Action for M.E.: New webinar for healthcare professionals coming soon

Dolphin

Dolphin

Senior Member (Voting Rights)
https://www.actionforme.org.uk/news/new-webinar-for-healthcare-professionals-coming-soon/

New webinar for healthcare professionals coming soon
November 09, 2017

A new webinar aimed at educating healthcare professionals about M.E. will be launched later this month.


‘Meeting the needs of people with M.E.-C.F.S – essential facts and practical tips’ will be hosted by Emily Beardall, an Action for M.E. volunteer and Pharmacist with personal experience of M.E./CFS on Thursday 30 November from 8pm to 9pm GMT.

An introduction to M.E./CFS for health and social care professionals, the webinar will increase understanding and awareness of this debilitating illness by reviewing current symptom-management advice and good practice while also providing practical tips to enhance appointments and treatment regardless of the healthcare setting or reason for seeing the patient. It will provide access to downloadable information and guidance to support professionals in their day to day practice including signposting to self-management resources and services.

This webinar is worth one CPD credit point and will be of particular interest to pharmacists, dentists, community nurses, OTs, physiotherapists, GPs, nurses and midwives and of relevance to anyone supporting or caring for someone with this chronic condition.

Registration is now open and is free to healthcare professionals who wish to take part.

Expected learning outcomes

  • To be able to describe the characteristic symptoms of M.E./CFS and understand how this affects daily life
  • To be able to identify and apply practical measures that will enhance consultations, appointments and treatment planning.
  • To have an overview of evidence-based treatment and where to find further information and guidance applicable to a variety of health professionals
  • To be aware of the direction of research into the underlying pathology and potential treatments for the condition
  • To be able to signpost to self-management resources and support
About the speaker: Emily Beardall, pharmacist and volunteer with Action for M.E.

Emily is a pharmacist who has lived with M.E. and fibromyalgia since her teens. Her M.E. was undiagnosed until four years ago, when she had a severe relapse soon after qualifying as a pharmacist. As a result of her 26 years of living with M.E., she has a personal understanding of the devastating impact the illness can have on a person’s life, along with the difficulties many people with M.E. encounter when seeking medical help. Emily uses her perspective as both a patient and health professional to volunteer with Action for M.E., writing regular roundups of research in lay terms for patients, health topics for the charity’s magazine and a guide to M.E./CFS for pharmacy teams, as well as advising the charity on health policy.
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Dolphin said:
Given Emily is hosting this and it is organised by Action for ME, I wouldn't have high hopes for this.
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Note they didn't mention Hazel O'Dowd for this one (she was the advisor for the previous ones).

"
Expected learning outcomes

  • To be able to describe the characteristic symptoms of M.E./CFS and understand how this affects daily life
  • To be able to identify and apply practical measures that will enhance consultations, appointments and treatment planning.
  • To have an overview of evidence-based treatment and where to find further information and guidance applicable to a variety of health professionals
  • To be aware of the direction of research into the underlying pathology and potential treatments for the condition
  • To be able to signpost to self-management resources and support"

very airy-fairy as usual

wonder what their idea of 'evidence-based treatment' is?

eta:emoji for sarcastic rhetorical question(?)
 
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Emily Beardall has been the subject of several complaints for her abuse of patients on social media.

One was upheld last year & she had a lower profile.

Another complaint was made this year based on evidence collected by Phoenix Rising Members. AfME chose to do nothing even after the complaint was escalated.

I understand the complaint will now be sent to the Charity Commission.
 
Estherbot said:
Emily Beardall has been the subject of several complaints for her abuse of patients on social media.

One was upheld last year & she had a lower profile.

Another complaint was made this year based on evidence collected by Phoenix Rising Members. AfME chose to do nothing even after the complaint was escalated.

I understand the complaint will now be sent to the Charity Commission.
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What did the abuse involve?
 
Sly Saint said:
To have an overview of evidence-based treatment and where to find further information and guidance applicable to a variety of health professionals
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Whenever I see the phrase Evidence-based treatment associated with ME it tends to be being used to promote CBT and GET which have really weak evidence because the trials are so bad.

Good treatments that really work don't seem to need to push such labels.
 
I kept seeing Beardall being annoying and making unfounded accusations of other people abusing her... standards for some claims about 'abuse' can seem low to me.

To me, she seemed like someone who tries avoid debate, and we've seen the harm that they can do.
 
NelliePledge said:
What did the abuse involve?
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Emily likes to initiate arguments with patients and patronise them. When people reply she claims to have been abused!

She has a rather different take on CBT for example due to mental health comorbidities she has discussed at length on her blog.

AfME should not be sending out vulnerable people to pick fights and act as a human shield for its paid employees.
 
NelliePledge said:
What did the abuse involve?
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I wouldn't call it abuse, but Emily Beardall and another guy were pretty unpleasant on Facebook. People asked AfME why they didn't sign the open letter to Psychological Medicine asking them to retract the PACE recovery paper. Beardall said it was a conspiracy designed to make AfME look bad, since they weren't part of the initial group asked to sign it. But they didn't join the other groups that added their signature later, with Beardall claiming it was pointless to do so at that time, and the letter had been a failure anyhow.

Beardall then went on to "like" a bunch of Facebook posts from the unpleasant guy in support of AfME, some where he was referring to other patients as whining and hysterical.
 
Valentijn said:
I wouldn't call it abuse, but Emily Beardall and another guy were pretty unpleasant on Facebook. People asked AfME why they didn't sign the open letter to Psychological Medicine asking them to retract the PACE recovery paper. Beardall said it was a conspiracy designed to make AfME look bad, since they weren't part of the initial group asked to sign it. But they didn't join the other groups that added their signature later, with Beardall claiming it was pointless to do so at that time, and the letter had been a failure anyhow.

Beardall then went on to "like" a bunch of Facebook posts from the unpleasant guy in support of AfME, some where he was referring to other patients as whining and hysterical.
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Colin Barton perhaps? He often posts pro AFME stuff


I remember there was a lot of comments on their Facebook at that time arguing for and against. Didn't pick up on anything that seemed abusive, as you say definitely unpleasant tho


I think AFME will increasingly regret they didn't sign that letter. I know "in the past" they were involved in BPS up to their necks but after ditching Alistair Miller etc they are supposed to have left that behind. clearly they haven't moved very far at all. Also shown by sitting back letting MEA MERUK IIME etc etc do all the work on NICE guidelines campaign.
 
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Just wondered if it might be worth starting a thread to list any similar training courses for healthcare professionals; at the recent CFSAC meeting they discussed the need to get incorrect literature removed/changed. They can only deal with stuff in the US.

I just found another one but have no idea about its content:
https://www.continuingeducation.com/course/cmez512/fundamentals-of-chronic-fatigue-syndrome/

but given the second objective is "Discuss the biopsychosocial impact of ME/CFS" it could go either way.

It'll be a long while before anything gets amended here in the UK. Maybe we could help identify US sources as a start(?)
 
I think it might be worthwhile having a thread with a list of problematic training courses from all countries.

Many people are still being harmed by this stuff and its horrifying: picture the person as their world starts to fall apart and instead of a reaction of at least sympathetic ignorance from their employer, they get BPS crap from the employer's OT.

At least with a list (& assuming the individual is lucky enough to find their way to us so early on in the process) they might be able to argue that the training the OT is relying on is considered incorrect and harmful by the patient community.
 
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