The ACCME Working Group on Patient Engagement
By Edeline Mitton, MEd, MPH
Patient engagement in research and healthcare has gained more traction in recent years as a collaborative effort between healthcare/activity providers, CE providers, patients, and institutions. It requires a willingness to listen, communicate effectively, and work together toward a common goal. In particular, the role of patients in continuing education has been recognized as a valuable resource for healthcare providers to improve the quality of care and outcomes.
Institutions, such as the Patient-centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), have demonstrated the impact of patient involvement in research, as have many others in the research field. Others have also narrated the importance of patient engagement in continuing education. In the Summer 2023 CE News column “Soph Box” by Sophie Soklaridis, PhD, editor and author, shared her experience involving her son’s care. She stated, “We can learn from the experiences and perspectives of patients to recognize them as holders of legitimate knowledge and expertise”. The question is: How does one engage patients in CE? Where does one begin?
When the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) sent out the call to convene a working group to investigate this question during the ACCME’s Annual Meeting, Learn to Thrive 2023, this was an opportunity to answer that question. As a result, the Engaging Patients in Continuing Education Working Group was formed, led by Cristina Graham, Director of Education and Professional Development at the American Epilepsy Society (AES), Edeline Mitton (SACME), Leticia Bresnahan (SACME), and patient partner, Aaron Battle. We are addressing the following issues: how to approach a patient, how to build a case with stakeholders, patient caregiver orientation to CE, CE staff responsibilities, administrative challenges, and pitfalls to avoid. The working group is taking a peer-led approach, with each member offering their experiences of working with patients and caregivers in CE activities. The objectives of the group are to focus on evolving meaningful educational partnerships with those with lived experience perspectives (e.g., patients, families, and the public).
The group has met monthly since May 2023 to discuss the various scenarios and challenges CE providers may encounter when partnering with patients. We are fortunate to also have Aaron Battle as part of the group representing a patient who has collaborated with many partners to share his perspective on partnering with patients in CE. Our shared experiences have helped us better understand the benefits of engaging patients and caregivers in CE activities. We hope to use this knowledge to develop a valuable resource for those wanting to do the same. We are designing a roadmap. The road has many curves and bumps to consider, as we look at all angles and address the many barriers to partnering with patients.
The working group plans to formulate a “Battle Scale”, named after Aaron Battle the patient advisor who contributed to its development. The Battle Scale is a flexible scaling framework allowing individuals or team to expand their patient partner involvement in CE from simple projects such as grand round sessions to more complex ones, like an advisory committee, as they gain experience. Still in development, the intended outcome is a resource the CE provider can use to assess and integrate patients and caregivers with lived experiences into CE activities. We look forward to the final output to be previewed at the 2024 ACCME Annual Meeting.
Overall, the ACCME working group’s efforts to involve patients and caregivers with lived experience perspectives in continuing education are commendable. Patient engagement in CE activities can be challenging. Still, the roadmap being developed by the working group is expected to provide valuable insights and resources for CE providers looking to integrate patients and caregivers with lived experience perspectives into their programs.
