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Because your voice matters.

Member, Community Antimicrobial Stewardship Program

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Open to Provincial Region, Patient partners across the province

Last updated

Have you or a loved one been affected by an antibiotic resistant or difficult to treat infection? Your unique perspective can help guide and shape activities to promote the wise use of antibiotics in BC.

Open to: Patient partners across the province

Lead Organization or Department

BC Centre for Disease Control - Community Antimicrobial Stewardship Program

Aim

The aim of the Community Antimicrobial Stewardship program is to promote the wise use of antibiotics in BC to help combat the development of antibiotic resistance, a growing public health concern. The patient voice is critical in this work to ensure activities are meaningful to those impacted by resistant infections, and to provide a unique perspective in the early planning stages of program activities. The patient partner will be asked to attend (either in person or via teleconference) the program's annual stakeholder committee meeting to provide input into program planning, as well as review and comment on individual initiatives and strategies implemented throughout the year.

Level of Engagement

This opportunity is at the level of involve on the spectrum of engagement. The promise to you is that the health care partner will involve patients in planning and design phases to ensure ideas or concerns are considered and reflected in alternatives and recommendations.

Eligibility

  • Experience in dealing with a difficult to treat infection or superbug (either personal, family member, or other loved one)
  • Comfort in telling your story
  • Some knowledge of antibiotics, their use, and concerns with antibiotic resistance
  • General understanding of public health and health promotion principles
  • Comfortable in committee and working group settings
  • If you have a strong interest in this work but have not yet completed a PVN orientation and Volunteer Agreement, are unsure if your experience is a good fit or feel another format of engagement would work better with your availability, please contact Cathy Almost

Logistics

  • Vacancies: 2-3
  • Meetings are held in Vancouver (teleconference or in person)
  • Date: Starting November 2019 (date of committee meeting) and ongoing ad hoc feedback after that
  • Frequency: Meeting is once per year, additional feedback/correspondence approximately once per month.
  • Time: Meeting will be within regular business hours, other correspondence is flexible
  • Commitment: Seven months to a year

Reimbursement

Preapproved mileage and parking would be covered to attend the meeting.

Background

The Community Antimicrobial Stewardship program at the BC Centre for Disease Control (including the Antibiotic Wise and Do Bugs Need Drugs initiatives) has been in place since 2005. A yearly stakeholder committee meeting occurs to inform partners of program accomplishments, and seek input into future program planning. This meeting has never before included the patient voice, but there is a recognition that this perspective would be beneficial in ensuring activities are appropriate and take into account those who have been impacted by this important issue in the province. Current partners include the BCCDC team, as well as representatives from the prescribing professions, the Ministry of Health, and regional health authorities. This program focuses solely on antibiotic prescribing in the community (including residential care).

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Cathy Almost
Engagement Leader, Patient and Public Engagement | Northern BC
250.615.9932
calmost@bcpsqc.ca

From Our Community

Layton Engwer

Patient Partner, Sooke

Layton Engwer

PVN helped empower me to make meaningful contributions to Primary Care (PC) locally and provincially.  It also facilitated creation of PC Patient Voices which is focused on PC and provides education support and building on shared experiences.