By Maham Stanyon, GPVTS ST2
Do you practise according to
guidelines? Can you hand on heart, pen to prescription pad, say that you are up
to date with the latest recommendations in managing pre-diabetes, preventing
falls in the elderly, and can rattle off the latest NICE cancer guidelines with
confidence? Even before you get to the guidance itself, there is the dilemma of
which one to read; keeping up to date with NICE, SIGN, Royal College
recommendations and various expert panels is a full time job in itself, let
alone treating patients, tending to QOF targets, carrying out audits and engaging
with eportfolio. Even with 10 minutes per patient, where is the room in our day
for browsing the latest updates?
Enter the Red Whale GP update
course; a course compiled by practising GPs giving an intelligent focused
breakdown of the latest evidence in everything that presents to general
practice. During our one-day course, akin to a normal clinic, we went from
atrial fibrillation and cows’ milk protein allergy, to contraception in
epilepsy and diabetes; discussing not only the headline updates but looking at
where that evidence came from, quoting statistics from the trials and highlighting
where guidance is conflicting and how to best implement recommendations with a
practical emphasis, always mindful of the patient in front of you.
Previously a sceptic as to
the value of such resources, I am now a proud convert using the site not just
for guidance on guidelines, but for checking the latest information on the
value of drug and non-drug treatments and evidence based prescribing to give
that information to the patient in real time. The site goes a step further as
it is possible to record this learning for use in demonstrating continuous
professional development, which may prove vital post qualification when facing
revalidation.
The scope and breadth of the
Red Whale syllabus is astonishing and it is pleasing that none of the detail
from smaller trials is left out. Finally I feel there is a resource that
addresses clinical guidance from a holistic viewpoint giving you the tools to
inform patients who want to know everything, explains the evidence for alternative
treatments, and provides a structured approach suitable for busy clinicians
with the added bonus of being free from pharmaceutical influences.
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