation and Education for Butterfly Network. He is a faculty member of the Global Ultrasound Institute and lectures internationally.