Medics4RareDiseases (or M4RD) is UK charity with a mission to build a healthcare workforce that is trained and supported to meet the needs of those living with rare conditions, so that patients feel listened to, believed and involved. The charity has a vision for a world in which no one faces inequality in healthcare based on the rarity of their condition.
M4RD works closely with patients and rare disease advocates, and alongside universities, foundation schools, royal colleges, hospitals and trusts. The charity creates patient-centred, dedicated rare disease education for healthcare professionals. This can be provided in-person or accessed online at https://learn.m4rd.org. M4RD also works with governmental bodies and outside organisations to advocate for the inclusion of dedicated Rare Disease training within the medical education curricula.
M4RD started out as a medical student society Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, QMUL in 2011. It was registered as a charity in 2018 and made major contributions to the development of The UK Rare Diseases Framework published by the Department of Health and Social Care. M4RD continues to advise on implementation and development of policy for rare disease.
