Don’t be afraid to ask questions

"Ask, because probably somebody else would like to ask that question as well."

Sitting on committees with doctors and researchers can be intimidating. 

Dave Ardron explains how it is important not to be afraid to ask questions.

Often, these are questions that other people in the room also want to know the answers to.

Transcript

"One of the things we always tell the new recruits is not to be frightened of asking the stupid question.  I think that's the biggest fear of patients and carers going into the committees.  

The committee that I've been to today: thirty people, fifteen of them were professors, the rest of them were doctors or people in seriously senior positions in national cancer research.  The fear from my point of view still, six years on, is that I'm going to say something stupid or ask a stupid question.  

But the number of times I've heard of patients having asked what they thought was a stupid question and then being congratulated later by other academics or clinicians or professional researchers and saying 'I wish I'd have thought to ask that question'.  

The biggest piece of advice I would give is do not be frightened of asking the stupid question.  Ask, because probably somebody else would like to ask that question as well." 

Page last edited: 25 November 2011