Thread by @TO_dpr

Been thinking a lot about how #PatientPartners in #Research are asked to provide a letter of support and a CV or 'applicant profile' for grant applications. These have changed a bit over the years, but I struggle with a few things #PatientEngagement .../1

First I struggle that the letter of support or CV/applicant profile (see cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/51872.html) are very similar to what is expected of others on the research team, who usually bring really different experiences/knowledge compared to #PatientPartners #PatientEngagement.../2

.. I hope I articulate this well. As a #PatientPartner on a grant appln, I typically share very personal things about my condition/healthcare experiences. After all, I'm trying to express my support and how the research is relevant, but if I step back, I ask: to what end? .../3

....writing these letters of support or sharing these experiences in the application itself also bring up a whole spectrum of emotions- and I'm not even a member of a funded team yet! #PatientEngagement .../4

and then I think about the ask that I provide a CV or an applicant profile and I wonder how I'm 'judged' and if I've justified *well enough* how I have the right 'patient experience' to be considered a #PatientParnter on the research team. #PatientEngagement .../5

I guess it just feels to me that the #LivedExperience #PatientPartners bring is hard to 'adjudicate' or quantify in the typical way that academics do about other team members who have formal training and other academic 'indicators' ....#PatientEngagement .../6

Brings me to question why we can't be a more creative about what we ask of #PatientPartners on research teams applying for grants. We keep using the current processes as that's easiest, but it doesn't feel great or really 'fit' as a patient partner #PatientEngagement .../7

And maybe it's just me... and I'd love to hear others' thoughts about this. What could we do to make things easier for #PatientPartners who are on these research teams, and to make the processes/asks of them really work? #PatientEngagement .../end (I think!)