advocacy ethics

Of Heroes, Trust, Discord, Arrogance, and Karma – Part II

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Last week I shared with you two stories of my physician heroes, why they are my heroes, their relationship to my work in patient empowerment and patient advocacy, and why you, too, should emulate their actions; their professionalism, their behavior, and the actions they each took to buck a dysfunctional system. It’s all good, and true to karma, what went around came around – today good comes back to them. They both have stellar reputations within the community and among other physicians worldwide. Well-respected. Well-deserved reputations. Which takes us to today, and the karma that has come around to one …

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Of Heroes, Trust, Discord, Arrogance, and Karma – Part I

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This year I can tell I’m finally getting beyond the trauma. It’s a feeling of freedom to some extent, but sort of a shame to another. And you know me – I always end up analyzing these things (or, perhaps over-analyzing them) – enough so that I’m going to share some of that analysis with you. The trauma I refer to was the cancer (lymphoma) misdiagnosis in 2004 that propelled me to change careers to patient empowerment, and eventually advocacy. By trauma, I mean that I was told I that in a few short months I would be dead, and …

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The Starfish Story Curmudgeon

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Several weeks ago, a couple we know were married. It was a wonderfully happy event, celebrated by many. The wedding itself was elegant, and beautiful, and everyone had a delightful time at the reception. You know – the stuff fairy tales are made from. The bride chose a starfish theme for the celebration, telling the starfish story alongside it. She has worked hard for decades as a nurse and the starfish story speaks to her – a perfect choice for her, really. Starfish were part of both her wedding shower and the reception decor. Just lovely. What? You don’t know …

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An Independent Care Professional’s Most Important Body Part

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I’m guessing you don’t think of your body parts as making important contributions to your advocacy career. But they certainly do! In the past we’ve talked about the importance of your ears (listening). I could also focus on your brain (a – ahem – no brainer), or your fingers (which dial your phone or type your emails) or even your feet (which take you to meet your clients). While those may be important, none are as important as the one we’re looking at today. Today we’re going to take a look at the one body part that will help you …

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Our Clients Need This ONE Skill the Most

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Twenty years ago, prior to self-employment and work in patient empowerment and advocacy, I was the marketing director for my local community college. In so many ways I loved that job. It was different every day and allowed me to meet and get to know people I never would have known in any other way. It required me to get out into the college community to meet faculty, other administrative departments, and students. It required me to have good relations with the press, and because it was during a recession, it required me to be creative and clever to bring …

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Preventing Our Own Brexit, Saving Our Clients and Advocacy Practices

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The whole world was fascinated last month by Brexit: the vote in Britain to leave the European Union. Would they leave? Wouldn’t they? But to me, the most fascinating part was what happened the next day. Once the vote had taken place and the (bare) majority had voted to leave the EU, those who had voted to leave began to learn the real truth of what they had chosen, and realized they had been duped. Yes, duped. Because the leaders on the “leave” side immediately disclaimed the promises they made. Ooops! they said! No, we can’t really apply the billions …

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Would You Draw a Line?

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from Wikipedia

Early in my patient empowerment work, I was invited to write a column for my local daily newspaper. Over the next six years, I wrote hundreds of columns on every empowerment topic imaginable from how to get copies of your own medical records, to how to research a drug your doctor prescribed for you, to the (what we called at the time) “healthcare reform”. My column ended in 2011, but much of that work still stands today, some as useful today as it was then.* As a result of those columns, I became a resource person for many locals who …

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