As GPs and medical student teachers we wanted to provide more opportunities for future doctors to listen to real patient stories.

We worked with Versus Arthritis and discussed how we might achieve this goal.

The charity recruited patient volunteers who agreed to share their experiences of living with pain in a small group setting.

Over a 12 week period, more than 280 final year students from Queen’s University, Belfast (in groups of 12 or less) were invited to attend a 60 minute ZOOM session on a Friday afternoon. Versus Arthritis provided a patient for each session, along with a reserve in case of illness.

The sessions provided these “doctors of tomorrow” with a unique insight into the true impact of chronic pain on someone’s daily life. Feedback from the students and patient volunteers was excellent

You can read more here Versus arthritis collaboration QUB final year students