Wednesday 16 November 2022 is World COPD Day.
Created and run by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD), the day aims to raise awareness and share knowledge of COPD.
This year’s theme is ‘Your lungs for life’. The campaign will focus on factors that contribute to COPD from birth to adulthood and discuss what can be done to protect populations and emphasise the importance of lifelong lung health.
COPD Day resources
GOLD and the COPD Foundation have created a free podcast discussing this year’s theme, ‘Your lungs for life’. Listen here.
COPD diagnosis
Early diagnosis of COPD is key, and diagnostic tools such as Spirometry can play a vital role in this. However, restarting Spirometry testing following the pandemic has a number of challenges. To support healthcare professionals with the delivery of this diagnostic tool, we hosted a webinar giving an overview of Spirometry and how to restart the use of this important COPD diagnostic tool.
Watch the video recording below:
Further resources:
We provide a range of courses focusing on COPD, including higher education courses accredited by the University of Hertfordshire, and CPD accredited bite sized training.
Courses run regularly throughout the year, and are taught online via interactive blended learning approaches.
Find out more about our COPD education and training here.
Impacting health outcomes:
Our courses are designed to support healthcare professionals to impact health outcomes in their area. Below, past learners share their experiences of learning with us and how the course has helped develop their practice.
Learner interview:
Kathryn Sacharewicz, Practice and PCN Pharmacist, undertook our Diploma level course Principles of COPD for Professional Practice.
What is your current role?
I am a clinical pharmacist working in the primary care setting. I am responsible for reviewing hospital clinic letters and making appropriate amendments to medications. I also look after the respiratory reviews within the surgery, seeing both asthma and COPD patients.
What was it about the course that appealed to you and encouraged you to apply?
I have been completing asthma reviews for many years now, but I used to work in a prison setting where there was very little exposure to cases of COPD. Now that I am working in a primary care setting I need to expand my knowledge to allow me to offer the same service to COPD patients as I am able to do for asthma patients.
What did you like most about the course?
Giving me the knowledge to be able to offer accurate support to patients with COPD and the confidence to make changes to their treatment to try to improve their symptoms on a day to day basis.
What skills or knowledge has the course given you that you didn’t have before?
I have the understanding of the condition which I didn’t have before and am now able to connect the practical implications of why certain treatments are working to the theory of why that is the case. This means that I can tweak treatments for patients with an understanding as to why it should be beneficial for them and improve their day to day living.
What other learners said:
“I learnt about COPD Assessment Test (CAT), a tool for assessing the quality of health of COPD patients. I intend to implement this in my place of work.”
“I have gained more knowledge of the physio-pathology of this condition and will be able to educate patients who suffer from COPD in terms of managing and treating… so they can increase their life quality.”
“(I learnt about the) difference between emphysema and bronchitis – physiology of this will help me explain better to patients when in clinic.”