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Patient-Centered Medical Education helps doctors learn more about Tourette Syndrome

On Saturday, September 8, 6 teens, their parents, and my mom and I gathered in Bridgewater, N.J., for the New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome & Associated Disorders’ Patient-Centered Medical Education Program (PCME) training.

PCME is a program in which children/teens and their families help educate pediatric and family practice physicians, residents and staff at hospitals across New Jersey about Tourette Syndrome. At the training, we reviewed a typical PCME program session.

Now that I have been through the training process, I will have the opportunity to speak at hospitals and medical centers throughout New Jersey. So far, PCMEs have taken place at:

  • Jersey Shore Medical Center
  • Goryeb Children’s Hospital
  • JFK Medical Center
  • Saint Peter’s University Hospital
  • Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
  • Overlook Medical Center

New ones are planned for Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and Cooper University Hospital. Hopefully, I get to do one of those!

I really think PCME is a positive way to educate physicians. The best way for us to help doctors help us is by sharing our real and personal experiences with them. When I participate in PCME, I want to share the story of my diagnosis and treatments. For example, I will explain what I especially like about how certain doctors treated me. I really love how my current psychiatrist texts me often when I have been put on a new medication to check how I am doing.

The PCME training was a great experience, and I cannot wait to use the skills that I learned when speaking at hospitals. I strongly suggest reaching out to NJCTS and attend a training session. Speaking to doctors about our TS experiences is a great way to spread awareness and real understanding about our disorder, which affects 1 in 100 children!

Here are links that take you to the 5 most recent examples of PCME trainings:

 

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EmilyF

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