Each year Rein in Sarcoma’s Jan Maudlin Sarcoma Scholars complete a project involving sarcoma cancer education and awareness. In 2015, some of the scholars conducted assessments of Minnesota primary care practitioners at two educational conferences. Their work, summarized by Dr. Croix Fossum, a scholar from Mayo Clinic and now at the Keck School of Medicine at USC, Los Angeles, CA, was published in the April 2020 Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Innovations, Quality & Outcomes.
We want to thank Dr. Scott Okuno for assisting with the publication. He is a Rein in Sarcoma Board Member, Research Committee member, and oversees the Jan Maudlin Sarcoma Scholars at the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine.
The assessment concluded that “Minnesota PCPs have seen very few cases of sarcoma and report low familiarity with sarcoma guidelines. When challenged with case presentations, PCPs made decisions inconsistent with established guidelines. This study supports ongoing efforts to increase sarcoma awareness.”
Propelled in part by this study, the RIS Red Flags of Sarcoma Education Committee significantly expanded their education efforts. They work with the RIS Medical Advisory Board to educate primary care practitioners (PCPs), school nurses and athletic trainers, at several conferences each year. The committee also oversees the Hallie Anne Brown Initiative, which is working to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of best practice alerts in improving sarcoma diagnosis accuracy and timeliness.
