Common Errors About Self-Advocacy
Self-advocacy is so very important. Self-advocacy, if done right, can improve your quality of life and help you attain better health more effectively and efficiently. However, like anything, it must be done correctly, or it can have the opposite effect. Let's dive into self-advocacy.
What exactly is Self-advocacy?
Regardless of whether you have a private patient advocate or not, it is so important that you learn how to properly advocate for yourself. I like to use the Acronym “ ADVOCATE” to help remember the 8 key features of how to self-advocate.
A: Ask Questions: ask good questions when you have the opportunity
D: Document Everything: document, document, document.
V: Voice Concerns: voice concerns as needed
O: Organize Your Health: Stay organized with your health to best support your advocacy
C: Care for Yourself (Practice self-care): Practice self-care will help you stay emotionally and physically stronger to give you the endurance you need to continue advocating
A: Assess Your Health: Assess your health. This is always a good place to start.
T: Take the Help: Take the help when the opportunity arises. A private patient advocate can help you; let them assist you in optimizing your journey.
E: Evaluate Your Plan: Ongoing evaluation of your plan is key, so that you can reassess and continue improving.
Now, these are not steps that are completed in a specific order; rather, they are features of self-advocacy that are integrated in the steps you carry out. Often you will be continually using these key factors repeatedly in various orders, and some simultaneously. This acronym, “Advocate,” will help jog your memory and remind you of the key components that are important to focus on.
Know How to Effectively Advocate
What does it mean to be your own advocate? Many people often come to me and think that being your own advocate means yelling about their rights and taking a domineering type of effect at medical visits and hospital settings. While it is understandable that, as a patient, you want your voice to be heard, but this is not an effective way to advocate for yourself.
When I talk about being your own advocate, I am referring to advocating for your health in a cooperative manner with your healthcare team to achieve the best possible outcome and attain your best quality of life. This involves building a trusting relationship with your care team, one where you can ask questions, one where you feel heard, and one where you are not intimidated to voice concerns and ask questions. Effective advocacy positivity impacts both you and your medical care team. Why? Well, for you as a patient, you can improve your care, save resources (such as time and money), and improve your quality of life.
Prioritizing What's Important
When attending medical appointments, time is limited. Adequately preparing for your appointments is invaluable. Preparing will help you determine which questions and concerns are a priority and should be addressed first, in case you run out of time.
Effective Communication
An important aspect of self-advocacy is effective communication with your care team. Ensuring you have the proper care team is key, and learning how to best communicate with the team is essential. Many times, self-advocacy is interpreted as someone complaining and screaming at the healthcare provider or other team members. That is such an incorrect viewpoint of what advocacy is. Instead, the definition that I like to use is effective communication and working together to promote the best possible quality of life.
An experienced private patient advocate can not only advocate for you, but also educate and support you as you learn to self-advocate for yourself. Contact Pathway Patient Advocates today and let us walk your journey with you. You never have to feel alone.
Bio: Dr. Elena Borrelli, DMSC, MS, PAC, BCPA, is the founder of Pathway Patient Advocates. She has over 20 years of experience in the medical field in both clinical, administrative, and academic settings. Apart from her experience in professional practices, Dr. Borrelli has encountered frustration and discrepancies while personally navigating the health care system. Her passion is to help patients better understand the complex and often confusing medical system. Dr. Borrelli has experience in a variety of healthcare settings. Her main focus is to assist clients who are dealing with chronic conditions, rare disorders, cancer, or undiagnosed symptoms. It is her compassion, experience, and determination that set Pathway Patient Advocates apart from the rest. To reach Dr. Borrelli, you can visit her website at pathwaypa.com.