Patient-Partners as Educators: Vulnerability Related to Sharing of Lived Experience

Patient-partners are invaluable in health professions’ education. Sharing their lived experiences with prospective and current healthcare providers can provide an opportunity for these participants to hone their patient-centric skills. However, sharing stories publicly is a vulnerable role and may feel emotionally risky for patient-partners. Using reflective dialogue, this manuscript outlines recommendations through the Sender-Receiver Model of Communication for Patient-Partners encounters when working with patient-partners in health professions’ education. These recommendations include recognizing that:

1. Patient-partners need to consider if they are ready to share their story. Some stories are wounds requiring further healing; other stories are scars fully processed by patient-partners and ready to be shared publicly.
2. The audience should differentiate between questions that can promote critical thinking versus feel like a “personal attack.” Audiences should recognize vulnerability patient-partners may experience in sharing their stories and engage accordingly.
3. Pre-session and post-session debriefs are important. Shared stories may elicit intense emotions from patient-partners and audiences. Both groups should be given an opportunity to process and work through emotions.