Why did we create BJC Connect for Practitioners?
- People with chronic rheumatic diseases are affected physically, mentally and emotionally. They want less pain and fatigue. There is fear about their future and confusion as to what they can do to help themselves.
- There is therefore a need for rheumatologists and GPs to work with a range of allied health professionals (AHPs), people who can act as expert, empathic guides who listen to patients’ individual circumstances and then work with them to implement personalised approaches.
- For most AHPs and GPs, undergraduate and postgraduate training in rheumatology is very limited, so there is also a clear need for these groups to learn more about the management of rheumatic disease.
- Ultimately, BJC Connect is here to support all groups in better understanding each other and then in helping our shared patients transform from being anxious, feeling isolated and scared to feeling more connected and empowered with greater control of their lives.
