EULAR Online Course on Rheumatic Diseases

EULAR (the European League Against Rheumatism) has announced that their third online course on rheumatic diseases will be launched on 8 September 2008 and online registration is now available.

The online course, an electronic form of continuous medical education, consists of 42 illustrated modules covering all aspects of rheumatology and will run over two years.

Each module consists of approximately 8 hours work for the student, totalling around 336 hours of educational training over the two year period. Accreditation for CME points is ongoing according to the EULAR website.

EULAR defines rheumatology as "including rheumatic diseases of the connective tissue, locomotor and musculoskeletal systems" and one of the topics is on generalised pain syndromes such as Fibromyalgia Syndrome. Other topics include: Systemic approach to diagnosis; Clinical epidemiology - Critical appraisal of evidence and Impact of the Rheumatic Diseases; Genetics for Rheumatologists; Psycho-social dimensions of the rheumatic diseases; Low back pain; Regional pain syndromes; Pain mechanisms and management; and Principles of Rehabilitation. There are also numerous modules on the various rheumatic conditions.

The topics will change bi-weekly and are offered by a large group of renowned faculty members, including: Dr Ernest Choy, from King's College London, who led the EULAR task force that developed the evidence based guidelines for the management of Fibromyalgia Syndrome; and Professor Michael Doherty, head of the Medical & Surgical Sciences department at Nottingham University.

For more information, please see EULAR On-line Course on Rheumatic Diseases.