Acute Medicine for the Generalist
Wednesday 24 - Thursday 25 June
Courses
Wed 24 - Thu 25 Jun
| 2 Day Event
Wed 08:55 - Thu 17:00
Online
Activity code:
will apply for 13 credits
Are you a Fellow or a Member? Sign in to get member prices
Overview
The RCPE Acute Medicine for the Generalist (Online) course offers a comprehensive, practical update for clinicians working at the medical “front door” in an era of increasing complexity, pressure, and evolving practice. Across two expertly curated days, the programme addresses the real-world challenges faced in acute and general medicine, combining core presentations with high-risk and often under-recognised emergencies, guideline updates, and multidisciplinary perspectives. Delivered by leading national experts, the course focuses on safe decision-making, avoiding harm, and optimising care for diverse and vulnerable patient groups, while also supporting trainees and the wider workforce. Whether you are an acute physician, generalist, or senior trainee, this course will strengthen your confidence, clinical reasoning, and readiness to manage the acute take in 2026 and beyond.
Description
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Apply up-to-date, evidence-based guidance to the assessment and management of common and high-risk acute medical presentations at the front door, including complex emergencies and evolving guideline updates.
- Recognise and safely manage increased complexity and vulnerability in acute care, including frailty, pregnancy, learning disability, neurodivergence, and palliative presentations, while knowing when and how to involve specialty services.
- Improve clinical decision-making and patient safety through enhanced diagnostic reasoning, rational use of investigations, and learning from adverse events and near misses in the acute medical setting.
Who is this for?
All grades of medical, nursing, allied health professionals and medical students are welcome.
Event Poster
Wednesday 24 June 2026
| 08:30 | Webstream opens |
|---|---|
| 08:55 | Welcome Professor Mark Strachan, President, Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh |
| 9:00 | The current challenges at the front door |
Session 1 - Aligning on the basics: common themes, common challenges
Chair: Dr Nicole Haggarty
| 09:30 | A patient with suspected stroke * stroke mimics * the anticoagulated patient * blood pressure control |
|---|---|
| 10:00 | Venous thromboembolism * challenging cases * unusual site thrombosis/upper limb * involving haematology/vascular |
| 10:30 | Acute kidney injury * special cases - AKI on chronic kidney disease (CKD)/dialysis/transplant * when to suspect it's intrinsic * vasculitis |
| 11:00 | Break |
Session 2 - Increasing complexity - requiring specialty input at the front door
Chair:
| 11:20 | Vascular * acute and chronic limb ischaemia * the diabetic foot * when to involve vascular |
|---|---|
| 11:50 | Orthopaedics * upper limb cellulitis * when and how to consider necrotising fasciitis * when to involve orthopaedics |
| 12:20 | Psychiatry * when to suspect organic disease * what to do with psychiatric drugs during medical admissions * how psychiatric conditions impact management of medical problems |
| 12:50 | Break |
Session 3 - Supporting our patients and colleagues at the front door
Chair:
| 13:30 | Learning from adverse events and near misses |
|---|---|
| 13:55 | Patients with learning disability |
| 14:20 | Supporting trainees at the front door |
| 14:45 | Supporting neurodivergent doctors |
| 15:10 | Break |
Session 4 - Evolving practice: key guideline updates at the front door
Chair:
| 15:30 | In-patient management of Parkinson’s: Pills, Priorities and Pitfalls * prescribing considerations * emergency presentations * updates in technology and how to manage when admitted |
|---|---|
| 16:00 | Patients with Type 2 diabetes * Guideline updates * GLP1s * managing drugs when admitted medically unwell - withholding/resuming |
| 16:30 | Chest pain * updates of acute and chronic coronary syndrome guidelines at the front door * who to admit * optimising anti-anginals |
| 17:00 | Close of day 1 |
Thursday 25 June 2026
| 08:30 | Webstream opens |
|---|---|
| 08:55 |
Welcome
|
Session 1 - Emergency presentations at the front door
Chair: Dr Nicole Heggarty, Edinburgh
| 09:00 | Haematology emergencies * bleeding on direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) * disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) * haemolytic uraemic syndrome(HUS)/thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) |
|---|---|
| 09:30 | Neurological emergencies for the generalist * myasthenic crisis * guillain-barré syndrome (GBS) * status |
| 10:00 | Endocrine emergencies * adrenal crisis * hypercalcaemia * severe hyponatraemia |
