Journal of IiME Volume 4 Issue 1 www.investinme.org Canadian Guidelines E EDDUUCCAATTIIOONN oonn MMEE//CCFFSS –– TThhee G Geenneerraall MMeeddii ccaall CCoouunncc ii ll P Pooss ii tt iioonn You could try approaching the Academy of the Medical Royal Colleges or the Royal College of Physicians (London) in particular if you wish to pursue the postgraduate perspective. We do of course have links with the medical Royal Colleges and specialty associations, with patient networks and with research bodies such as the Picker Institute. In developing our curricular requirements we engage and consult widely, as we did in developing the 2009 edition of Tomorrow's Doctors. Once again, I am sorry that the GMC has no specific role or expertise on what should be included in medical curricula about ME/CFS, or any other individual conditions, in order to contribute productively to your conference. Invest in ME are the UK distributors for the Canadian Consensus Criteria – the Canadian Guidelines. Described even by NICE as “the most stringent” guidelines available these are proper, up-to-date clinical guidelines which can also be used as a base for research criteria. Findings from the study by Leonard A. Jason PhD (Comparing the Fukuda et al. Criteria and the Canadian Case Definition for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) indicated that the Canadian criteria captured many of the cardiopulmonary and neurological abnormalities, which were not currently assessed by the Fukuda criteria. The Canadian Criteria also selected cases with ‘less psychiatric co-morbidity, more physical functional impairment, and more fatigue/weakness, neuropsychiatric, and neurological symptoms’ and individuals selected by these criteria were significantly different from psychiatric controls with CFS. ME STORY Comments from ME patients about their doctors: • "I was told I was lazy and laughed at" • "(he said) the illness was a load of trollop, he laughed me out of the surgery" • "(he) laughed when I told him I could only visit him if I felt fit enough" • "I was called ‘stupid’ and shouted at on more occasions than I care to mention…one neurologist said he ‘couldn’t care less’ whether I ever got better" • "I was told I was a disgrace" • "My illness started with a sudden, severe collapse. The doctor said that it was due to ‘attention seeking’" • "(I was) told that I was a nutter" • " (I was) told I was selfish and introverted and it was nothing but hysteria" • "(the) doctors said to me ‘if you go on like this you will be struck off the register’ " • "(the doctor) said my symptoms / signs ‘didn’t exist’ " • "It was suggested ‘a good man’ was all I needed". • That same year, a severely affected female patient was informed by her GP that ME "is a condition developed by the patient for what they can get out of it". from Magical Medicine: How to Make a Disease Disappear [http://tinyurl.com/38yuj83] Invest in ME (Charity Nr. 1114035) Page 22/56 The Canadian Guidelines provide an internationally accepted means for clearly diagnosing ME. The Canadian Guidelines are available from Invest in ME- the price is 83p per copy plus postage & packaging. To order please contact Invest in ME via this email address: info@investinme.org
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