As an EAC Advisor, you'll have the opportunity to provide valuable feedback, share ideas, and offer insights from the perspective of a patient, family member, or caregiver. You will help shape and improve our care at Dana-Farber. There are many Advisor programs at Dana-Farber where volunteers can provide input. As an EAC advisor, your focus area will be patient representative. The Advisor, Ethics Committee program is mostly remote, with some onsite meetings.
Located in Boston and the surrounding communities, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a leader in life changing breakthroughs in cancer research and patient care. We are united in our mission of conquering cancer, HIV/AIDS, and related diseases. We strive to create an inclusive, diverse, and equitable environment where we provide compassionate and comprehensive care to patients of all backgrounds, and design programs to promote public health particularly among high-risk and underserved populations. We conduct groundbreaking research that advances treatment, we educate tomorrow's physician/researchers, and we work with amazing partners, including other Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospitals.
Volunteering at Dana-Farber is a rewarding and enriching experience. Dana-Farber staff, donors, and volunteers all work toward a common goal of defeating cancer. As a supplemental resource for patients and families, volunteers who work at Dana-Farber are closely linked to this mission, as are those who volunteer at events that raise essential funds to support it. Volunteers are committed and reliable people who make a very real difference, everywhere they work.
You will have the opportunity to contribute your insights and ideas towards the design and enhancement of various programs, services, policies, and processes specific to your focus area.
Examples:
- Attend and actively participate in the monthly Ethics Advisory Committee meetings.
- Attend Ethics Advisory Committee sponsored in-person events, including the annual Brufsky Memorial Lecture in Medical Ethics.
- Participate in discussions regarding institutional ethics policies and related issues.
- Offer the patient/family perspective during discussions of ethical issues, policies, and committee activities.
- Help the committee consider how decisions may affect patients, families, and caregivers.
- Contribute to review of ethics-related policies, guidelines, and educational materials from a patient and family viewpoint.
- When appropriate, participate in ethics case consultations in a manner consistent with committee procedures and confidentiality requirements.
- Raise concerns about communication, respect, dignity, cultural sensitivity, and the practical impact of healthcare decisions on patients and families.
- Share insights related to how patients and families may experience ethical dilemmas in care.
In addition to the primary activities of your role outlined above, your participation may involve engaging in research, advocating for legislative initiatives at both the state and national level, and reviewing and providing input on patient education materials.
- You may also play a role in reviewing or assisting in the drafting of patient and family communications, as well as sharing your personal stories.
- Your supervisor may provide you with opportunities to participate in additional ways dependent on your areas of interest and experience.
By actively participating in these activities, you will have the chance to make a meaningful impact in the DFCI health care community.
At Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, we work every day to create an innovative, caring, and inclusive environment where every patient, family, and staff member feels they belong. As relentless as we are in our mission to reduce the burden of cancer for all, we are equally committed to diversifying our faculty, staff, and volunteers. Cancer knows no boundaries and when it comes to hiring the most dedicated and diverse professionals, neither do we. If working in this kind of organization inspires you, we encourage you to apply.