What is the Medical School Roadshow?
Despite being the most common form of adult-onset muscular dystrophy, myotonic dystrophy is severely under- and mis-diagnosed. As many community members know first-hand, the diagnostic odyssey for myotonic dystrophy can be extraordinarily long, and because DM is so variable, it is often mistaken for other diseases entirely.
The Medical School Roadshow helps address the critical need to better educate the medical community about myotonic dystrophy by partnering with medical schools to educate students about DM before they graduate and begin clinical work. MDF designed this volunteer initiative to educate the next generation of medical professionals about myotonic dystrophy in order to improve clinical care and shorten the diagnostic odyssey. MDF is partnering with medical schools to educate students about DM before they graduate and begin clinical work. This program has two main objectives:
- Create enthusiasm in medical students about entering the field of neurology
- Educate second- and third-year medical students about the various symptoms of myotonic dystrophy so they can recognize it more readily later in their careers, regardless of what field they enter
MDF Needs You! Volunteers Needed!
We need participation from the people who know DM best: you and those in your family affected by DM. MDF will provide you with training, support in contacting medical schools, and a packet of information and tips. You'll then visit medical schools near your home to speak to second- or third-year students about myotonic dystrophy, including the disease mechanism, symptoms and your personal experience. This is not an examination. You can help future doctors learn about DM in the most compelling way possible - by telling your story and providing a real-life picture of the disease in all its variability and whole-body impact.
Get in Touch!
If you have contacts at medical schools in the US or Canada and are interested in educating future doctors about myotonic dystrophy, we need your help! For more information or to get involved, please contact MDF at info@myotonic.org.