New Parkinson's learning pathway for health and care staff

The Parkinson’s Academy is delighted to have supported the UK Parkinson’s Excellence Network in developing a comprehensive Health and Care Staff Learning Pathway which is now available on the Parkinson’s UK website: parkinsons.org.uk/learningThe pathway is designed to enable staff working with people with Parkinson's to easily find appropriate learning, development opportunities, and improve their understanding of the condition.Understanding the specific challenges and features of Parkinson's is crucial to providing the highest quality care and tailored treatment for people living with the condition. The pathway includes free, accredited and endorsed learning suitable for all professionals across health and care sectors, including pharmacists and GPs. One of the courses included in the Learning Pathway is the Parkinson’s Academy Foundation MasterClass.

How does the learning pathway work?

The pathway makes it easy to find relevant resources, study days and courses to develop knowledge and skills. When entering the pathway, you can select your current level of understanding from new to Parkinson's to quite experienced and explore information and resources according to your interests and learning needs.The learning ranges in length and depth from 20-minute bite sized resources through to certificated learning with the Open University. Where appropriate, the learning is endorsed by the relevant professional body, i.e. the Royal College of Nursing. From January 2019 most of our learning will also be awarded CPD points for ease of recording your Continuous Professional Development.The pathway is a continually evolving resource, with regular updates to incorporate new courses. If you are aware of a relevant local learning opportunity not already included on the pathway, please get in touch with the Excellence Network team at education3@parkinsons.org.uk.

A suite of resources for Parkinson’s professionals

At the UK Parkinson’s Excellence Network learning hub you will also find two other pathways that the Parkinson’s Academy was involved in creating earlier this year for Parkinson's nurse specialists and therapists.Our hope is that by bringing together all the learning opportunities for Parkinson’s professionals in one place, this will make it easier for professionals to find the right training for them, and of course to deliver the best care possible for people with Parkinson’s.