Excellence in Professional Education Programmes

Summary of work

Clear overlap exists in the clinical experiences and needs of specialist nurses treating inflammatory diseases in dermatology, rheumatology and gastroenterology. Established in 2005 and led by top UK specialist nurses, Arena is a cross-therapy nurse education programme that aims to empower specialist nurses to make a difference in the delivery of immunology care.

Approximately 150 specialists attend Arena national events yearly, and hundreds more are reached through regional vehicles. The programme consistently receives very positive feedback, but the Steering Committee was keen to advance Arena into a practice-changing initiative. Utilising latest academic thinking, developed in partnership with an advisory board of psychologists, Arena has evolved into a multichannel programme that changes clinical practice and improves patient outcomes.

A recent email survey of past Arena participants highlighted real-life change in:

• Appropriate treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis: 80%
• Standardised disease assessments in rheumatoid arthritis: 90%
• Innovative approaches to biologic therapy monitoring in IBD: 88%
• Collaborative working: 78%
• Improving communication with patients: 87%
• Commissioner engagement: 23%.

To further demonstrate change and encourage more Arena-inspired innovations in clinical practice, the Arena ‘Network for Change’ poster session was introduced. Submitted posters detail specific real-life changes in clinical practice as a direct result of Arena.

Judges comments

AbbVie’s Arena programme really stood out amongst the crowd. It’s a comprehensive, multichannel programme that’s developed over a number of years and has shown real, demonstrable behavioural change which has led to real clinical improvement for many patients across the country. It’s a great example of collaborative working across three therapy areas.