Julie Vizza was born with a multifaceted genetic condition, beta thalassemia-major. Julie’s healthcare journey has inspired her to work with several organizations as a patient advocate; providing a voice for those with complex healthcare needs. Julie’s experiences continue to strengthen her conviction that understanding the perspectives of patients is a necessary component of supporting improvements to health outcomes. Julie credits her healthcare experiences as the greatest influence in her pursuit of a doctoral degree, where her research interests surround leveraging the expertise of patients to improve the delivery of care across healthcare systems. Julie is a member of several Patient Advisory Committees and is a Patient Partner at University Health Network. She continues to advocate for patient engagement in both health professions education and research initiatives.

Resource link:

Patients as experts in the illness experience: Implications for the ethics of patient involvement in health professions education. Ariel Lefkowitz MD, CM, MEd, Julie Vizza MHSc, Ayelet Kuper MD, D.Phil. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jep.13672