We are driving an attitude change towards rare diseases amongst medical students and doctors-in-training to improve the patient journey #DareToThinkRare
3.5 million people in the UK live with a rare disease. And yet the term 'rare' continues to carry a stigma in medical education.
What does 'rare' mean to you?...Maybe 'complex', 'scary genetics' or 'this won't come up in the exam'.
But being a rare patient means waiting, on average, for 4 years without a diagnosis (Rare Disease UK). This is called 'the diagnostic odyssey' and can mean the difference between receiving life-changing treatments or not. Medics4RareDiseases want to help future doctors change this.
Lucy Mckay, M4RD Founder, speaking about M4RD at the Findacure Drug Repurposing for Rare Diseases Conference 2018
We believe that doctors cannot know about every rare disease but that appreciating what rare disease patients have in common will help them have better relationships with their patients. And hopefully help achieve earlier diagnosis. We find opportunities for medical students and doctors in the rare disease field, for example:
Holding an annual symposium on rare diseases at The Royal Society of Medicine
Collaborating with Findacure on the Student Voice Essay Competition
Helping them to hold big events like Birmingham Rare Diseases Society's annual conference
Making connections abroad for placements or research opportunities