Patient Partner Highlight | Dorothy Senior

Dorothy Senior is a Patient Advisory Council Member with NL SUPPORT and Quality of Care NL. A 37-year career in the health care system in Newfoundland and Labrador and her personal experiences as a patient drew her to this opportunity to help improve the impact of health research in the province. A patient partner since 2016, she is a valued voice and advocate for patient perspectives in a variety of ways:

Governance: She sits on the Steering Committee for NL SUPPORT and Quality of Care NL, helping to set the strategic direction for improved health care in NL.

Public Engagement: She provided the patient voice on a multidisciplinary panel during the Antibiotics FutureForum.

Project Review: Dorothy reviews proposals for patient-oriented research (POR) projects to ensure they align with outcomes that matter to patients.

Future Planning: Dorothy is a member of the applicant team currently developing the proposal for the next phase of the Strategy for Patient- Oriented Research in NL.

Capacity Development: She is trained to deliver the CIHR’s Foundation in Patient-Oriented Research curriculum to any stakeholder with an interest in POR.

Research: Dorothy is a patient partner on the multi-million dollar Rewarding Success grant, SurgeCon.

“When I got involved with NL SUPPORT, I was blown away by the amount of research being done here. Research is for the patient. As a patient partner, I provide input that helps them focus it more on patients and remind them that it’s not all scientific, that there’s real people involved.”

“Patients are important, they’re really involved at every level, and for me it started here at NL SUPPORT, and NL SUPPORT is very much ahead of the game. When I first got involved with the grants, there was hardly any plain language, there was hardly anything about patients and it’s changed so much and we’re seeing it now in some of the work they’re putting out there.”

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