Professional Education: Advancing the IWMF Mission
“Support and educate everyone affected by Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia (WM) to improve patient outcomes while advancing the search for a cure.”
By Debra Entin, MS, RN, CPNP
IWMF Consultant, Professional Education
What is “professional education?
Professional education at the International Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia Foundation (IWMF) refers to educational programming targeted to healthcare professionals (HCPs) who work in the field of hematology/oncology. This includes everyone on the healthcare team who works with—or has an interest in working with—people who have WM, including physicians, physician assistants (PAs), nurse practitioners (NPs), nurses (RNs), and social workers (SWs), among others.
Many different educational formats can be employed in delivering professional education, from instructional techniques such as lectures and webinars, to performance techniques like clinical participation and case study, to exhibits that provide expanded access to information and resources.
Debra Entin at the IWMF exhibit table during the Lymphoma, Leukemia & Myeloma Congress in October
How professional education relates to IWMF’s mission
“Support and educate everyone affected by Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia (WM) to improve patient outcomes while advancing the search for a cure.”
IWMF’s mission has two distinct, but related goals: (1) improve patient outcomes and (2) advance the search for a cure. Professional education directly addresses the first part of our mission—to improve patient outcomes—by increasing the pool of HCPs knowledgeable about WM and IWMF. Not only does professional education advance our mission, it also supports several of our global imperatives in the areas of healthcare professional awareness, patient support, and partnership.
Importance of professional education with
a rare disease
Professional education is especially critical when dealing with a rare disease like WM, since most HCPs will never have the opportunity to treat a person with it. To address this gap, the IWMF Board of Trustees approved the development of a new program that would provide a pathway for early career physicians to gain exposure to and knowledge about this rare disease, thereby increasing the pool of community hematologists/oncologists who can recognize, diagnose, and treat WM in consultation with a WM expert.
Advancing WM clinical expertise among hematology/oncology fellows
This exciting new program will be open to physicians currently completing a hematology/oncology fellowship. The goals of the program are for the fellow to:
- Establish a baseline knowledge of WM and increase recognition/referral of WM patients,
- Gain clinical exposure to the diagnosis and treatment of WM patients,
- Build mentor relationships with WM expert physicians,
- Interact with WM community members,
- Increase awareness of IWMF and its programs and services.
Data and expert opinions were gathered to develop the program structure and logistics. Input was sought from IWMF medical advisors, WM specialist physicians, directors of hematology/oncology fellowship programs, and graduate medical education administrators, resulting in the following framework for program award eligibility, elements, and timeline.
Eligibility for the program consists of a competitive application for physicians currently in an accredited US-based hematology/medical oncology fellowship program.
Elements of the award include a one-week clinical observership experience at a top tier institution under the tutelage of world-renowned WM expert physicians; monthly meetings with an assigned WM mentor pre- and/or post-clinical rotation; participation in the IWMF Educational Forum; and financial support for travel and lodging for the week-long observership and the IWMF Ed Forum, as well as indirect costs for the host institution.
The proposed timeline is as follows: advertise program during first quarter 2025; applications due March 31, 2025; selection committee meets April 2025; awardees announced and mentor/mentee meetings begin; awardees attend the IWMF Ed Forum, May 30-June 1, 2025; clinical rotations start July 2025 (or earlier if possible) and run through the academic year 2025/2026.
IWMF medical advisors, Dr. Stephen Ansell and Dr. Steven Treon, agreed to host awardees at their respective institutions: Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN (two fellows), and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA (12 fellows). At Mayo Clinic, Dr. Jonas Paludo and Dr. Prashant Kapoor will serve as mentors, while at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Dr. Jorge Castillo and Dr. Shayna Sarosiek will serve as mentors.
We are currently in the fundraising stage seeking support for the program from our industry partners, as well as individual donors. Program costs per awardee are estimated to be approximately $10,000. If you’re interested in supporting a fellow or would like more information, please contact Debra Entin at debraentin@gmail.com.
Ongoing professional education activities
Before the idea for the previously described program was hatched, we were already busy implementing a number of professional education activities, a sampling of which follows. As you’ll see, our efforts varied in format and target audience, reaching many different members of the healthcare team.
Expert presentations were held at the 24th Annual Lymphoma, Leukemia & Myeloma Congress, October 2024, New York, with two IWMF-sponsored lectures delivered to over 500 physicians. The first was by Edward Stadtmauer, MD, University of Pennsylvania, “WM: Clinical and Biological Features to Guide Therapy,” and the second was given by Debra Entin, MS, RN, CPNP, “IWMF Resources for HCPs and Your Patients.” A continuing education (CE)-accredited webinar, “Treating Indolent Lymphoma: Common & Rare Types,” was co-presented with Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Medical Learning Institute, and has had over 1,200 participants to date, the majority being nurses and nurse practitioners. IWMF also exhibited at several annual meetings of national HCP associations, where we raised awareness of WM and IWMF and distributed resources to association members and meeting attendees. The venues were:
- Oncology Nursing Society (ONS), 49th Annual Congress, April 2004, Washington, DC
- Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators (AONN), Annual Conference, November 2024, Las Vegas, NV
- Haematology Nurses & Healthcare Professionals Group, 8th Annual Conference, November 2024, Zurich, Switzerland
In addition, we developed publications specifically targeted at physicians and nurses and built a dedicated section for HCPs on our website, where they can easily access all relevant resources in one place.
As we continue into the new year, stay tuned for more exciting developments as IWMF expands its footprint in professional education.