You don’t need expertise, you need passion: patient family advisor Jack Smith champions medication safety

While multiple medications may be necessary to manage complex health conditions, regular medication reviews and conversations with healthcare providers can help ensure medications remain appropriate and meet a patient’s changing needs.

Jack Smith, a patient family advisor at Nova Scotia Health, believes patients and families have an important role in these conversations.

“We’re not telling people they shouldn’t take medications,” he says. “What we’re trying to do is make people aware of what they should be discussing with their healthcare professional.”

Turning lived experience into action

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Working alongside healthcare professionals and other patient family advisors, Jack is helping raise awareness about polypharmacy and encouraging patients and families to ask questions about the medications they take. Polypharmacy refers to the use of five or more medications taken at once.  It’s important for polypharmacy patients to have open conversations with their healthcare providers about whether each medication is still needed and working as intended.

After a nurse practitioner suggested a pin be created to encourage people to talk about their medications, Jack volunteered to develop the design. He was inspired by a flower-shaped brooch his mother wore. Its five petals act as a symbol for polypharmacy. The design incorporates different forms of medication along with a question mark, which is intended as a prompt to stop, think, and ask questions about medications.

It’s Jack’s hope that the pin will become a recognized patient safety initiative in Nova Scotia and beyond. He is also helping to develop other educational materials, including posters and brochures, to encourage medication safety conversations.

“You don’t need expertise. You need passion.”

Born in Yarmouth, Jack joined the military at 19 years of age and served for 27 years. Following his military career, he returned home to Nova Scotia, where he pursued several business ventures. Jack’s path to patient advocacy is a reminder that expertise can come from lived experience. Jack says he never expected that providing care for his late wife Elaine would lead him to the focus he has today on healthcare improvement initiatives.

He encourages others who may be considering becoming patient family advisors to recognize the value of what they bring.

“You need zero expertise. I’m not an expert in anything, but I have passions in life. That’s all you need.”

Caring for Elaine turned into a commitment to help others navigate healthcare with greater confidence. Jack says it's vitally important for people to understand the medications they are taking.

Jack’s story highlights the meaningful contribution patient family advisors make when they bring experiences, ideas and passion to healthcare improvement.

This profile is part of the Nova Scotia Health recognition of Canadian Patient Safety Week 2026, highlighting how patients, families and healthcare teams can work together to make care safer.

Photo of Jack Smith, a patient family advisor at Nova Scotia Health.