Huge Success For EUPATI Face-To-Face Training!

The first face-to-face training for the second cohort of EUPATI trainees was held in Barcelona on 18-22 April 2016.

54 patient advocates from 27 countries, expert speakers, and EUPATI facilitators gathered together in Barcelona for five days of networking and intense training. The exercises focussed on ethics in clinical trials, clinical trial methodology and statistics, the principles of evidence based medicine, marketing authorization, and patient involvement at the European Medicines Agency.

The programme featured both plenary sessions with expert speakers as well as interactive breakout activities, including a lively patient involvement role play led by Tamás Bereczky from EATG and mock ethics panels. Several EUPATI Fellows, or graduates of the first cohort, were on hand to act as session facilitators or present on topics like communications and social media for patient advocacy.

This first face-to-face event for the second group of trainees was a huge success. The entire EUPATI team was extremely impressed with the levels of enthusiasm and experience in the training rooms! We are already looking forward to the second and final face-to-face training event, which will take place in mid-September in Barcelona with a main focus on risk/benefit of medicines and on Health Technology Assessment (HTA).

The second cohort of EUPATI trainees consists of a more geographically diverse group of advocates than with the first cohort. There is a greater representation from Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, as well as patient advocates from Turkey and Kyrgyzstan. The trainees were excited to meet in person and to participate in sessions that built on the eLearning material on medicines research and development covered over the last few months. Trainee Joan Jordan from MS Ireland said, "the EUPATI Expert Patient face-to-face training in Barcelona has boosted my contacts, my knowledge, and my enthusiasm to spread the good news about how EUPATI can help patients to make a difference to medicines R&D. I have learned so much from my fellow students and the subject matter experts who collaborated with us. I feel like I have a huge support network to help me with my future advocacy activities. Nothing about us without us!".

To see more photos and other updates from the training, please visit the EUPATI Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/eupati.eu, the EUPATI website www.patientacademy.eu, and keep an eye out on social media for the EUPATI hashtag #patientsinvolved.

Contact: Danielle Flores, Junior Project Officer.