Sarah’s Tips for being in Advisory Panel

Sarah is our young person partner in this project and she wrote a blog to share her experiences about being part of an advisory panel:

“The reason I took part in an advisory panel is because I think it is very important that the people who the research is for, get to give feedback on it. I think that having people who take methotrexate giving feedback on this study will be very helpful for us to know what children taking methotrexate would benefit from most. When I take part in my advisory panel, I like to do a mixture of typing in the chat, and unmuting and speaking. Sometimes I email the researchers between meetings if I have ideas I think would be helpful.”

Tips:

• Sometimes information sheets/documents are sent out before the meeting. It can be really helpful to have a quick read of them and write down any things you think of after reading them. 

• Research studies can be confusing and can sometimes use words you don’t understand. If you’re unsure of anything, the best thing to do is ask. You can underline these and check in with the researcher about anything that is unclear.

• There are lots of ways to take part in an advisory panel. In online meetings, some people prefer to type answers, some prefer to speak, and some prefer other ways. That’s okay! Just do what works best for you

• Researchers really appreciate you giving up your time to be on the advisory panel, so if there is anything they can do to help you take part, let them know. 

• You don’t need to attend everything just let researchers know how you want to work! They are here to support you.