The Medical Schools Council represents the UK medical schools and shapes the future of medical education in the UK. We’ve reached out to the MSC, urging them to drive forward the development of excellent ME/CFS training for undergraduate medical students, and letting them know about some fantastic experts and resources. Here’s the letter we sent (contact details of individuals have been removed) – we’ll post an update with any response we receive.
Subject: Request for information on the development ME/CFS medical education for undergraduate medical students
Hello,
I’m writing to ask you to share, in detail, what actions the Medical Schools’ Council is taking to ensure the development of excellent training on ME/CFS for undergraduate medical students across the UK.
Studies show that, up until very recently, undergraduate medical education on ME/CFS has either been of poor quality, or non-existent. [1,2,3,4] However through my work with the ME/CFS Medical Education Campaign I have recently seen some exciting signs of positive change. Dr. Louise Dubras of Ulster University and Dr. Neil Kennedy of Queen’s University Belfast have teamed up with the charity Hope 4 ME & Fibro Northern Ireland, which has been holding educational events on ME/CFS for the past several years, to develop innovative undergraduate training on the condition. I recently had the chance to speak with Dr. Kathryn Steven of the University of St. Andrews School of Medicine and was profoundly impressed with her work; Dr. Steven has developed undergraduate training informed the NICE guidance, by discussions with people living with ME/CFS, and by Dr. Steven’s own practice as a GP. She was especially interested in learning when a GP should suspect ME/CFS, given that it shares symptoms in common with many other conditions; I very much appreciate this practical focus on learning how best to help patients, and I’m pleased to say I’m confident that the training on ME/CFS at St. Andrews University is now of very high quality.
However I’m concerned that the majority of UK medical schools still fall short. Every school must urgently take on the challenge of developing training on ME/CFS to prepare students for the MLA, and more importantly to prepare them to provide excellent medical care to patients.
To facilitate this we’ve published an online guide to developing ME/CFS medical education which can be found at: https://mecfs-med-ed.org/medical-educators/.
And I’d like to introduce three experts in ME/CFS who have generously indicated that they’d be happy to have a chat with any medical educator who is interested in developing training on this condition:
- Dr Nina Muirhead BA(oxon) BMBCh(oxon) MRCS DOHNS MEd PGDipDerm is a dermatological surgeon and medical educator who developed ME/CFS in 2017. Since then she has become an advocate for ME/CFS medical education. She is a director and founding member of the professional association Doctors with ME, acted as an expert advisor to NICE during the development of the 2021 guidance on ME/CFS, is chair of the UK CFS/ME Research Collaborative (CMRC) Medical Education Group, and is the lead developer of a CPD course on ME/CFS for clinicians, commissioned by the Scottish Parliament, available at https://www.studyprn.com/p/chronic-fatigue-syndrome. Dr. Muirhead is probably the top expert on ME/CFS medical education globally. She is also warm, kind, and has a friendly and collaborative approach; I’d urge any medical educator interested in ME/CFS to get in touch with her.
- Dr Nigel Speight MA, MB, B Chir, FRCP, FRCPCH, D. is a paediatritian with thirty years’ experience treating ME/CFS, including severe ME/CFS, in children and young people. He served on the Chief Medical Officer’s CFS/ME working group in 2002 and contributed to the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health’s 2004 Evidence Based Guideline for the Management of CFS/ME in Children and Young People. He is Paediatric Advisor to the ME Association, the Tymes Trust and Action for ME, and is an author or co-author of several papers on ME/CFS.
- Helen Baxter is a long-standing volunteer with the 25% ME Group, the only organization in the UK which provides advice and advocacy for people living with severe ME/CFS. People with the severe form of ME/CFS are housebound and often have difficulties with cognition and communication. They are unable to attend GP or hospital appointments and essentially fall ‘off the radar’ of the NHS. Ms Baxter’s close work with severe ME/CFS patients over many years has given her an expertise and understanding of their needs which few health professionals could match. Her particular area of expertise is in malnutrition.
I’d also like to tell you about a US doctor, Howard Andrew Selinger, who has developed training on ME/CFS at the Frank H. Netter School of Medicine. Dr Selinger describes his curriculum in detail in a video, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQzfoZ_x30g, which I feel would be fantastic for any educator looking for ideas and inspiration. A short written summary of the video can be found at: https://mecfs-med-ed.org/2023/04/28/integrating-me-cfs-into-an-undergraduate-curriculum-experience-from-a-us-medical-school/.
Finally I’d like to emphasize that, although this may be just one educational topic among many to you, to the ME/CFS community the issue of medical education is one of deadly urgency. The lack of understanding of ME/CFS among medical professionals has caused and continues to cause tremendous harm to those living with the condition. This community is eagerly waiting to hear that the next generation of doctors will be properly trained so that in the future we will no longer have to endure disbelief, minimization of our very serious symptoms, medical neglect, and inappropriate or harmful therapies. We have every right to demand transparency and accountability from medical institutions.
Please respond and let me know what the Medical Schools Council is doing to drive the development of excellent medical education on ME/CFS. This is an open letter; I’ll publish it on our blog, and I’ll also publish any response you send, unless you specifically ask me not to.
Sincerely,
Katie Johnstone, founder of the ME/CFS Medical Education Campaign
References
1. Muirhead N, Muirhead J, Lavery G, Marsh B. Medical School Education on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. Medicina (Kaunas). 2021 May 28;57(6):542. doi: 10.3390/medicina57060542. PMID: 34071264; PMCID: PMC8230290. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8230290/.
2. Reid VA, Muirhed N. Investigating undergraduate medical education on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. The British Student Doctor Journal vol 6; issue 1; 1 December 2022. https://thebsdj.cardiffuniversitypress.org/articles/308.
3. Hng KN, Geraghty K, Pheby DFH. An Audit of UK Hospital Doctors’ Knowledge and Experience of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. Medicina 2021, 57, 885. doi: 10.3390/medicina57090885. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8464998/.
4. Stenhoff AL, Sadreddini S, Peters S, Wearden A. Understanding medical students’ views of chronic fatigue syndrome: a qualitative study. J Health Psychol. 2015 Feb;20(2):198-209. Doi: 10.1177/1359105313501534. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24058124/.
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