In July 2014, The Bone Cancer Research Trust developed an online e-learning module alongside The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), to help raise the awareness of primary bone cancer amongst GPs
Our GP E-Learning module has now been running since July
2014 and has been accessed by over 800 GPs in this time.
The Bone Cancer Research Trust partnered with The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) to develop an online module designed to support GP’s, and other healthcare professionals, to improve their knowledge and understanding of primary bone cancer in the hope that earlier diagnosis and an improved diagnostic experience can be made for primary bone cancer patients. The free course provides GPs with information on the symptoms to be cautious of (referred to as 'red-flags'), detailed case studies and the best methods to use in diagnosing primary bone cancer.
The module is made up of a range of questions, including a pre-course assessment and a set of questions following the completion of the module, known as a post-course assessment. This allows the GP's knowledge both before and after completing the module to be assessed and has informed us that those completing the module saw an increase in their knowledge by 69.9%.
We are also happy to report that when collating reviews of the module, a large 82.6% rated the course as 4* or higher - with an average of 4.35/5 star rating.
One GP told us the course was an:
‘Interesting and useful refresher of a clinical condition rarely seen in general practice, but where early diagnosis can make such a difference’.
Another informed us of how the module has helped raise their awareness:
‘Really useful and lots of good tips. I didn’t realise that a normal X-ray does not exclude primary bone cancer. Although I have never looked after a primary bone cancer patient this module has made me so much more aware!’.
We are happy to continue to receive great feedback from the module and will continue to promote this module to improve the knowledge of GPs in order to aid an earlier diagnosis for primary bone cancer patients.