The training to become a doctor is notoriously challenging. First a bachelor’s degree (or two) in science or related field. Next, four years of vigorous medical school followed by a robust fellowship that can last up to four additional years. During this entire process, at most these aspiring medical professionals will have only a few hours of training on the topic of eating disorders (Matthews-Kings, 2019). This fact provides us with quite a complicated issues at hand. Even for physicians who are not looking to work solely with individuals with eating disorders, most will find themselves treating patients with sub-clinical or diagnoable eating issues but have very little training on how. For physicians who are interested in working medically with mental health (specifically eating disorders), advanced training must come much later on or sometimes never.
A recent report out of the UK found the inadequacy of medical training involving eating disorders resulted in preventable deaths (Tumolo, 2019). And this wasn’t the first time this information came to the forefront. The UK healthcare system was criticized back in 2017, when two girls passed away after treatment that was called inappropriate (PHSO, 2019). This more current 2019 report gives strong recommendations to physicians for increased training in eating disorders. There are two major issues identified:
First-while medical doctors may first identify an eating disorder (ED) they have very little experience in proper diagnosis or course of treatment.
Second- once the ED is identified there can be issues with wait time and cost of seeing treatment specialists. General doctors or pediatricians are often left to provide care during the waiting period.
In response, the UK government has committed a portion of the national healthcare budget to make an investment in access to care for mental health.
This has sparked and now fueled organizations in the U.S. to ask for similar improvements. The Academy for Eating Disorders (AED) based out of Reston, Virginia, for example, has been vocal about the need for medical professionals to have more training in how to diagnose and treat individuals with eating disorders. The National Association for Eating Disorders (NEDA) is working on training videos for primary care physicians which include how to identify and refer individuals with disordered eating to specialists as well as how to manage eating disorders in their own offices.
What’s next? There are several things we all can do. Whether you are a client working in recovery, someone who is seeking help, or a provider:
Teamwork: Treatment for eating disorders work best with a multi-disciplinary approach. It truly takes a village! When a group of compassionate clinicians work together to treat a patient, there is an opportunity to learn more about how to care for them!
Don’t be scared to educate your primary doctor on eating disorders.
Don’t wait: the sooner the better to get into treatment. Don’t be afraid to tap into several resources at the same time.
Speaking of resources: NEDA has many useful resources online for medical professionals that may aid in identification of eating disorders and increase sensitivity towards those they treat with eating disorders.
References:
https://www.bmj.com/content/365/bmj.l4279.full
https://www.allure.com/story/eating-disorder-training-medical-professionals