Multiple sclerosis Academy: Education with impact
Event reportsOur second Education with impact report for MS, we're pleased to provide this short review of 2022-23 projects spanning both Foundation and Advanced project work.
'When I volunteered as academic director in 2021, my priority was to create a community of MS professionals from across all the different disciplines and to support them in a shared goal of delivering optimal, integrated care.
It's exciting to see so many different disciplines represented in these projects, and to hear about their experiences of learning through their peers at the MasterClass, then putting that learning into practice through these projects.'
Dr Wallace Brownlee, honorary academic director
Preferences for learning expressed by delegates on the courses have branched out in recent years from medication-focussed to be far more holistic, spanning symptom management and supporting a person throughout all aspects of their journey with MS and this was reflected in the project work. One of the top takeaways, then, was:
'Improving holistic care and supporting self-management have a significant crossover in these projects and both are highly valued by patients. To improve both these areas, you could:
Agree a specific approach to the comprehensive review, developing your own document like Pamela Andrews did, or using the annual review document provided by TiMS
Improve patient-facing information to provide agency and give confidence, like Flordeliza Madriaga and Nicole Japzon did
Introduce, improve or formalise a patient-initiated follow-up (PIFU) process, like Ruth Cutts'
'I've really enjoyed seeing the breadth of work to come out of MS Academy over recent years - such a variety of topics and approaches to understanding local challenges and meeting them head on.
I'm particularly excited to see so much collaborative working in these projects - we know that joined-up care and communication across professionals makes such a difference to people living with MS, and that's our ultimate goal.'
Sarah Gillett, managing director
This theme played out in other project work too, with the needs of people with MS being specifically addressed at key transition points. Some simple yet highly effective projects involved deliberate mapping of one of these transitions, and providing consistent approaches to their management. Another of the top takeaways was:
'Transitions can be tricky, and are often where patients fall through gaps in care. You could:
Develop a formal process or checklist to support patients being discharged from hospital like Victor Ike
Look at how your service supports people transitioning to a different 'type' or experience of MS like Polly Kay did, and consider how to improve that support, or make it more consistent.'
Find out more about all of these projects in the report and online, alongside almost 150 other MS-related projects - or find the first MS education with impact report here.
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MS Academy was established five years ago and in that time has accomplished a huge amount. The six different levels of specialist MS training are dedicated to case-based learning and practical application of cutting edge research. Home to national programme Raising the Bar and the fantastic workstream content it is producing, this is an exciting Academy to belong to.