Volunteer your experience and time
Patients and families have an important role in helping the staff at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Temple improve the safety and experience of those we serve. By including the voices of former patients and family members, we ensure that they have input into services that affect their care.
A patient and family adviser in Temple:
- Wants to help improve the quality of healthcare for everyone
- Gives feedback based on his or her own experiences as a patient or family member
- Helps us plan changes to improve how we take care of patients
- Works with the organization for either short or long-term commitments, depending on the project
- Volunteers his or her time (usually at least one hour and not more than four hours per month)
- Patient and family advisers in Temple provide a voice that represents all patients and families who receive care at Scott & White. They partner with doctors, nurses, and administrators to help improve the quality of our care for all patients and family members
Why should you become a patient and family adviser in Temple?
When you or your family members were receiving care in one of our facilities, did you think there were things we could have done better? Do you have ideas about how to make sure others get the best care possible?
Patient and family advisers give us feedback and ideas to help us improve the quality and safety of care we provide.
Who can be a patient and family adviser?
You can be an adviser if you or a family member received care at Scott & White Healthcare within the last five years.
You do not need any special qualifications to be an adviser. What's most important is your experience as a patient or family member. We will provide any other training you need.
Is being a patient and family adviser right for you?
Being a patient and family adviser may be a good match with your skills and experiences if you can:
- Speak up and share suggestions to help improve care for others
- Talk about your experiences as a patient or family member – but also think beyond your own personal experiences
- Talk about both positive and negative healthcare experiences and share your thoughts on what went well and how things could have been done differently
- Work with people who may be different than you
- Listen to and think about what others say, even when you disagree
- Bring a positive attitude to discussions
- Keep any information you may hear as an adviser private and confidential
What do patient and family advisers do?
If you are an adviser for our organization, you can help us in the following ways:
- Share your story. Advisers help by talking about their healthcare experiences with clinicians, staff and other patients.
- Work on short-term projects. We sometimes ask advisers to partner with us in making improvements — for example, helping to plan and design a family resource room.
- Serve on a committee. Some advisers serve on hospital or clinic committees made up of doctors, nurses and others. Advisers help by keeping committee members aware of how issues may be viewed from a patient's perspective.