Our CanGen-CanVar clinical education team (work package 5) have collaborated with the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication to develop a cancer genetics adaptation of their 'Communicating potential harms and benefits' e-Learning course. Here we share more about the course and provide details on how to access it.
What is the purpose of the course?
Health decisions often have no single ‘best choice’ and require choosing from multiple options, each with potential benefits, harms, trade offs and uncertainties. For patients (and carers) to understand and have the opportunity to be actively involved in sharing decisions, clinicians need to provide relevant and clear information about the options, and the potential benefits and harms of each.
The four part course has been designed with self-test questions and video case studies to help develop the skills required for effective communication of potential harms and benefits of options within cancer genetics.
Who is the course designed for?
The course is designed for healthcare professionals of all specialties who need to talk to patients and their families about familial cancer risk.
Who developed the course?
The core elements of the course were developed by the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication in partnership with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care.
This cancer genetics version of the e-learning course has been developed as part of the CanGene-CanVar programme (Kate Tatton-Brown, Katie Snape, Beth Coad (St George's University of London) and Katherine Joekes (Kent and Medway Medical School)) in collaboration with the Winton Centre.
Has the course been evaluated?
The Winton Centre have published an evaluation of the initial iteration of the e-Learning course. This is available to read here.
How can I access the course?
The course is accessible via the Winton Centre moodle site and available to NHS employees via the Health Education England e-Learning site.