The Power of Personal Narrative: My Experience with SACHRP, the FDA, and Bioethics

In this narrative account of serving on a subcommittee for the Secretary’s Advisory Committee for Human Research Protection (SACHRP) and as a Patient Representative for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the author reflects on the challenges and rewards of sharing personal narratives in service to patient advocacy. Special attention is given to the ethical dimension of narratives; the ways that stories can heal, represent, and teach; and the importance of strategizing how to deliver narratives to achieve successful ethical reflection and promote patient advocacy.