Community pharmacy e-learning module on oesophago-gastric cancer awareness

Steve Williamson1, Suzanne Thompson1, Caroline Latta2, Ann Gunning2

NECN Be Clear on Cancer Steering Group (1North of England Cancer Network, 2NHS North of Tyne)

Background

The North of England Cancer Network (NECN) was a pilot area for an oesophago-gastric (OG) cancer symptom awareness raising campaign as part of Be Clear on Cancer (BCOC).

•The NECN undertook a range of activities over the eight-week campaign which ran April - July 2012.

•Engagement with the 660 community pharmacies in the Network was seen as crucial to the success of the campaign and the project team worked with the local pharmaceutical committees (LPC) to engage as many as possible.

•It was important to ensure pharmacists and counter staff were not only aware of the campaign but also in a position to advise customers on the signs and symptoms of cancer and prompt them to see their GP.

•The BCOC steering group decided to commission an e-learning training module that could be accessed by both pharmacists and counter assistants.

Benefits of the ProjectTraining for community pharmacists is usually undertaken as part of CPD and done in the evening, however there is often a lack of similar training opportunities for pharmacy counter staff. An e-learning module that can be accessed remotely is the ideal solution to providing training that can be accessed by a wide range of community pharmacies across a large geographical patch. Our module has advantages over other projects in that it specifically addresses the learning needs of counter assistant staff as well as pharmacists. The module will be evaluated as part of the overall BCOC campaign and can be updated as required. Finally the module is available nationally and will support any future national campaign and will act as a stepping stone to other modules already in existence, e.g. BCOC lung cancer campaign.

The e-module can be accessed by visiting www.bopalearning.com and logging on to the ‘Raising public awareness of cancer in community pharmacies (for

pharmacies)’ modules page after a short registration process. The module is free to all healthcare professionals.

Method

There was already a cancer e-learning website for pharmacists developed by the British Oncology Pharmacy Association.

Figure 1: The BOPA learning website www.bopalearning.com

The site already had e-learning modules on raising public awareness of lung, colorectal and skin cancers. BOPA agreed to host an additional module on OG cancers to sit alongside the existing modules.

Working with BOPA was a logical solution of making the most of a high quality existing resource, ‘reinventing with pride’.

InnovationThe module was developed by the local BCOC steering group 3 months prior to the start of the campaign. During development, the module was discussed with other pilot sites and they were offered the module to support their local pilots. This resulted in the sharing development costs saving money and avoiding duplication of effort.

The module has three parts; two 30 minute interactive lessons and an assessment. The module employs an variety of learning styles, including:

Drag and Drop, HTML, Quiz, Image Map, Groupings and Video.

Aims•To develop an e-learning tool based on other, successful programmes already used. •To promote it widely to pharmacies across the network.•To help educate pharmacists and their staff in the early signs and symptoms of OG cancer.•Give pharmacy the tools and knowledge to be able to actively engage with any customers who might have symptoms, particularly those buying medication for the key symptoms.

Figure 2: Video Learning

Because it can be difficult to initiate a conversation with customers about symptoms a popular and successful aspect of the tool included an video role-play showing how pharmacy staff might approach a customer in sensitive and appropriate way. A stand-alone version of the video will be made available on Youtube to allow wider access and future ‘bite sized’ training.

The E-learning Module Learning Styles

Figure 4 (left): Shows an Image Map where the learner can explore the possible symptoms and OG cancer risk factors for various patient groups by hovering their mouse over the image to reveal information.

Figure 3 (right): Shows a ‘Quiz’ screen where the learner tests their knowledge. This is part of the assessment.