Will the real expert please stand up?
Joining an Expert Round Table for the European Commission.
On September 23rd, I (Juliëtte Beuken) joined an expert round table organized by the European Committee. During this round table, experts evaluated a European regulation on patient rights in cross-border healthcare. The goal was to discuss how this regulation – a legal decision on a European level that needs to be implemented by national governments – had affected patient rights, payers and providers, and country strategies and discourse. At the expert round table, experts from several fields and countries shared their experiences and expertise on these topics.
Although I am in the final stretch of my doctoral research on cross-border healthcare in the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion, I was a little intimidated by the invitation to join and present as an ‘expert’ on this topic. I initially replied that I doubted I “should be considered an expert” and asked the organizers to “let me know if you think my perspective could add value to the discussion.” Being a young researcher, I constantly experience these feelings of doubt, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It helps me to reflect and leads to growth. However, sometimes I focus so much on what I do not know that we forget to value what I do know.
The organizers encouraged me by saying “it makes a lot of sense for you to join, as you have been researching this issue.” My supervisor (shout out to Daniëlle Verstegen) also assured me that a presentation of my own research would add value to the discussion. After all, we have spoken to many professionals and patients about their experiences, and developed interventions to support cross-border healthcare in our region. There was no reason to doubt by own expertise.
In the end, my presentation of patients’ and professionals’ perspectives in cross-border care turned out to be a great way to share my work with other experts. Next to that, it offered new insight in how my work fits into the current developments of cross-border healthcare on a European level.