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🙌 Many thanks for reading Write Medicine Insider, a biweekly round-up of tips and insights to help you create exceptional CME/CPD content. If you were forwarded this email, you can subscribe and receive Write Medicine Insider straight to your inbox every second Wednesday.👇

Hello Reader!

In our quest for creating meaningful continuing education for health professionals (CME/CE), we often overlook a crucial perspective: the patient’s voice.

Ten years ago, patient involvement in CME/CE was practically nonexistent. Fast forward to today, and it's becoming a cornerstone of meaningful education.

Why the shift?

As healthcare has moved towards a more patient-centered model, CME/CE has had to keep pace. The introduction of patient-reported outcomes in clinical trials and the rise of shared decision-making have all contributed to this sea change.

Today, accrediting bodies like the ACCME emphasize the importance of patient perspectives in continuing education. In fact, Criterion 24 in the Menu of Criteria for Accreditation with Commendation "recognizes providers that incorporate patient and/or public representatives as planners and faculty in planning and delivery of CME."

Patient perspectives bring a human touch to clinical data, fostering empathy and patient-centered care among healthcare professionals.

How do you integrate this vital element into your CME content?

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Quick Tactics to Incorporate Patient Voices in CME/CE Content

➡️ Direct Patient Quotes: Use authentic patient statements to illustrate real-world challenges. These snippets of real-life experiences can illuminate challenges that might not be apparent in clinical data alone.

➡️ Day-in-the-Life Narratives: Create brief vignettes showcasing patients’ daily experiences. Take learners on a journey through a patient's typical day. This approach helps healthcare professionals understand the full context of living with a condition, beyond the confines of a clinical visit. Consider creating a timeline infographic to visually represent a patient's daily challenges and triumphs.

➡️ Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs): Don't just tell, show! Incorporate standardized PROMs to quantify patient experiences. Resources like PROMIS (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System) offer a wealth of validated measures. Try comparing PROMs with traditional clinical outcomes to give a more rounded view of treatment efficacy.

➡️ Comparative Narratives: Present parallel accounts from both provider and patient perspectives. This technique can highlight potential disconnects and foster empathy. For example, contrast a physician's view of a "routine" procedure with a patient's anxiety-filled experience.

➡️ Patient Journey Mapping: Visual representations of the patient journey can be powerful educational tools. Create a map that outlines key touchpoints in a patient's experience, from symptom onset through diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up care. This can help healthcare professionals understand the full context of a patient's interactions with the healthcare system. Here's a caregiver's emotional journey map I worked on with Raregivers.

Incorporating patient voices isn’t just a trend—it embodies effective, empathetic healthcare education. By amplifying patient voices, we’re not just writing CME; we’re contributing to a more patient-centered healthcare system.

>>Ready to learn more about incorporating patient voice? Get Crafting Patient Cases.<<

📚 How to Write a Book

You might know that I recently completed writing my third book.

WriteCME Roadmap: How to Thrive in CME with No Experience, No Network, and No Clue is currently in layout and should be published in September.

Now I’m getting a lot of questions about how to write a book.

I posted about this a little bit on LinkedIn but if there's enough interest in the process of writing a book I’ll put together a masterclass on how to get started.

>>Interested? Let me know.<<

🎙️On the Podcast: Needs Assessments

The podcast is on hiatus until after Labor Day in the US. But you can still catch all the episodes to date.

Not subscribed? Follow here or subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Prefer to listen thematically? Here's a playlist on needs assessments for you.

Until next time, go gently,

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Alexandra Howson PhD, CHCP, FACEhp is a writer, researcher, and podcaster who shares her deep expertise in health care and education with new-to-the-field or CME-curious professionals to help them create educational content with confidence. She hosts Write Medicine, the premier podcast for CME/CPD professionals like you, wherever you are in the content creation process. Alex teaches on the Professional Education Program in Medical Writing and Editing at the University of Chicago.

Connect with Alex | alex@alexhowson.com | 415.374.9757

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