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Because your voice matters.

Participant, PVN Operations & Information Management – Focus Group

Posted • Last updated

Closed

Commitment: Short-term

Connection method: Virtual

Open to Patient partners across the province

Last updated

Volunteer Opportunity
Newsletters, RSVP Forms, Surveys – oh my! There are a lot of steps and moving parts involved when getting connected to and working with health care teams via Patient Voices Network. We want to hear from patient partners: What works well and really supports your involvement? What really…doesn’t? Help us help you as we look for ways to streamline and improve the PVN processes and supports provided to patient and health care partners.

RSVP Now

Lead Organization/Department
BC Patient Safety & Quality Council

Aim
The focus group is an opportunity to learn more about patient partners’ experiences, needs, pain points and preferences regarding how information is submitted to and received from the PVN website and Council Engagement Leaders – to create and support patient and health care team partnerships.
In a fast and focused conversation, PVN patient partners will be invited to share their thoughts and experiences on PVN processes related to signing up with PVN, receiving and finding engagement opportunities, submitting RSVP forms, requesting information and updates about engagements you’re involved in, and surveys of participation.
The information from the focus group will be used by the BCPSQC Patient & Public Engagement team in efforts to continuously improve the PVN platform.

Note: Some PVN patient partners may know that in the Fraser-Vancouver Coastal region we are currently pilot testing a new method to indicate interest in engagement opportunities. Feedback generated from the Fraser-Vancouver Coastal area quality improvement project will be considered along with feedback from these focus groups in future discussions and decisions on the PVN RSVP process.

Level of Engagement
This opportunity is at the level of consult on the spectrum of engagement. The promise to you is that the health care partner will listen to and acknowledge your ideas and concerns, and provide feedback on how your input affected the decision.

 Eligibility
Open to PVN patient partners across the province.
Recent (within the last year) experience participating in an engagement opportunity, supported by PVN
Comfortable sharing experiences in a group environment of other patient partners
Comfortable using Zoom

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 your Engagement Leader.

Logistics
• Number of vacancies: 5 – 10
Date and Time: The focus group will be scheduled between June 14 and 24 at a time that works best for those who are interested in participating.
Location: Online via zoom
Commitment: One time

Reimbursement
No out of pocket expenses are anticipated for this engagement opportunity. However, if you meet the eligibility criteria, but have concerns about your ability to participate, please contact Kira Tozer ktozer@bcpsqc.ca to see if support options are available. We are always seeking to better understand and reduce barriers to participation.

Background
PVN was created by the Ministry of Health as part of its Patients as Partners strategy in 2009.  In December 2015, responsibility for coordinating and leading PVN transferred from Impact BC to the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council given an alignment with the Council’s mandate to engage and inform the public as active participants in their own care. Since then, the Council has developed a number of online tools, forms and processes to facilitate partnerships between patient partners and health care teams for various quality improvement, advisory and system redesign projects (ie: PVN website, an internal database to support engagements, and a number of online forms for patient and health care partners, surveys to assess partner experience and satisfaction, Closing the Loop summaries, etc).

Now early into its second decade of operation, the Council is keen to ensure that the platform for engagement partnerships in place is meeting the needs of both patient partners and the health system. The Council is committed to continuous quality improvement; and strongly believes such efforts should be driven by the needs of those most affected by decisions and services.

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Kira Tozer, Strategic Initiatives Leader
Patient and Public Engagement
BC Patient Safety & Quality Council
778.677.1167
ktozer@bcpsqc.ca

From Our Community

Ovey Yeung

Patient Partner, Vancouver

Ovey Yeung

Being involved in the Patient Voices Network has broadened my understanding of the system and helped me empathize with health care challenges and limitations. What matters to me is to walk away feeling that my experience matters, that I matter!