European Patients' Academy on Therapeutic Innovation -EUPATI Fellowship

heathermason
1 day ago
2 min read

I don’t even know where to start with this post, but here goes.

Since becoming a researcher, medical writer and mum to a child with Down Syndrome, I have increasingly felt that something was missing from the purpose of my career. Many questions arose, of which the two most poignant were:

Why am I a medical writer? What am I contributing, and to whom?

This is my story from career DISILLUSIONMENT to REFLECTION, ACTION and CHANGE.

Our time on earth is short, and I want to get to the end knowing that I made a difference or at least died trying.

I have been in the drug development and writing arena for over 20 years, and during that time I have met the good, the bad and the ugly; However, and more importantly, I have been honoured and humbled to meet and work with the most incredible healthcare professionals and patient experts. There are too many to list here, and I don’t want to leave anyone out, but they know who they are —or at least I hope they do. You have inspired me to take a path towards a vocation that is a much better fit for me.

Around 12 months ago, I committed to proactively seeking a way to pull my medical writing skills and patient advocacy experience together. Through the European Patients’ Academy on Therapeutic Innovation (#EUPATI) patient expert training programme, I have deepened the knowledge I already had and expanded it into tangible outcomes.

The final four days of face-to-face training in Madrid, among 102 inspirational patient expert trainees from 38 countries, have further opened my eyes to the real daily struggles of living with chronic conditions.

So many of you were generous in sharing your individual journeys. These lived experiences will continue to motivate me to do better in my research and writing. I felt a real connection being there with you all. The EUPATI experience has really made the effort worthwhile.

So, from today, while it feels really strange to say this, I can now call myself a #EUPATIFellow. Let’s see where the new journey takes me, and the exciting progress to inclusion we can achieve together.

Here’s to Cohort 8, the outstanding EUPATI faculty and fellows, who made the experience one I will never forget. Thank you so much, and congratulations to all the new EUPATI Fellow graduates. WE DID IT!!!!! 🍾 🥂

#HealthcareInnovation