Iridium CE, LGS Foundation, and Partners Honored with NAMEC Best Practices Award in Collaboration for LGS Education at the Alliance Annual Meeting
"Tethered Education" Model Recognized as Best Practices in Collaboration
Atlanta, NC, February 23, 2026 --(PR.com)-- Iridium Continuing Education (Iridium CE), the LGS Foundation, and Partners for Advancing Clinical Education (Partners) have been awarded the 2025 NAMEC Best Practices Award in Collaboration, presented at the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions (Alliance) 2026 Annual Conference in Atlanta. The award recognizes their collaborative "tethered education" model, a framework that systematically integrates patient and caregiver voices into continuing medical education.
A Powerful Collaboration
This award celebrates a partnership bringing together Iridium CE's expertise in outcomes-driven medical education design, the LGS Foundation's deep roots in the Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome patient community, and Partners' educational accreditation and collaboration capabilities.
This partnership represents what patient advocacy groups can achieve when they work alongside medical education and clinician experts. This collaboration gave the LGS community a direct voice in shaping how healthcare professionals learn.
Caregiver Voices Shaping Clinician Education
The program created parallel learning pathways for caregivers and healthcare providers, with family-focused sessions capturing real-world insights that directly informed the HCP curriculum. A key element was the direct translation of caregiver-identified challenges into healthcare professional learning objectives. Themes from caregiver sessions, including diagnostic delays, medication complexity, difficulty transitioning to adult care, and non-seizure symptoms being overlooked, were mapped directly to clinician curriculum content on early recognition, treatment optimization, transition planning, and holistic assessment.
"We are excited to receive this award for our LGS education program. LGS is a severe epilepsy however seizures are only part of the problem - addressing other comorbidities and supporting families are key to optimizing quality of life." -Dr. Elaine Wirrell, Chair of Child Neurology and Professor of Neurology at Mayo Clinic, who served as Faculty Chair.
Results That Demonstrate Impact
The program delivered statistically significant improvements in clinician knowledge, competence, and confidence managing LGS patients (P<0.05). The majority of participating clinicians committed to practice changes, with follow-up data confirming implementation. Caregivers reported improvements in emotional health, increased confidence in advocacy, and improved preparation for clinical appointments. Detailed outcomes have been submitted for publication.
A Reproducible Model for CME
The tethered education model provides a structured framework that educational providers can adapt across therapeutic areas.
"This award and our outcomes for both HCPs and patients validate what we believe is a best practice: continuing medical education that starts with the patient experience," said Melissa A. Wiles, FACEHP, President of Iridium Continuing Education. “The tethered education model isn't just about one disease state. It's a reproducible framework that can be implemented across therapeutic areas.”
About the Collaborating Organizations
Iridium Continuing Education is an award-winning medical education company dedicated to improving healthcare outcomes through innovative, outcomes-driven educational programming.
The LGS Foundation is a nonprofit organization committed to improving the lives of individuals with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome and their families through education, awareness, advocacy, and research support.
Partners for Advancing Clinical Education (Partners) is a community of leading educators recognized for their rich history of collaborating to facilitate the creation of meaningful learning experiences to improve healthcare delivery.
About the NAMEC Best Practices Award
The National Association of Medical Education Companies, Inc. (NAMEC) is a professional association dedicated to providing representation, advocacy, and education for its members. The NAMEC Best Practices Award, presented at the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions Annual Conference, recognizes excellence and innovation in medical education.
This educational initiative was supported by an educational grant from Jazz Pharmaceuticals.
A Powerful Collaboration
This award celebrates a partnership bringing together Iridium CE's expertise in outcomes-driven medical education design, the LGS Foundation's deep roots in the Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome patient community, and Partners' educational accreditation and collaboration capabilities.
This partnership represents what patient advocacy groups can achieve when they work alongside medical education and clinician experts. This collaboration gave the LGS community a direct voice in shaping how healthcare professionals learn.
Caregiver Voices Shaping Clinician Education
The program created parallel learning pathways for caregivers and healthcare providers, with family-focused sessions capturing real-world insights that directly informed the HCP curriculum. A key element was the direct translation of caregiver-identified challenges into healthcare professional learning objectives. Themes from caregiver sessions, including diagnostic delays, medication complexity, difficulty transitioning to adult care, and non-seizure symptoms being overlooked, were mapped directly to clinician curriculum content on early recognition, treatment optimization, transition planning, and holistic assessment.
"We are excited to receive this award for our LGS education program. LGS is a severe epilepsy however seizures are only part of the problem - addressing other comorbidities and supporting families are key to optimizing quality of life." -Dr. Elaine Wirrell, Chair of Child Neurology and Professor of Neurology at Mayo Clinic, who served as Faculty Chair.
Results That Demonstrate Impact
The program delivered statistically significant improvements in clinician knowledge, competence, and confidence managing LGS patients (P<0.05). The majority of participating clinicians committed to practice changes, with follow-up data confirming implementation. Caregivers reported improvements in emotional health, increased confidence in advocacy, and improved preparation for clinical appointments. Detailed outcomes have been submitted for publication.
A Reproducible Model for CME
The tethered education model provides a structured framework that educational providers can adapt across therapeutic areas.
"This award and our outcomes for both HCPs and patients validate what we believe is a best practice: continuing medical education that starts with the patient experience," said Melissa A. Wiles, FACEHP, President of Iridium Continuing Education. “The tethered education model isn't just about one disease state. It's a reproducible framework that can be implemented across therapeutic areas.”
About the Collaborating Organizations
Iridium Continuing Education is an award-winning medical education company dedicated to improving healthcare outcomes through innovative, outcomes-driven educational programming.
The LGS Foundation is a nonprofit organization committed to improving the lives of individuals with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome and their families through education, awareness, advocacy, and research support.
Partners for Advancing Clinical Education (Partners) is a community of leading educators recognized for their rich history of collaborating to facilitate the creation of meaningful learning experiences to improve healthcare delivery.
About the NAMEC Best Practices Award
The National Association of Medical Education Companies, Inc. (NAMEC) is a professional association dedicated to providing representation, advocacy, and education for its members. The NAMEC Best Practices Award, presented at the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions Annual Conference, recognizes excellence and innovation in medical education.
This educational initiative was supported by an educational grant from Jazz Pharmaceuticals.
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Iridium CE
919-357-2609
www.iridiumce.com
919-357-2609
www.iridiumce.com
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