The students have been receptive and open-minded but you have to remember these are new medical students in the first year. What resonates most for them are live patient experiences as expressed to them. Because they’re not going to doubt what they hear from people who are zooming in, as has been the case these last three years, and describing their struggles.
The residents are also extremely receptive because they have yet to be launched into their clinical careers and they’re anxious to learn everything they can learn, so they’re not surprised by what they see.
— Dr. Howard Andrew Selinger, Sunday Conversations April 2023 – Medical School Education with Dr. Howard Andrew Selinger
Medical schools across the UK are faced with the challenge of providing up-to-date, evidence-based training on ME/CFS to undergraduate students to prepare them for the MLA, and more importantly to prepare them to provide excellent clinical care to patients.
Most medical schools have little tradition of teaching ME/CFS at the undergraduate level, so developing this training represents a significant challenge. We can help!
- What’s on the curriculum?
- Educational videos
- Case-based learning / problem-based learning
- Don’t forget about severe ME/CFS
- Talk to an expert
- Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA)
- Information sheets
What’s on the curriculum?
- The NICE guidance should form the basis for teaching on ME/CFS.
- Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Adult & Pediatric: International Consensus Primer for medical practitioners. Known as the International Consensus Primer or ICP, it is the most globally authoritative document on ME. It is written for both clinicians and researchers, and provides a globally accepted definition of ME which allows researchers to work from a shared understanding of the condition.
Our Recommended resources for medical educators (pdf) and Educational resources for clinicians can form a jumping-off point for learning more about the condition.
Looking for ideas and inspiration? In this video Dr Howard Andrew Selinger discusses in detail the ME/CFS curriculum taught at the Frank H. Netter School of Medicine in the US:
Educational videos
- Dialogues for a Neglected Illness: Patient Accounts, funded by the Wellcome Foundation, provides a series of high-quality videos in which people with ME/CFS describe their symptoms and experiences.
- Unrest, an award-winning documentary about a woman living with ME/CFS, is now available for free on YouTube. It elicited very positive responses when shown to a group of medical students.
- More videos can be found on our page for clinicians, and even more can be found in our curated YouTube playlists.
- Dialogues for a Neglected Illness is a treasure trove of professionally produced videos exploring ME/CFS from the perspectives of clinicians, researchers, patients and their families.
- Discover ME Experience is a two-part (CPD accredited) educational 3D virtual reality or 2D short film, with accompanying information pack – for more information contact the charity Hope 4 ME & Fibro Northern Ireland.
Case-based learning / problem-based learning
People with ME/CFS often have a long list of symptoms (see the NICE guidance sections 1.2.2 and 1.2.4), and may present in many different ways, but the most common complaint is probably profound fatigue. ME/CFS should therefore be considered in the differential diagnosis of a patient (or mock patient) suffering from fatigue lasting more than six weeks.
Don’t forget about severe ME/CFS
Anyone you meet with ME/CFS will likely have a ‘mild’ or ‘moderate’ form of the illness (the terms are somewhat misleading, as even ‘mild’ ME/CFS is devastating). The 25% who are classified as ‘severe’ are too ill to leave their homes and are easily forgotten, but they have unique needs that medical students should learn about.
- Dialogues: Severe & Very Severe ME/CFS is a set of three professionally-produced educational videos featuring interviews with expert clinicians, researchers, and patients living with the condition. These videos are fantastic and we can’t recommend them highly enough!
- See our Severe ME/CFS page for more resources and information.
Talk to an expert
Would you like to chat with an expert in ME/CFS medical education, a clinician with years of experience treating the condition, or to an advocate with expertise in severe ME/CFS? Drop us an email and we’ll put you in touch with an expert who’s interested in discussing the development of medical education on ME/CFS.
Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA)
ME/CFS is included in the GMC’s MLA Content Map (unfortunately using the old name ‘chronic fatigue syndrome’) and therefore must be taught to all undergraduate medical students starting from the 2024-2025 academic year.
Information sheets
- ME/CFS: Recent changes in the scientific understanding and standards of clinical practice
- Recommended ME/CFS resources for medical educators
- ME/CFS: To which area of medicine does it belong, and who should teach it?
- ME/CFS: Organizations (UK)
ME/CFS Medical Education Campaign 