Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Amersham Hospital, Whielden Street, Amersham HP7 0JD, UK.
Boston Consultants Ltd., Solihull, West Midlands B93 8PG, UK.
Medicina (Kaunas). 2021 May 28;57(6):542. doi: 10.3390/medicina57060542.
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a complex multi-system disease with a significant impact on the quality of life of patients and their families, yet the majority of ME/CFS patients go unrecognised or undiagnosed. For two decades, the medical education establishment in the UK has been challenged to remedy these failings, but little has changed. Meanwhile, there has been an exponential increase in biomedical research and an international paradigm shift in the literature, which defines ME/CFS as a multisystem disease, replacing the psychogenic narrative. This study was designed to explore the current UK medical school education on ME/CFS and to identify challenges and opportunities relating to future ME/CFS medical education. : A questionnaire, developed under the guidance of the Medical Schools Council, was sent to all 34 UK medical schools to collect data for the academic year 2018-2019. Responses were provided by 22 out of a total of 34 medical schools (65%); of these 13/22 (59%) taught ME/CFS, and teaching was led by lecturers from ten medical specialties. Teaching delivery was usually by lecture; discussion, case studies and e-learning were also used. Questions on ME/CFS were included by seven schools in their examinations and three schools reported likely clinical exposure to ME/CFS patients. Two-thirds of respondents were interested in receiving further teaching aids in ME/CFS. None of the schools shared details of their teaching syllabus, so it was not possible to ascertain what the students were being taught. This exploratory study reveals inadequacies in medical school teaching on ME/CFS. Many medical schools (64% of respondents) acknowledge the need to update ME/CFS education by expressing an appetite for further educational materials. The General Medical Council (GMC) and Medical Schools Council (MSC) are called upon to use their considerable influence to bring about the appropriate changes to medical school curricula so future doctors can recognise, diagnose and treat ME/CFS. The GMC is urged to consider creating a registered specialty encompassing ME/CFS, post-viral fatigue and long Covid.
肌痛性脑脊髓炎/慢性疲劳综合征（ME/CFS）是一种复杂的多系统疾病，对患者及其家属的生活质量有重大影响，但大多数 ME/CFS 患者未被识别或未被诊断。二十年来，英国的医学教育机构一直致力于纠正这些不足，但收效甚微。与此同时，生物医学研究呈指数级增长，文献中也出现了国际范式转变，将 ME/CFS 定义为一种多系统疾病，取代了心因性叙述。本研究旨在探讨英国目前医学院校的 ME/CFS 教育现状，并确定与未来 ME/CFS 医学教育相关的挑战和机遇。方法：在医学学校理事会的指导下，设计了一份问卷，分发给英国所有 34 所医学院，以收集 2018-2019 学年的数据。34 所医学院中有 22 所（65%）作出了回应；其中 13/22（59%）教授 ME/CFS，教学由来自 10 个医学专业的讲师领导。教学方式通常是讲座；也使用讨论、案例研究和电子学习。有 7 所学校在考试中包含了 ME/CFS 相关问题，有 3 所学校报告称可能有 ME/CFS 患者的临床接触。三分之二的受访者有兴趣获得更多关于 ME/CFS 的教学辅助工具。没有一所学校分享他们的教学大纲细节，因此无法确定学生们在学习什么。这项探索性研究揭示了医学院校 ME/CFS 教学的不足。许多医学院校（64%的受访者）承认需要更新 ME/CFS 教育，表达了对更多教育材料的需求。总理事会（GMC）和医学学校理事会（MSC）被要求利用其巨大的影响力，对医学院校课程进行适当的修改，以便未来的医生能够识别、诊断和治疗 ME/CFS。敦促 GMC 考虑创建一个包含 ME/CFS、病毒性疲劳和长期新冠的注册专业。
