advocacy ethics – APHA Blog : The Alliance of Professional Health Advocates

When Life Defies Logic

…then it’s time to get logical. And logic will triumph!

As many readers know, I’m in the process of coordinating our APHA Summits. We had our first Summit adventure in San Diego a few weeks ago. What a delight! We all learned so much from each other! Next up… Newark / NYC, then on to Chicago, and two new groups of passionate advocates. (I can’t wait!)

What few people understand is the amount of preparation required to make these Summits happen. It’s not so simple as everyone showing up in the same place at the same time to connect with each other. Planning actually begins many months in advance when cities and venues are chosen, initial contacts are signed, the website and registration are set up… much to prepare.

Then in the last few weeks prior to each event, the actual choices are made for room set-ups (round tables? classroom style?), food choices (vegetarian? gluten-free? nut allergies?), and AV needs (are we doing powerpoint? do we need a projector, screen, or wifi?)

Of course, each choice comes with a price tag. Hotel price tags vary. And sometimes, those price tags defy logic. And I mean DEFY LOGIC!

Which is one reason I say – when life defies logic, it’s time to get logical. As follows:

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14
MAY

advocacy business, advocacy ethics, advocate best practices, advocate finances, advocate marketing, client services, common sense, decision making, health advocates and navigators, money, patient advocacy, The Alliance of Professional Health Advocates

Revisiting the Mean Girls in Our New Advocacy Environment

Posted by: Trisha Torrey

The “mean girls” are at it again… or so I’ve been warned by a handful of APHA members.

I’m not sure I agree. But I know one thing for sure: the world of the mean girls has shifted.

Who are the “mean girls?” I first applied the moniker about three years ago to refer to nurses who believed that no one should be a patient advocate unless he or she is a nurse. I cited instances when a small handful of nurses had bullied other non-nurse advocates both at conferences, and through emails – yes, actively bullied. I outlined once and for all, and very specifically, all the reasons one does not need to be a nurse to be an effective patient advocate. None of that has changed.

Now – because in the past I have been accused of stepping on nurses’ toes when I bring this up (which is never my intention) – let me be perfectly clear. I LOVE nurses! I LOVE their passion and commitment to improving the lives and quality of lives of their patients! I respect nurses for their knowledge, experience, and abilities! And I wholeheartedly support their segue into the world of independent advocacy, with gratitude that they are willing to move to the bright side.

I am also very sure that the “mean girl” concept applies only to a VERY small handful; and certainly not to all nurse-patient-advocates.

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7
MAY

advocacy business, advocacy certification, advocacy ethics, advocate marketing, client services, common sense, decision making, health advocates and navigators, legal questions about health advocacy, patient advocacy, professional standards

Announcing: A Big Change for Admission to the AdvoConnection Directory

Posted by: Trisha Torrey

Many readers of this blog are familiar with, or are already listed in the AdvoConnection Directory. It’s THE place to be for private, professional, independent advocates who want to be found and hired by patients or caregivers who need them. It’s the largest, and the only “vetted” directory that exists for advocates.

We”re announcing today a big change to what it takes to be listed in the directory which will affect almost everyone who has given thought to being included in the directory – but isn’t yet listed. That may include you!

We’ll begin with a little history to help you understand the change.

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9
APR

advocacy business, advocacy certification, advocacy ethics, advocate best practices, AdvoConnection Directory, common sense, health advocates and navigators, patient advocacy, professional standards

STOP! HALT! Keep Quiet … or Lose Business

Posted by: Trisha Torrey

Last week two of my friends invited me to participate with them in a local March for Our Lives event being held Saturday.

If you are tuned into the news and politics of today, you know that marches were held to support gun control to keep people, especially our children, safe from being victims of mass murderers. Hundreds of thousands of individuals marched on Washington, DC, and in hundreds of other cities to bring attention to this issue.

To my friends’ invitation, I replied no. I couldn’t / wouldn’t go. But maybe not for the reasons you might think.

It’s not that I don’t believe in peaceful protests – because I do. I remember being inspired by the civil rights demonstrations in the 1960s. I participated in peaceful protests over the VietNam War when I was in college. I even (metaphorically) burned my bra!

But no, I did not attend the March for Our Lives. Here’s why.

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26
MAR

advocacy business, advocacy ethics, advocate bad practices, advocate best practices, advocate marketing, common sense, health advocates and navigators, patient advocacy

politics

Pancakes, Snakes, Red Flags, and Advocacy

Posted by: Trisha Torrey

You don’t have to be a huge fan of Dr. Phil’s to appreciate his delightful and useful sayings. He boils down important and sometimes complex concepts into downhome philosophy that helps us better understand our fellow human beings and our lives.

Today we’re going to focus on one of those sayings to improve our ability to ferret out those clients we should not work with (yes, I said, SHOULD NOT work with):

“No matter how flat you make your pancake, it still has two sides.”

Advocacy stories are like those pancakes. They have at least two sides, too.

I raise this today after an exchange with an APHA member about a disconcerting client experience. That came on the heels of another advocate’s experience where, because of a simple typo on her directory profile, a potential client posted a negative review of her work.

Say what? Let’s look at both stories – and, in pancake style, their flip sides.

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26
FEB

advocacy business, advocacy ethics, advocate bad practices, advocate best practices, client services, common sense, decision making, health advocates and navigators, patient advocacy, patients

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