Obesity: the forgotten stigma

Sadly, prejudice and discrimination are still rife in the world today. Some of which regularly make the news and form large parts of political agendas. One form of discrimination is often unacknowledged however, and that is weight stigma. ...more
Alliance 2024

Pearls of wisdom from Alliance 2024

This year’s annual meeting of the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions was held during the February Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, which certainly made for an interesting atmosphere in which to discuss global CME and its future trends. Whilst those outside celebrated by cheering on parade floats and catching beads, those of us inside the venue concentrated instead on grabbing pearls of wisdom from the expert presenters (apologies, I couldn’t resist the theme!). ...more
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Embracing andragogy – the benefits of tailoring medical education for adult learners

Clinicians working within the rapidly evolving healthcare landscape are faced with a limitless amount of information to understand, retain and apply in practice. They also have a very limited amount of time available to dedicate to learning. These challenges are important to address in the planning of continuing medical education (CME) activities, which should be designed to help healthcare professionals (HCPs) quickly absorb information and seamlessly integrate it into their clinical practice. ...more
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Which formats work best for medical education?

I bet you want me to say something like ‘On-demand webinars – look no further for educational excellence. They are the BEST way for doctors to learn’. But if it was that simple, every educational provider would be doing wall-to-wall webinars, doctors would have all the knowledge they need, and we could go home early. In reality, we know that it’s more complicated than that.  There is no ‘one size fits all’.   ...more
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A chance to reflect and connect with thought leaders in European CME

Very recently, I was lucky enough, along with my colleague James Hutton (Global Operations Lead, IME) to attend the 16th European CME Forum in the Hague, Netherlands. This meeting brought together over 100 stakeholders passionate about global IME/CME, including CME providers, industry supporters, society groups and representatives of accreditation bodies. The theme of this year’s meetings was “Voices in CME-CPD” and the approach was very collaborative, featuring many workshops and breakouts where we got to explore this theme more closely. ...more
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Coffee and cake

“Coffee and cake. Where is my coffee and cake” – words spoken by my father-in-law Ray in a repetitive cycle during the final months of his life. He died a week ago in a care home, after a few years of declining health with co-existing illnesses; bowel cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. ...more
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Patient involvement in continuing medical education (CME) is becoming more common, but how can we ensure that these efforts benefit everyone?

Including patient perspectives in CME brings several benefits. For learners, patient insights offer important feedback to healthcare providers (HCPs), making them more aware of patient needs and adding real-life context to educational materials. For patients, this involvement empowers them as experts in their own conditions. Moreover, it improves patient outcomes by tailoring education to their actual needs. These advantages are increasingly acknowledged in CME, and ACCME now has a criterion that recognizes providers who involve patient/public representatives in planning and delivering CME in their menu of criteria for accreditation with commendation. ...more
3d illustration of throat cancer

Always remain curious: cancer and IME

Who here has been affected by cancer? Perhaps you have friends that have had it, perhaps relatives, or perhaps this is something that has deeply affected you. According to Macmillan Cancer Support estimates, “there are currently 3 million people living with cancer in the UK” [1], with this projected to rise to 5.3 million by 2040. ...more