Conference Coverage Recap

Migraine and Headache Sessions Address Primary Care, Veterans, Emergency Care, and Status Migraine

Edited by:
Anthony Calabro, MA

Key Highlights

  • Several sessions at the 2026 AANP National Conference addressed practical diagnostic considerations for nurse practitioners managing patients with migraine, including migraine diagnosis, recognition of red flags, evaluation for secondary headache causes, and decisions about imaging or referral.
  • Treatment-focused content included pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic options, acute and preventive migraine strategies, medication bridges or tapers for status migraine, and nerve block procedures for acute status migraine.
  • The sessions collectively suggest that migraine care for nurse practitioners requires a setting-specific approach, with evaluation and treatment strategies tailored to primary care, emergency care, veteran populations, and more complex migraine presentations.

Migraine-related headache management topics were featured across several sessions at the 2026 American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) National Conference, with presentations addressing primary care diagnosis and treatment, headache care in veterans, emergency department evaluation and treatment, and status migraine management. Together, the sessions highlight practical issues for nurse practitioners, including diagnostic evaluation, recognition of secondary headache causes, medication selection, comorbidity assessment, and procedural options.

The session “Headache Management in Veterans,” presented by Karen Williams, DNP, FNP-BC, AQH, FAANP, reviewed diagnostic criteria, evaluation, and current pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatment modalities for veterans with primary headache disorders, including tension-type headache and migraine. The presentation will also address secondary headaches caused by medication overuse or traumatic events, such as traumatic brain injury. 

Two sessions presented by Laura Xanders, FNP-BC, addressed migraine management in primary care and status migraine. In “Managing Migraine in Primary Care,” Xanders provided an overview of migraine epidemiology and burden nationally and internationally, followed by a discussion of migraine diagnosis, including the use of the ID Migraine tool for quick diagnosis in the primary care setting. The session also reviewed red flags in the history and physical examination that may indicate the need for imaging or referral before moving to acute and preventive migraine treatment strategies, including mechanism of action, dosing, and potential side effects. In “Status Migraine Medications and Procedures,” Xanders provided an overview of status migraine as a diagnosis and reviewed red flags to consider when evaluating for secondary headache causes. Medication options included steroid and NSAID tapers, as well as acute medication bridges, with dosing guidance and side-effect review. The session also introduced nerve block procedures for acute status migraine, including supporting data, tools needed to perform the procedure, and discussion points for counseling patients.

Emergency department headache care was highlighted in “Headache Management in the Emergency Department,” by Nycole Oliver, DNP, MBA, MSN, APRN, RN, FNP-C, ACNPC-AG, ENP-C, CEN, FAEN. In her session, Oliver noted that headaches are among the most common complaints seen in the emergency department and that advanced practice providers must be able to distinguish among headache types to treat patients effectively. The presentation emphasized ruling out life-threatening neurologic conditions, such as subarachnoid hemorrhage and meningitis, before focusing on non-life-threatening headache syndromes, primarily migraine.

Across the sessions, migraine-related content appears to center on a common clinical challenge: how nurse practitioners can evaluate headache presentations, identify secondary causes or complicating factors, and select treatment strategies that fit the clinical setting. For NPs in family practice, emergency care, pain management, and neurology settings, the sessions provided practical context for managing migraine and related headache disorders across patient populations.

Reference
American Association of Nurse Practitioners. 2026 AANP National Conference (In Person): Search Sessions and Workshops. Accessed May 12, 2026. https://sessions.aanp.org/national