We are THRILLED to share the rolling successes of our #TeachMETreatME campaign with you, as we report back on the amazing medical education events that have taken place so far – with many more to come in the upcoming months! (And don’t miss the global #MillionsMissing events later in the article!)
Over the past several months, clinicians and medical students across the U.S. have attended presentations, roundtables and conferences to learn about ME/CFS – and how to take the Mayo Clinic Proceedings Continuing Medical Education course on ME/CFS – thanks to the incredible work of #MEAction advocates who dedicated so much to make this campaign a success!
In the UK, #MEAction UK advocates pulled off a wonderful Postcard to Doctors Campaign encouraging medication professionals to take a CDP module on ME.
“It’s a cascade effect – imagine the number of future encounters now where the patient will be diagnosed instead of dismissed. It sounds cliché, but we’re changing the paradigm around ME/CFS in medicine.”
–Stephanie L. Grach, M.D., M.S.
who presented at the #TeachMETreatME Mayo Clinic event
Roll Count, please!
#TeachMETreatME highlights so far:
In the U.S.:
University of North Carolina kicked off our campaign in April with a Grand Rounds, educating over 75 physicians about ME/CFS and Long Covid.
A few weeks later, 30 clinicians at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota attended Dr. Stephanie Grach’s presentation on ME/CFS, where Rachael Carder spoke about her lived experience with ME and difficulty getting diagnosed.
Meanwhile, Dr Peter Rowe launched an ongoing four-part series on pediatric practices for children with ME/CFS thanks to #MEAction Maryland!
“This kind of dialogue in the medical community is vital to help ensure patients receive the best care possible.”
– Dr. John Baratta, MD, MBA,
head of the UNC Post-Covid Recovery Clinic
Medical students at Brown University learned about ME/CFS at its annual AMS Wellness conference, and Quinnipiac University held a seminar on ME/CFS for its medical students with #MEAction’s Scientific Director, Jaime Seltzer! #MEAction Maryland held an awareness event at Georgetown University where they spoke with students and faculty about the global shortage of medical professionals trained in ME/CFS.
In Florida, #MEAction volunteers hosted a table at the INIM conference at Nova Southeastern, handing out fliers about ME/CFS and discussing the disease and how to take the Mayo CME.
Meanwhile, we have many more #TeachMETreatME events approaching in the U.S. over the summer and fall at Emory School of Nursing in Georgia (with the CDC as co-presenters along with #MEAction Georgia!); Washington University in St. Louis; Northwestern University in Illinois; Sutter Health and Enloe Health in California; and at the One Medical conference in Chicago.
In the U.K:
#MEAction UK created a Postcard to Doctors Campaign encouraging medication professionals to take a CDP module on ME. An advocate held an event at King’s Mill Hospital, Mansfield to encourage staff to enroll in the CPD accredited training.
A general practitioners online study group, which features a group of general practitioners from different practices who come together as a group, have asked #MEAction UK to speak to them about ME. Plus, Medical English invited #MEAction UK to its weekly session to discuss ME.
And upcoming in the UK, is a webinar on ME and Long COVID at the Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh. This opportunity came to be as result of the #MEAction Scotland’s actions during last year’s #MillionsMissing.
#MillionsMissing 2024:
Across the globe, #MillionsMissing events took place to raise awareness and demand better treatment. These are only a sampling of the events across the world as there were definitely more!
#MillionsMissing Copenhagen
A #MillionsMissing event at Fælledparken in Copenhagen, Denmark created an exhibit of shoes and passed out information leaflets about ME. Also, the group provided a quiz about ME for health personnel.
#Millions Missing Vancouver 2024
Organizers gathered outside Premier David Eby’s constituency office in Kits to demand that the B.C. government work with #MillionsMissing Vancouver to make a plan to improve patient care for people living with ME.
#MillionsMissing Brussels:
The Flemish Patient organization, 12ME, organized a #MillionsMissing event in Brussels. They displayed approximately 100 pairs of empty shoes to symbolize the millions of ME patients worldwide who have disappeared from daily life because of illness. With each pair of shoes they will place a testimonial from someone suffering from ME.
MillionsMissing 2024 Bern Switzerland
The ME/CFS Association Switzerland, organized a shoe and deck-chair demonstration/presentation in front of the Government/Parliament House of Switzerland in the capital city, Bern. They had many speeches from patients, doctors, politicians, and the president’s of the Swiss ME and CFS association Sgme and Long Covid Switzerland association. Furthermore, they displayed art and testimonials about people with ME/ Plus, they distributed flyers and gadgets about ME.
#MillionsMissing Stockholm
A #MillionsMissing event at Sergels torg in Stockholm took place on Sunday, May 12th with an exhibit of shoes and stories from people with ME.
You Showed Up From Home
How this community show up on social media during our #MillionsMissing campaigns never cease to amaze us! The power of #MillionsMissing is the strongest online and this year was no different!
We asked you to share the Mayo CME with your clinician (you can still do that using this language!), and we’ve already seen positive responses from the medical community!
“I appreciate this link! I have shared this link with our module colleagues as a starting point. The site looks like it has a lot of valuable information about this complicated and nuanced condition. I appreciate your sharing.”
– Kaiser doctor
Northern California
You shared your stories and representations of what living with ME looks like:
You shared how long to being diagnosed, which combined to create these beautiful videos:
You shared your artwork:
You shared while #TeachMETreatME means so much to you:
You shared the CME:
To everyone who shared something online this past week, we thank you so much for taking the time to raise awareness and add to the groundswell of support needed to advance the much needed care for those living with ME.
The #MEAction community is always impressive! Your tenacity, your determination, and your perseverance are all to be recognized and honored. #MillionsMissing does not exist without you, you are the reason we have an article filled with these many successes! THANK YOU!
In awe,
All of us at #MEAction
