Roles of Patient and Family Advisors

The roles that patient and family advisors can play are nearly limitless. They include the following:

• Members of patient and family advisory councils
• Members of task forces, work groups, or interdisciplinary committees such as:
  • Patient experience
  • Quality and safety
  • Diversity, equity, and inclusion
  • Patient and family education
  • Staff and clinician education
  • Health information technology
  • Ethics
  • Research
  • Community relations
  • Pandemic planning and response
• Members of quality improvement teams
• Reviewers and co-authors of patient and family educational and informational materials
• Peer educators/coaches/mentors for other patients and families
• Faculty for:
  • New employee orientation
  • Continuing education of health care professionals
  • Education of health professional students and trainees
• Members of teams involved in facility design, renovation, and wayfinding improvements
• Members of committees hiring new leaders and key staff
• Partners in health care research planning, conducting, and disseminating efforts
• Ambassadors and speakers at community outreach events
• Speakers at conferences/participants in working meetings
• Members of boards of trustees or board-level committees