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Part II: The Dirty Dozen Skills, Abilities, and Attributes of Successful Health and Patient Advocates and Care Managers

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Yes, Part II, as promised in our first installment last week when we began with the first four attributes of successful advocates. Find Part I of the Dirty Dozen. Which of these describe you and your abilities? Which of them don’t? Where do you go from here? Do your own assessment! Part II: Abilities of Success Health/Patient Advocates and Care Managers 5. Health and patient advocates and care managers have an intimate understanding of the healthcare system. Important – I do not mean you must understand medicine. In fact, you really don’t need to understand medicine – as in diagnosis […]

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The Dirty Dozen Skills, Abilities, and Attributes of Successful Health and Patient Advocates and Care Managers – Part I

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That’s quite a title for a blog post, don’t you think? I’ve been working on this one for awhile, and it seems to have taken on a life of its own. In fact, it’s so long, I’ve now divided it into four parts. Further, you’re about to learn is that I can’t count. I call it the “dirty dozen” because it’s a catchy title and it will compel you to link here to read the post (You’ll read more about this in Part III !). But it’s really a list of 16 (yes, 16!) skills, tasks, and attributes that the

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What Health Advocacy Is, What It Isn’t, and Why Most of It Can’t Be Taught

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One of the websites offered by APHA is a listing of all advocacy educational programs (that we know about). There are programs offered by colleges and universities, private programs, organizational programs, mentors, and more. Some require in-person attendance, some are offered online. Their quality varies, and their results vary…. Often I hear from someone who tells me they have looked over the available programs, but can’t find what they need. What they are looking for doesn’t seem to exist. Or, here is what they want to learn, and will I tell them whether such-and-such a program will teach them that?

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The Birdcage: How to Ruin a First Impression

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Many readers know that my husband and I moved last year to Florida from Upstate NY, where – yes, thank you! – we have truly enjoyed this winter. No shoveling, mostly mild temperatures, lots of sun, and golf! – a big change from the past many winters. So here in our new home in Florida we’ve decided to bring some of the outdoors in. Or maybe we’re going to take some of our indoors out. Whichever way you look at it, we’re getting ready to build a “birdcage,” a screened room which will be attached to the back of our

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Don’t Let HIPPA* Drag Us Down

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Today I’m sharing a beef about HIPAA. Respect for our profession is at stake. Remember, one of our goals is to become one of THE most respected of professions who work in the healthcare system. Today’s post is an ode to that goal. HIPAA is the acronym for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. (It often surprises people to learn that the P in HIPAA has nothing to do with privacy, because that’s the specific reason we must deal with it – for privacy’s sake.) Advocates are no strangers to HIPAA, even though we are still unsure about whether

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“Health Advocate” vs “Patient Advocate”: 7 Reasons the Debate Is a Waste of Time

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Although you may not realize it, there is a debate raging about titles in advocacy. I chose this topic today not because I have an opinion on THE right title; rather because I think the debate is a waste of time, and is a distraction from the more important work of helping people understand how advocates and care managers can help them. The debate is this: Should we be called Health Advocates? Or should we be called Patient Advocates? It might surprise you to know that some people not only have very definite opinions on the answer to that question,

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Sleep Deprivation Spells Opportunity – and Responsibility

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Saturday night (well, OK, in the wee hours of Sunday morning) across most of the US and Canada, we “sprung forward” our clocks, resulting in lost sleep, and at least a day of being totally thrown off because the day seemed… well…. just weird. Since most of us don’t work on a Sunday, the day of adjustment helped us acclimate, and then – life goes on with a longer day of sunshine through next Fall. But what if you had to lose that sleep every few days, then re-acclimate every few days? What if you spent your life in a

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