Postcards to Doctors
In 2019, #MEAction launched POSTCARDS TO DOCTORS, a medical education campaign in which we sent beautifully-designed, handwritten postcards to doctors throughout the US, to encourage them to take the UNREST CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION course to learn more about myalgic encephalomyelitis! In 2019, we sent over 6,000 postcards and over 5,000 addresses to local, highly-rated doctors with the help of our volunteers. That’s 6,000 clinicians who know about ME because of advocates like you!
Interested in sponsoring a postcard writer?
Help us reach as many medical professionals in the US as possible! By donating to the Postcards fund, you can help us distribute medical education more equitably. Your donation will purchase postcards and stamps for a participant with financial need.
Request a Sponsor
If the cost of participating in Postcards to Doctors presents a financial burden to you, fill out this form and we will distribute sponsorships as they become available!
Once you have received your first set of postcards and sent them out, you absolutely may request to receive postcards again!
Get Started!
1)
PURCHASE YOUR POSTCARDS IN OUR ONLINE STORE
You can purchase postcards from our online store to be sent to your home address. They should arrive in about a week.
2)
Request local addresses using our online form
Fill our our form in order to receive the addresses of highly-rated medical providers in your home state. Some will be from your zip code; others will be from other areas in your home state so that we're sure that people with ME of all races, creeds and colors can get the informed, compassionate care they need.
Note: most people should request the same number of addresses as the number of postcards they ordered in the previous step.
3)
Receive your postcards & add required language
Please note that we have updated the required language of the postcard! Our experience is that many clinicians in the US do not recognize ME on its own and are more likely to recognize and respond to the name “chronic fatigue syndrome”. If you are uncomfortable using that name, feel free to continue replicating the language using “myalgic encephalomyelitis” on its own. Education is the goal of the Postcards project, and if clinicians don’t recognize the disease as something their own patients experience, we have failed out of the gate. Thank you for considering this!
Language for the postcards should be replicated exactly.
Language for people with ME:
Dear Dr. ____,
Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a common, often post-infectious disease more important than ever in the time of COVID. Most doctors are still not getting the diagnosis right. This CME has practical advice you can use to diagnose and treat people like me. Check out the Unrest CME at unrest.film/cme.
Thank you,
Language for allies:
Dear Dr. ____,
Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a common, often post-infectious disease more important than ever in the time of COVID. Most doctors are still not getting the diagnosis right. Our CME has practical advice you can use to diagnose and treat people like my (friend/daughter/etc)! Check out the Unrest CME at unrest.film/cme.
Sincerely,
4)
Add Your own Language, If desired
If there is a local event coming up, such as a showing of Unrest or an ME conference, this is the place to mention it to your local docs! Remember to include the location, date, and time if you do. You may also choose to include something personal. Additions likely to elicit engagement are positive and proactive:
You can really help people like me!
You can be part of the solution that brings the best care to people with ME right where you live.
Always keep the final goal in sight: to show clinicians that it is easy and useful to complete CME for ME. .
5)
Fill in the address, stamp and Send!
Drop in a local mailbox and reach a new medical provider in your home state today!
6)
Share on Social & Join the Party!
Share messages and images of your postcards on social media using the hashtag #PostcardsToDoctors!