Focused Certificate

Establishing a Person and Family Centred Advisory (PFCAC/PFAC) Council

From recruitment, onboarding and co-designing to measuring and seeing real change, this course equips you with the knowledge you need to establish a Person and Family-Centred Advisory Council in Hospitals.

Duration

12-month subscription (approx. 40 study hrs)

Learning Mode

100% online, self-paced, start anytime

Programme Fee

Starting from €50, with reductions for ISQua members

Credential

An ISQua Focused Certificate in Establishing a PFCAC/PFAC Council

Languages

Available in English and Brazilian Portuguese

About the Focused Certificate in Establishing a Person and Family Centred Advisory (PFCAC/PFAC) Council

This standalone ISQua course can be undertaken as a guide for developing PFCACs.
Working in partnership with patients, their families, and caregivers is crucial to delivering quality, safe care. This course has been designed to help both healthcare workers and patients/families to formalise their partnership within the hospital setting.
This course has been designed by ISQua Experts from around the world, from both practitioner and patient perspectives.

Why Choose This Focused Certificate?

Created by the society that sets the global bar for healthcare quality and patient safety, this course pairs world-class evidence with the realities of busy wards and clinics.

Embed Partnership in Practice

Learn how to formally establish and embed a PFCAC/PFAC within your hospital — from recruitment and onboarding to governance and sustainability.

Improve Quality Through Co-Production

Discover how meaningful patient and family engagement directly improves safety outcomes, patient experience, and service design.

Follow a Practical Framework

Access clear tools, structured guidance, and real-world examples to design workplans, measure impact, and demonstrate value.

Learn from Global Leaders

Benefit from international expertise — including patient leaders and senior safety voices — alongside practitioner perspectives.

Secure Leadership Commitment

Understand how to gain executive support, clinician engagement, and long-term organisational commitment to person-centred care.

Flexible Study, Recognised Certificate

Complete this fully online course over 12 months with continuous assessment and gain a certificate to strengthen your professional profile.

Course Content

The course consists of 22 expert presentations exploring how to establish and sustain a Person and Family-Centred Advisory Council (PFCAC/PFAC) – from the principles of person-centred care to recruitment, leadership support, co-design with patients, and measuring impact. Each presentation concludes with a short quiz, and your certificate is issued once all modules are successfully completed.

Person and Family Centred Advisory (PFCAC/PFAC) Council

Topic	Presenter
Introduction – The Value in PCC and Coproduction	Christian von Plessen & Anna Edwards
The implications for a Person-Centred approach to Healthcare – Redesigning systems	Gro Rosvold Bernsten
Perspectives from England’s Patient Safety Commissioner: Listening to Patients	Prof Henrietta Hughes OBE
What are Person- and Family-Centred Advisory Councils (PFCAC/PFACs)?	Dr Anuradha Pichumani & Ms Nadira Chaturvedi
Voices in Partnership: Establishing Patient, Family and Clinician Advi	Adrienne Zarem, Lauryn Seguin & Yasir Khalid
The Coordinator & The Committee Members: Recruitment, roles and responsibilities	Ronen Rozenblum & Martie Carnie
Recruiting, Selecting and Onboarding PFAC/PFCAC Members	Beverley H. Johnson
Hospital Leadership: Ensuring Commitment & Resources to Develop and Sustain Effective PFCACs	Beverley H. Johnson
Support of clinicians for PFCACs	Dr John Brennan & Dr Philip Crowley
Best Practices for Effective PFCACs/PFACs	Beverley H. Johnson
Setting a work plan – what are the goals?	Chika Odioemene
Technology for Patient-Professional partnerships: Enhancing engagement with patient and family caregiver training	Dr Shahed Alam & Dr Tanmay Singh Pathani
Centering the Patient and Family Experience: Strategies for Meaningful Engagement	Erin Tansey & Salome Koloffon Tella
Coproducing, Co-designing and Co-creating with Patients	Brant Oliver & Rosie Bartel
Collaboratives and co-designing with patients	Josie Liow, Nidhi Swarup & Kris VanHaecht
How can patient engagement improve patient safety?	Dr Peter Lachman
Implementation of PCC with a PFCAC	Dr Anuradha Pichumani & Mrs R Sujatha
Patient Empowerment to Improve Quality & Safety: Improving Patient Experience	Dr Helen Leonard & Dr Peter Glick
Integrating person & family voices into all aspects of healthcare	Susan B. Frampton & Jill Adolphe
Measuring the impact of partnering with patients to improve quality, safety and experience in healthcare	Rosie Bartel, Sheila Moroney & Oliver Brant
What are PREMs and what can they tell us?	Prof Tina Janamian
Co-Creating Health: Tools for improvement that involve patients	John Burnam

Course Fees & Enrolment

Tuition is tiered to make world-class learning accessible everywhere. The 12-month subscription starts the day you enrol – study at your pace, repeat modules as needed, and download your certificate the moment you finish.

