Calling All Healthcare Teams… Friday 28th February is
Rare Disease Day
Medics for Rare Disease, a UK registered charity, is asking healthcare professionals and healthcare students from UK and beyond, to join forces, to help drive rare disease awareness in the run up to Rare Disease Day, 28th February.
Healthcare professionals from all disciplines, along with healthcare students, are encouraged to wear stripey socks and post photos on Instagram or LinkedIn, with the hashtag #ShowYourStripes and tag @MedicsForRare. Those not on social media can email hello@m4rd.org.Â
Visit the dedicated #ShowYourStripes webpage for further information about taking part, and to access free, downloadable materials.
Why take part?
The #ShowYourStripes campaign is a lighthearted way to spread awareness for a serious subject. Rare diseases collectively affect 6% of the population (1). Raising healthcare professional awareness about rare disease is a key health priority, as outlined on the UK Department of HSC’s Rare Disease Framework and subsequent Action Plans.Â
Patients with rare disease commonly face tumultuous healthcare journeys, experiencing misdiagnoses and waiting an average of five years to reach final diagnosis. A clinician having a suspicion of an underlying ‘rare disease’ can improve the patient outcomes and experience and help shorten the time to final diagnosis.
Why the Stripes, Why the photographs
The stripes are in homage to zebras! The zebra was adopted as a symbol by the rare disease community. This is thanks to the old medical adage ‘when you hear hooves, think horse not zebra’, that still impacts clinical decision-making today.Â
By wearing stripes, healthcare teams can help show support to those impacted by rare conditions. It is a small way to show acknowledgement for conditions that often go under the radar. All photographs that are tagged or emailed will be displayed in an online gallery, hosted by Medics for Rare Disease, as a long-term reminder of that support.
More about Rare Disease Day
Rare Disease Day is an important day to those impacted by rare conditions, globally. It was originally established in 2008, by Eurodis to ‘increase equity for people living with a rare disease, improving their lives with equitable access to diagnosis, treatment, care and social opportunity’. It is celebrated on the last day of February, because in leap years it is on 29th of February, the rarest day!Â
About Medics for Rare Disease
Medics for Rare Disease is a charity registered in England and Wales, with a mission to shape a medical profession that can provide people living with rare conditions a timely diagnosis and excellent care. It does this through three key pillars:
- Advocating a single-discipline approach to rare disease education for all medical professionals
- Defining excellence in rare disease medical training in the UK
- Building a network of Ambassadors to expand the reach of Rare Disease training
To find out more visit www.m4rd.org.
Medics for Rare Disease partners with commercial companies in order to receive funding and to progress its mission. The charity works independently from these companies. Sponsorship does not equate to endorsement of any company or its products. To find out more visit www.m4rd.org/sponsors
Medics for Rare Disease is a charity registered in England and Wales. Charity number 1183996. Registered address: Medics 4 Rare Diseases, Unit 12, Treadaway Technical Centre, Treadaway Hill, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP10 9RS.
Disclosure: This short article was provided by Medics4RareDiseases (M4RD). No funding or publication fees were involved in the publication of this article.
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