We at the LSN understand being a General Practitioner (GP) in today’s NHS is not an easy task, appointment times are short, demand is high, extraordinary growth in medical knowledge, along with what we expect our GPs to know, is almost unachievable and many feel they run a real risk of being branded ‘Jacks of all trades and masters of none’.
It is sometimes all too easy for individuals and organisations to criticise GPs and whilst there is no doubt that many of our members have experienced difficulties in gaining a diagnosis or receiving treatment, the LSN believes that helping GPs and other Health Care Professionals to learn is a more productive route. We have a track record of success with our past projects in this area and we are hopeful that our latest venture will reap similar rewards.
We have commissioned a new e-learning module that builds on our previous BMJ module and will educate GPs about how to recognise lymphoedema, what initial tests should be done, when to refer to specialist services and how to support their patients when they are in self-management. As with our other e-learning module, GPs will receive Continuing Professional Development points when they complete the module and we will be able to monitor how many people have participated. This time we have chosen to maximise GP exposure to the module by collaborating with the Royal College of General Practitioners who will host the module on their website. Our grateful thanks go to Professor Mortimer, Dr Keeley and Denise Hardy, for all their help and support in the production of this module.
We would encourage you to complete the module.
The module can be accessed by healthcare professionals, medical trainees and health care professional students at http://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/lymphoedema