| 10:30 | The forgotten emergencies * serotonin syndrome * neuroleptic malignant syndrome * acute alcohol withdrawal |
| 11:00 | Break |
Session 2 - Higher-risk populations at the front door
Chair:
| 11:20 | Avoiding harm in the older adult with frailty * frailty informed care * prescribing considerations |
|---|---|
| 11:50 | Oh No! There's a Pregnant Patient in the AMU * avoiding harm * medical problems in pregnancy cases |
| 12:20 | Palliative patients presenting acutely * preventing or reducing admissions * managing distress |
| 12:50 | Break |
Session 3 - Diagnostics at the front door
Chair:
| 13:40 | Radiology at the front door * radiology cases * what not to miss |
|---|---|
| 14:10 | The abnormal blood gas * metabolic acidosis * anion gap * when the cause isn't clear |
| 14:40 | Rationalising diagnoses * rationalising investigations * realistic medicine * incidental findings |
| 15:10 | Break |
Session 4 - Evolving practice: key guideline updates at the front door
Chair:
| 15:25 | Decompensated liver disease * British association for the study of the liver (BASL) bundle update * hepatorenal syndrome * escalation decisions |
|---|---|
| 15:55 | Pneumonia * NICE guideline update * atypical infection * when to consider other diagnoses (AIP/organising pneumonia) * who needs admitted |
| 16:25 | Myocardial and pericardial disease * European society of cardiology (ECS) guidelines * who needs admitted * pericarditis treatment * who needs an echo |
| 16:55 |
|
Not a Member of RCPE? By joining the College, you can save up to 100% on event fees for our symposia, courses and Evening Medical Update programme. Find out more about joining the College and our membership benefits via our membership webpages.
Become a member of the College today and save at least £180 on attendance fees for the full event.
This is an online event.
All registered delegates will have catch-up access to all talks for 6 months following the live event. Bookings close on 16 July 2026.
| Registration fees | Fee for one day £ | Fee for two days £ |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Fee | £260 | £480 |
| RCPE Fellow, Collegiate & Associate Member | £160 | £300 |
| Allied Health Professionals | £160 | £300 |
| RCPE Retired Fellow and RCPE Foundation Member | £80 | £140 |
| RCPE Fellow in low or lower-middle income country | £0 | £0 |
| RCPE Student member | £0 | £0 |
Long term / other leave: Fellows and Members of RCPE, please contact the Event Co-Ordinator as some discretion may be available.
Invoices
If you wish your employer/organisation to be invoiced for this event, please contact the Event Coordinator. Payment via invoice is not available for online booking.
Free places
Unpaid post: If an RCPE Member, please provide confirmation of status to the event coordinator in order to access this event for free.
Refugee doctors: Free places are available to refugee doctors who are Associate Members of RCPE, please contact the event coordinator for more information. Associate Membership for refugee doctors is available free of charge, please visit our membership pages for more information on how to join the College as a refugee doctor.
Cancellation policy
If you have to cancel your place within 4 days of this event, we regret that we are unable to provide a refund.
The event will be available to view on-demand until 6 months after the live event, to all registered delegates.
No refunds during the catch-up period following the live event.
Booking Terms & Conditions
Booking Terms & Conditions: Please read the College’s full event booking Ts&Cs regarding event changes, CPD, and data protection in the event policies section on our Event FAQ pages.
Certificates
All relevant events are approved for Continuing Professional Development (CPD). To receive a CPD certificate, delegates must have completed the online feedback survey within 28 days. The survey will close 28 days after the original broadcast of the event on 23 July 2026, with certificates being issued shortly after this.
Certificates cannot be issued after the survey has closed.
Catch-up
Registered delegates can view this event on catch-up for up to 6 months following the live event, i.e. until 25 December 2026. Please note that in line with Federation rules, the CPD period is 28 days from the live event. To obtain a CPD certificate you must have completed the online feedback survey by 23 July 2026.
Bookings will remain open until 16 July 2026. Remember, the online feedback survey closes on 23 July 2026, don't miss out on your certificate.
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Event information
Courses
Wed 24 - Thu 25 Jun
| 2 Day Event
Wed 08:55 - Thu 17:00
Online
Activity code:
will apply for 13 credits
Are you a Fellow or a Member? Sign in to get member prices
Sign in to get member prices