Can health professionals serve as consumer representatives?
Yes. Any person can serve as a consumer representative if he or she can represent interested consumers and consumer organizations. Consumer representatives who have served in the past have included consumer advocates, college professors, consumer lawyers, nurses, physicians, pharmacists, microbiologists, engineers and veterinarians. A consumer representative should be able to analyze scientific data, understand research design, discuss benefits and risks, and evaluate the safety and efficacy of products under review, but from the consumer perspective.
