Finalist
UK TMA Preceptorship 2016
Summary of work
Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) is a rare and life-threatening blood condition; mortality rates are high in severe cases (>90%), but the majority of clinicians have not seen a TMA patient and are unlikely to be able to confidently diagnose and treat the condition effectively. There are currently two TMA specialist centres in the UK receiving all referrals of suspected and known TMA cases. More specialist centres are needed to optimise management, and further education and practical training is required for the lead haematologists and their multidisciplinary team (MDT) to be confident in this essential new role.
The TMA Preceptorship, an innovative, accredited professional development programme, uses fast-paced, adrenaline-fuelled, real-life simulation as a training method to provide practical guidance and experience in the running of a TMA specialist centre. Haematology leads and their MDT colleagues from prospective TMA specialist centres were invited to take part, and 100% of all participants rated the programme as ‘Excellent’.
The training increased confidence in identifying and diagnosing TMA (100% of diagnosing clinicians), and 100% of all participants now consider it feasible to run a TMA specialist centre following the training.
The successful programme will be run again in May 2017 to continue to raise awareness of TMA.
Judges’ comments
This was a very creative and original preceptorship programme with clearly defined objectives that successfully met its aims and used patient perspectives to improve patient care. The use of real-life simulations made a tangible difference and really brought the campaign to life.
