Summer School on personalised medicine for healthcare professionals

The Brussels-based European Alliance for Personalised Medicine (EAPM) is offering the first Summer School for personalised medicine specifically designed for clinicians and healthcare professionals (HCPs) and registration is now underway to recruit the first batch of participants.

With personalised medicine now increasingly occupying a central role in effective healthcare, the need to properly orient and educate HCPs about the potentials of taking a personalised approach and treatment has become necessary, particularly in the light of recent research developments in inhibitory drugs and monoclonal antibodies.

The European Association of Urology (EAU) recognises the aims of continuing education and training and is collaborating with the EAPM. Professors Thorsten Bach, chairman of the EAU Patient Information will talk on healthcare and patient information while Didier Jacqmin, former chair of the EAU Strategic Planning Office and Treasurer of EAPM, will lead a session on inhibitory drugs.

“Personalised medicine in the treatment of urological cancers has potentials and recent developments in research and clinical practice indicate not only its growing role but also the need for a more structured approach. For urologists it is important to know how to ensure the translation of new therapies from laboratories to patients such as validated biomarkers, and how market access issues can affect or impact their use in daily practice in individual European countries,” the EAU said.

There is a lack of training and knowledge, which is one of the biggest barriers facing the full integration of personalised medicine today, according to the EAPM. “We believe it is vital to develop training for professionals whose disciplines are essential to the successful development of personalised medicine,” the EAPM said in a statement.

Under its Training and Education for Advanced Clinicians and HCPs (TEACH) programme, the EAPM has organised the first Summer School on personalised medicine from July 3 to 7 in Cascais, Portugal. Aimed at young healthcare professionals aged 28 to 40 years, TEACH will cover topics such as monoclonal antibodies, inhibitory drugs and putting patients at the centre of their own care.

A 20-member faculty with expert members from across Europe will lead plenaries, group discussions and interactive role play sessions. The first Summer School expects the participation of around 80 HCPs from various disciplines and specialties. Training will consist of plenary sessions followed by time spent in small groups focusing on how to communicate, complemented with lectures on several defined topics over the course of four days.

“Front-line HCPs’ communication skills with patients need to be developed and the summer school will focus on how to communicate to patients about personalised medicine and how the treatment they will receive is meant to work,” the EAPM said.

For details on the EAPM and the Summer School’s registration procedures, visit euapm.eu or click here euapm.eu/about-the-summer-school.html