A long-standing educational initiative for haemophilia treaters

Haemophilia Academy offers a unique and credible training course to engage and excite haematologists, using various formats to promote adult learning, including clinic visits, workshops, poster sessions and plenary presentations. The AXON team has been managing the planning and delivery of this educational program for over 14 years and we continue to improve this initiative every year (whether it’s in-person or virtual!).

Approach

• The course is accredited by EACCME (European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education) and endorsed by several professional societies
• There is an opportunity for Haemophilia Centre Directors to nominate a candidate who they feel is suitable to benefit from the program
• An in-depth application process creates a feeling of exclusivity for the 32 selected participants
• To convert the program to a virtual setting, the agenda was reviewed and streamlined to 4 days (max. 4 h/day), with key presentations pre-recorded and broadcasted during the meeting as well as being uploaded to the meeting platform for participants to access when it was convenient for them. Interactive plenaries were delivered "live" to maintain engagement
• Additional sessions, including guest speaker presentations, were pre-recorded and made available "on-demand" via the meeting platform
• Materials were available to revisit on the platform for 6 months after the virtual training course
• The meeting was subsequently supplemented with virtual "coffee corner" catch-ups with the alumni to ensure continued engagement with the faculty and to further foster networking

Overall, 434 physicians from 65 countries have attended Haemophilia Academy. In 2021, the program was rated 4.64/5 for overall content covered in the virtual meeting. The program has also introduced a Faculty-led webinar series (hosted in 2020 and 2021) with 40–50 previous alumni in attendance. To maintain connections between virtual participants during recent years, "coffee corners" are scheduled post-training with peers and Faculty to discuss hot topics. A survey of alumni showed that 82% pursued careers and remained in the field of haemophilia, which highlights the long-term gain in improvement for treating patients with haemophilia.