Category	Hours	Subscription	Cost	Eligibility
Standard Rate	40	12 months	€175	Non-Members, High-Income Countries
Standard UMIC Rate	40	12 months	€100	Non-Members, Upper-Middle Income Countries
Standard LMIC Rate	40	12 months	€75	Non-Members, Lower-Middle Income Countries
Member/Fellow HIC	40	12 months	€100	Active Members/Fellows, High-Income Countries
Member/Fellow UMIC	40	12 months	€75	Active Members/Fellows, Upper-Middle Income Countries
Member LMIC	40	12 months	€50	Active Members, Lower-Middle Income Countries

FAQs

Below are the most common queries we receive about our Focused Certification programme. If yours isn’t listed, email fellowship@isqua.org and we’ll be happy to help.

How long do I have to finish?

You have 12 months from the day you enrol. Most participants complete the 40 hours in 6–8 weeks of part-time study.

Is there a final exam?

No. Progress is assessed through short quizzes after each presentation. Pass them all and your certificate is automatically issued.

Can I start any time?

Yes. Enrolments are rolling – begin the course as soon as your payment is processed.

Does the certificate earn CPD/CME credits?

Many professional bodies accept ISQua certificates for CPD. Check with your regulator; we provide a breakdown of learning hours on request.

Do I need prior QI experience?

No. The course is designed for beginners and those seeking a structured refresher in quality and safety fundamentals.

How do member discounts work?

Join ISQua first, receive a unique promo code, then enrol at the reduced rate shown in the table above.

Is the content mobile-friendly?

Absolutely. Videos, quizzes, and resources are optimised for desktop, tablet, and smartphone. Study wherever suits you.

Take the Next Step

Add a Person and Family Centred Advisory (PFCAC/PFAC) Council certificate to your CV this quarter – without leaving your desk or waiting for term dates.

Dr Subhrojyoti Bhowmick

I am an MBBS graduate from Calcutta University with a Gold Medal in Gynecology & Obstetrics.

I have completed M.D in Pharmacology from IPGME& R, Kolkata and have over 12 years of experience in the field of Clinical Research, Pharmacovigilance and Medication management in Hospitals.

I have completed certification in Clinical Research Administration & Project Management from Stanford University, USA and in Patient Safety from Johns Hopkins University, USA.

I am an Assessor for National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Health care providers (NABH), India assessing hospitals for medication safety and clinical quality standards and NABH Assessor for Ethics Committee Accreditation program in India as well.

I serve as the Chairperson, Institutional Ethics Committee of Health Point Hospital, Kolkata and am associated with 2 other Hospital ethics committees as a member.

I finished my Fellowship in Healthcare Quality from the International Society of Quality in Healthcare (ISQua) from Ireland in 2017.

I have published several research articles and have also authored a chapter on “Regulations governing Clinical Trial” in the book “Fundamentals of Clinical Trial & Research”.

I am a peer reviewer for prestigious international journals like the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, CNS Drugs and Drug Safety case reports.

I am the recipient of the UK Seth Oration Award for Best Clinical Pharmacology paper by the Indian Pharmacological Society in 2009 and the “Most promising Healthcare professional in Patient Safety in India” award by the Asian African Chamber of Commerce and Industry in October 2018.

Recently in April 2019, I received the Young Quality Achiever award by Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organizations (CAHO), India for 2019 for my work in the field of medication safety and clinical research.

I have a keen interest in teaching and am visiting adjunct faculty of Pharmacology at KMC, Mangalore, India and for Healthcare technology at MAKAUT, Kolkata, India.

I was associated with Stanford University School of Medicine, in the USA as a Senior Clinical Research Associate from 2015 to 2017 and have certification in Biostatistics, Evidence-based Medicine and Medical Writing from Stanford University.

Currently, I am working as the Clinical Director of Academics, Medical Quality and Clinical Research at Peerless Hospital and B K Roy Research Centre, Kolkata.

I am very happy and thrilled to receive the prestigious ISQua Lucian Leape Patient safety Fellowship Award for 2019 and I look forward to honing my skills further in the field of healthcare quality and patient safety through my experiences during this fellowship.

I sincerely believe that successful completion of this fellowship will help me evolve as a more confident Patient safety leader in India who in turn can provide significant inputs on policy changes through NABH for the Indian healthcare system.

This will close in 0 seconds