Co-developing practices to educate and engage people with Parkinson’s disease and those that care for them

Dr Eliana Shekarchi-Khanghahi is a geriatric medicine trainee on an out-of-programme year as a Parkinson’s UK Clinical Fellow in Parkinson’s disease, having completed ST5 in October 2024.

The Advanced Clinical Training Fellowship in Parkinson’s Disease is funded by Parkinson’s UK via the Parkinson's Excellence Network in partnership with the BGS. Applications are now open for the 2025 fellowships until Monday 6 January 2025. To find out more or apply, visit: www.bgs.org.uk/PD2025

I was lucky enough to work with an inspiring geriatrician in my IMT3 year who also happened to have a special interest in Parkinson’s disease. I do not think I had appreciated that geriatricians could have a special interest in Parkinson’s, and I had not considered this would be my area of interest.

I was previously daunted by the idea of neurology, but this made complete sense - why would a geriatrician not be involved in the care of people with Parkinson’s? Parkinson’s is a multisystem, complex condition and requires a holistic and multidisciplinary approach. During my IMT3 year, I looked forward to the next clinic, seeking out additional opportunities to learn about Parkinson’s, such as courses and reading around.

So, you can only imagine how excited I was to see the email from BGS advertising an opportunity to apply for the Parkinson's UK Advanced Movement Disorders Clinical Training Fellowship during my ST5 year. I immediately reached out to the aforementioned consultant, and we got the ball rolling once I confirmed that my chosen host hospital was happy for me to apply.

I worked hard on my application and my mind was spinning with ideas I wanted to bring to this opportunity. These ideas centred around education and engagement and ultimately improving the lived experience for people with Parkinson’s, in addition to building my knowledge and experience of movement disorders. But in truth I was expecting that somebody with a lot more academic or clinical experience of movement disorders would be successful in the role.

My interview happened when I was working on nights, which I was worried would mean I was not on top form, but I prepared and did a practice run with a neurology consultant colleague. I stayed true to myself: passionate and keen, and put forward my goals for the fellowship year. A few weeks later after checking my emails incessantly, whilst on call, I found out I was successful!

I began jotting down ideas of things I wanted to do with the year. As excited and privileged as I was, I also felt a sense of imposter syndrome as I am not yet a specialist. Would I meet people’s expectations? Would I be useful? Would I be able to implement change? How would I manage my time? As a mainly hospital-based doctor, I am used to knowing loosely what the structure of my day holds. This job requires a more proactive and self-directed approach.

Now I have started, it is clear what an invaluable opportunity this is for me to both improve the experience for people with Parkinson’s in my host hospital and community and to also develop personally and professionally. I have noticed the benefit on my wellbeing and work-life balance given that I do not do on call shifts. I think this was the perfect time for me to go out of programme and this year will also count towards six months of training. I am using the JRCPTB ePortfolio, so this allows me to evidence my progress clearly.

I have learnt more in a month than I ever imagined I would have, and I am now planning to set up my own clinic from January. I think of new and innovative ideas most days, identifying areas that I would like to work on, such as an inpatient electronic referral system, implementing a health passport for inpatients with Parkinson’s, education for the multidisciplinary team and organising an event to raise awareness. I have been met with enthusiasm and warmth when introducing myself to people, including patients, family and friends of patients, pharmacists, doctors, nurses, the IT team, therapists and more.

It is a privilege for me to be able to focus on a specific area that I am passionate about and will hopefully finish this year having made a tangible and lasting impact on patient experience. I hope to also be more prepared for (hopefully!) a career as a geriatrician, with a special interest in Parkinson’s disease.

Thank you to Parkinson’s UK, BGS, the inspirational consultant I worked with and my host hospital for this opportunity - I am truly grateful.