Medical students studying in Scotland are invited to take part in the Learn About ME essay competition! The winner will receive £250, and the winning essay may be published in The Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. To enter, students must: • Complete the free one-hour CPD course on ME/CFS by Dr.… Continue reading Learn About ME essay competition for medical students studying in Scotland
Category: medical education
Quick note: query submitted to the Royal College of Physicians
I was concerned to learn that the Royal College of Physicians maintains educational materials on ME/CFS for postgraduate medical students, given that in 2021 that organisation expressed support for outdated and harmful forms of 'treatment' for the condition. Hopefully the RCP has researched and learned more about ME/CFS since then. In any case I've put… Continue reading Quick note: query submitted to the Royal College of Physicians
Response to the government’s interim plan for ME/CFS
The UK government's Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published its interim plan for ME/CFS, which is open for consultation until 4 October. Our response refers only to the 'Attitudes and Education of Medical Professionals' section of the plan. ME Research UK has published a fantastic response to the 'Research' section of the… Continue reading Response to the government’s interim plan for ME/CFS
New video series brings clarity to ME/CFS and long Covid’s frequently-misunderstood symptom: post-exertional malaise (PEM) aka post-exertional symptom exacerbation (PESE)
PEM is the unique and pathognomonic symptom of ME/CFS, meaning that if a person has PEM they have ME/CFS and vice versa. Some but not all long Covid patients experience PEM; these patients should be investigated for ME/CFS. (Long Covid and ME/CFS are not mutually exclusive; a person can have both.) PEM is frequently misunderstood,… Continue reading New video series brings clarity to ME/CFS and long Covid’s frequently-misunderstood symptom: post-exertional malaise (PEM) aka post-exertional symptom exacerbation (PESE)
New free short module on severe ME/CFS
In honour of Severe ME Day (8 August) Dr. Nina Muirhead of Doctors with ME has teamed up with Learna to offer new educational content on severe ME/CFS. 25% of people with ME/CFS have the severe form of the illness. They are profoundly ill and have complex care needs, yet few healthcare professionals receive training… Continue reading New free short module on severe ME/CFS
Please sign our open letter to the UK medical schools
Photo: Pixabay / Pexels. Shockingly, most doctors receive no training at all on ME/CFS. As a result, many continue to believe (wrongly) that the condition is minor, self-resolving, psychological in nature, or simply made up. Acting on these beliefs, they dismiss their patients' very real and very serious symptoms; mistakenly assume the symptoms are due… Continue reading Please sign our open letter to the UK medical schools
An open letter to the Medical Schools’ Council
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… Continue reading An open letter to the Medical Schools’ Council
Brief note: correspondence with the GMC regarding the term ‘chronic fatigue syndrome’ in medical education
I recently contacted the GMC (General Medical Council) to raise a concern: their MLA (Medical Licensing Assessment) content map refers to 'chronic fatigue syndrome' and not 'myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS)'. The MLA is an exam that all final-year undergraduate medical students in the UK will have to complete starting in the 2024/2025 academic year.… Continue reading Brief note: correspondence with the GMC regarding the term ‘chronic fatigue syndrome’ in medical education
The NHS must provide mandatory training on ME/CFS – our submission to the APPG
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis will be meeting later this month, and we've submitted a short statement for their consideration, which is also pasted below. Please urge the NHS to provide mandatory training on ME/CFS to doctors. Most doctors receive no training on ME/CFS, either during their time at medical school or after,… Continue reading The NHS must provide mandatory training on ME/CFS – our submission to the APPG
Integrating ME/CFS into an undergraduate curriculum: experience from a US medical school
In what might be a world first, the Frank H. Netter School of Medicine in the US has fully integrated ME/CFS into its curriculum. Dr Howard Andrew Selinger, MD. Photo: Quinnipiac University. The training program was developed by Dr Howard Andrew Selinger, a family physician and Chair of Family Medicine at the school. When asked… Continue reading Integrating ME/CFS into an undergraduate curriculum: experience from a US medical school
Update on our campaign
The ME/CFS Medical Education Campaign started up in December of last year, with the goal of ensuring that all UK doctors and medical students receive high-quality, up-to-date, evidence-based training on ME/CFS. The problems we face are very familiar to the ME community, but they might be unfamiliar to clinicians and medical educators: ME/CFS is a… Continue reading Update on our campaign
To which area of medicine does ME/CFS belong, and who should teach it?
With the Medical Licensing Assessment coming into effect in 2024-2025, medical schools across the UK will be preparing to teach ME/CFS for the first time, and they will find themselves facing a conundrum: which class or subject area does the condition fit into, and which educators are best-qualified to teach it? Cropped image from the… Continue reading To which area of medicine does ME/CFS belong, and who should teach it?
Letter to the Medical Schools’ Council on teaching ME/CFS to undergraduates
The Medical Schools' Council coordinates medical schools' teaching across the UK. We reached out to them to ask them to speak to medical schools about providing high-quality teaching on ME/CFS, to give a bit of background information about the condition, and to recommend some learning resources. The letter is posted below. Recommended ME/CFS resources for… Continue reading Letter to the Medical Schools’ Council on teaching ME/CFS to undergraduates
Signs and symptoms of ME/CFS
An infographic showing some of the signs and symptoms of ME/CFS. These signs cannot be measured using the standard lab tests available to a clinician, but they have been detected in research studies. Source: https://www.mortengroup.org.uk/me-cfs/science-of-me-cfs/.
ME/CFS will be taught to all medical students starting in 2024/2025 – but will the teaching be of a high standard?
Cropped image from the cover of the General Medical Council's MLA content map. We were very pleased to learn that ME/CFS is included on the MLA content map, and will therefore be taught to all undergraduate medical students in the UK, starting in the 2024/2025 academic year. However, we have concerns. We know that currently… Continue reading ME/CFS will be taught to all medical students starting in 2024/2025 – but will the teaching be of a high standard?
Letter to medical students from the ME/CFS Medical Education Campaign
We've begun sending this letter out to medical students' societies across the UK. Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a debilitating, incurable disease which affects at least four people in a thousand. Yet medical education on ME/CFS in the UK is shockingly poor. There have been great strides in research and clinical practice in recent… Continue reading Letter to medical students from the ME/CFS Medical Education Campaign
Research paints a bleak picture of ME/CFS medical education in the UK
Image credit: Rodnae Productions/Pexels. Studies show that ME/CFS represents a huge gap in medical education. A survey of medical students conducted in 2022 found that the students were generally unaware of ME/CFS, and had received little or no training related to the condition. However the students were very much interested in learning about it, and… Continue reading Research paints a bleak picture of ME/CFS medical education in the UK
ME/CFS Medical Education Campaign 