New medical cannabis learning platform launches for nurses
For the first time, nurses and other healthcare practitioners in the UK will have help in learning about medical cannabis.
A new continuous education series for medical cannabis learning has been unveiled.
Running throughout 2021, the webinar series will provide nurses and healthcare practitioners in the UK with vital information about the benefits of cannabis-based prescription medicines.
The series has been designed to educate nurses to establish a better understanding of the benefits of medical cannabis, and its potential use, across a wide variety of health conditions affecting the public.
Case studies spanning pain, mental health, neurology, oncology, women’s health and palliative care are all on the learning agenda.
The series, offered by the Cannabis Patient Advocacy Support Services (CPASS) group, will focus on theory and practice.
CPASS is an initiative that spans a spectrum of medical professions from nurses to pharmacists. The cross-sector initiative provides education, advocacy and support for patients and for healthcare practitioners of cannabis-based treatments.
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Professor Ann Lloyd Keen is a registered nurse with over four decades of experience. Launching the learning initiative, the co-founder of the CPASS Nurses Arm said:
“It is vital to firmly establish this framework at the very heart of cannabis-based medicine, not only as a way to ensure efficacious and appropriate care for patients, but also to illustrate to healthcare professionals how medical cannabis is and can be prescribed in a real world setting.”
Understanding
The aim of the webinar series is to provide practical medical cannabis education for health professionals. The CPASS group has highlighted the online episodes may be valuable for patients, care-givers or anyone with an interest in understanding cannabis-based medicines.
Carl Holvey is the Chief Pharmacist of Sapphire Medical Clinics in London and works on the NHS Digital Expert Advisory Committee. He recalls the first time he provided a patient with a cannabis prescription.
“I first dispensed a cannabis-based medicine in the late 90’s, at that point there wasn’t much success in using nabilone for pain. To now work delivering care to patients using cannabis extracts and supporting specialist clinicians puts me at the forefront of using this new therapy in the UK. It’s a privilege to share patient’s journeys with cannabis and it is rewarding to see the exciting developments we will see over the coming years .”
Dr Leon Barron is an NHS GP and an executive committee member of The Medical Cannabis Clinic. He is also founder of The Primary Care Cannabis Network .
“What motivates me as a busy working GP is I see many patients in my NHS practice who don’t seem to be responding particularly well to conventional treatments and medications. Now I think medicinal cannabis offers hope for some patients, it gives them a chance to have some symptom relief and I think it’s the least we can do for those patients who would benefit from this the most. I think when it’s introduced in a safe monitored way it can be very very effective for a number of different conditions .”
The learning series launched in November 2020. More information and details on how to register for this intiative can be found here.
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