Hands-On Dermatology CME Comes to Colorado’s Copper Mountain
Lansing-based Pine Point Medical co-founder Tess MacQueen, PA-C, will serve as lead instructor for a national continuing medical education conference in Colorado.
For Colorado primary care providers, continuing medical education does not have to mean spending another weekend inside a traditional conference hotel.
This February, Conifer Healthcare Solutions is bringing practical, hands-on dermatology training to the heart of the Colorado Rockies with Derm Procedures for Primary Care, a one-day CME conference at Copper Mountain Resort on Sunday, February 14, 2027.
Led by Tess MacQueen, MS, PA-C, Dermatology Diplomate Fellow, the program will offer 8 AAPA-accredited CME credits through a combination of case-based instruction and supervised procedural training.
For physicians, PAs, NPs and other primary care clinicians who regularly encounter skin conditions in practice, the conference offers an opportunity to strengthen dermatology skills while spending a winter weekend at one of Colorado's best-known mountain destinations.
Practical Dermatology Training for Colorado Primary Care Providers
Primary care clinicians are often the first providers patients see for rashes, changing lesions, infections and other skin concerns.
However, recognizing a dermatologic condition is only part of the equation. Providers also need to determine what can appropriately be managed in primary care, whether a procedure may be warranted and when a patient should be referred to a dermatologist.
That decision-making can become especially important in Colorado's rural and mountain communities, where patients may need to travel farther or wait longer to access specialty dermatology care.
Derm Procedures for Primary Care was developed with those everyday clinical situations in mind.
Rather than focusing solely on lectures or theory, the program emphasizes skills that clinicians can bring directly back to their practices.
Participants will receive instruction in areas including:
Recognizing common benign and concerning skin lesions
Evaluating frequently encountered dermatologic conditions
Determining when biopsy may be appropriate
Performing shave and punch biopsies
Dermatologic suturing
Cryotherapy and lesion management
Making treatment-versus-referral decisions
The goal is not to turn primary care clinicians into dermatologists. Instead, it is to help providers feel more confident identifying common concerns, performing appropriate office-based procedures and recognizing when specialist care is needed.
"Primary care providers see dermatologic concerns all the time, but many don't have regular opportunities to practice these skills in a hands-on environment," MacQueen said. "The goal is to give providers practical tools they can take back to their patients and use in everyday practice."
Why Hands-On CME Matters
There is a significant difference between hearing a procedure described and actually practicing it.
That is why hands-on learning is a central part of the Copper Mountain conference.
Participants will move beyond classroom instruction and have the opportunity to practice procedures in a supervised educational environment. The format allows clinicians to work through techniques, ask questions and become more comfortable with skills they may use in their own outpatient settings.
For providers who finished formal training years ago, the conference can also provide an opportunity to revisit dermatology procedures they may not routinely perform.
MacQueen brings experience in both primary care and dermatology-focused care to the program. As a Dermatology Diplomate Fellow and co-founder of Pine Point Medical in New York, she works with dermatologic concerns in a primary care environment and focuses her teaching on practical clinical decision-making.
A Colorado CME Conference That Feels Different
The location is intentionally part of the experience.
Copper Mountain Resort sits approximately 75 miles west of Denver in the Colorado Rockies, making it possible for many Colorado clinicians to attend a destination-style CME program without leaving the state.
The February conference also takes place in the middle of Colorado's winter season.
Providers can come to Copper Mountain specifically for the one-day course, or they can turn the conference into a longer mountain weekend. Copper offers slopeside lodging along with skiing and snowboarding, dining, ice skating, tubing, snowshoeing and other winter activities.
"We wanted to create a conference providers would genuinely be excited to attend," MacQueen said. "The education comes first, but continuing education doesn't have to mean another weekend in a traditional hotel conference room."
That philosophy is central to Conifer Healthcare Solutions.
The goal is to create continuing education that is rigorous and clinically useful while also providing an experience healthcare professionals can look forward to attending.
CME for Colorado's Rural and Mountain Healthcare Communities
The Colorado setting also connects closely with the subject matter being taught.
Many communities throughout the state are separated from larger healthcare centers by significant driving distances, mountain terrain or both. In those settings, strengthening dermatology knowledge within primary care can help clinicians make more informed decisions about what can be managed locally and what requires specialist involvement.
That does not replace dermatology referral when it is appropriate. Instead, additional training can help primary care clinicians recognize concerning findings, perform suitable procedures within their scope and make more informed referral decisions.
Those skills can benefit providers working throughout Colorado, from growing Front Range communities to smaller mountain and rural practices.
Combine a Day of CME With a Colorado Mountain Weekend
Derm Procedures for Primary Care will take place on Sunday, February 14, 2027, allowing attendees to build a weekend around the conference if they choose.
For clinicians traveling from Denver, the Front Range or elsewhere in Colorado, that could mean arriving at Copper Mountain before the conference, spending time on the mountain and completing a full day of accredited education before heading home.
For those traveling from outside Colorado, the location provides an opportunity to combine professional development with a winter trip to the Rockies.
Either way, the education remains the focus.
Attendees will leave with 8 AAPA-accredited CME credits, practical dermatology training and skills designed to translate directly into everyday patient care.
Conference Details
Derm Procedures for Primary CareDate: Sunday, February 14, 2027
Location: Copper Mountain Resort, Colorado
CME: 8 AAPA-accredited CME credits
Instructor: Tess MacQueen, MS, PA-C, Dermatology Diplomate Fellow
Hosted by: Conifer Healthcare Solutions
Healthcare professionals interested in attending can learn more about the course, review conference information and register at www.coniferhealthcme.com.
About Conifer Healthcare Solutions
Conifer Healthcare Solutions provides practical continuing medical education designed to help healthcare professionals build skills and confidence they can apply directly to patient care. Its educational programs emphasize real-world clinical decision-making, case-based education and hands-on learning.
Media Contact
Tess MacQueen, MS, PA-C
Co-Founder, Pine Point Medical
Conference Instructor, Conifer Healthcare Solutions
info@coniferhealthcme.com
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