How Do I Advocate for Myself? From 2 HC Professionals

How Do I Advocate for Myself was written and posted by Kathleen Hoffman on Medivizor on 27 September 2016 and contains some wonderful suggestions and insights.

Kathleen Thompson, MD is a physician specializing in pharmaceutical drug research in the UK. A breast cancer survivor, Kathleen is the author of “From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting Through Breast Cancer – by a Doctor Who Knows.”

As she says: “Should we challenge our doctor? After all they are the experts, surely they know best? Well yes, usually they do, but we are the experts about ourselves.”

On her list of ideas and resources, she recommends:

Take someone with you
Increase your level of knowledge
Understand your self worth

A quick assertiveness course:

If you need something, speak out
Your needs are as important as everyone else’s needs
Make yourself speak a little slower and louder than normal
If you are unclear about what you are being told, request further explanations until you are confident you understood – do not leave until you are sure
Be polite but firm

Stephanie Zimmerman is a pediatric oncology nurse practitioner, a childhood cancer survivor who, at age 38, needed a heart transplant due to damage caused by the cancer treatment.

Advocating for oneself in the hospital is challenging, Stephanie says, because of

inadequate staffing despite the ever-increasing complexity of most clinical scenarios
the introduction of hospitalists
an increase in the number of nursing assistants, coupled with
a relative lack of adequate education taking on nursing practice with less than optimal supervision

These administrative, money-saving, trends impact the quality of care provided in hospitals. Because of this, Stephanie believes that you should never leave a loved one alone in the hospital. In addition she recommends these strategies for successful inpatient advocacy on the part of a family members, friends, and providers: