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Licensed, Certified, Uppercase, lowercase: Where Are You?

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Andrea is confused, and if Andrea is confused, others among you are, too. She’s just the one who asked. (You might want to thank her!) Andrea posted a comment on a previous APHA Blog post called Revisiting the Mean Girls in Our New Advocacy Environment asking me to follow up now that we have certification for Patient Advocates. Her confusion (excerpted, but you can read it all here): In my opinion, the PACB certification does not nullify or restrict a state license in nursing. It feels like these two knowledge bases go hand in hand. I cannot find any information […]

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How Much Do Patient Advocates Charge?

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I’m often asked what questions people ask me most frequently. The answer is some variation of this family of questions: How much does an advocate charge? What is the hourly rate for health or patient advocates? How much money do patient advocates make? How much money do patient advocates get paid? What is the average amount patient advocates charge? We’ll begin by answering with other questions (bad form, but it makes our point…) How much does it cost to take a vacation? What does it cost to go to college? How much more can I make if I get a

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When Is an Advocate Not an Advocate?

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image - no excuses

Twice in the past week, I heard from people whose APHA memberships expired, explaining why they didn’t renew. In both cases excuses in the form of complaints about their memberships were made. A little bit of research turned up the facts that those complaints were at least misguided. I responded to each of them about their frustrations. In both cases, they felt insulted. Now, don’t get me wrong. I receive criticism and suggestions on a regular basis, sometimes including good, usable, feedback. I’m always appreciative of constructive feedback and ideas even if it’s in the form of criticism. That’s how

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Independent Advocacy’s Three-Legged Stool of Success

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In response to one of the most frequently asked questions I get as the director of The Alliance of Professional Health Advocates – I might be providing an answer you don’t expect. That’s OK! Because if you don’t expect it, then you may hear it even more clearly than you otherwise would. And that can only be good. I hear the basic questions in a number of formats: Do I need to get a degree or certificate to be a patient advocate? Followed by, “what degree?” or “what courses do I need to take?” Do I need to be certified

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Powerful, Useful, and Beneficial — From HBO’s Vice Media: Patient Advocates Can Save Your Money and Your Life

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In April of this year, patient advocates convened in San Diego for the APHA Summits to mix and mingle, learn, and talk shop… Joining us was the video crew from HBO’s Vice News, led by producer Amanda Pisetzner – a delightful group of young people, with so much talent and enthusiasm, asking great questions… They worked in the background during our networking event, and separately they met with two of our advocates, AnnMarie McIlwain, and Karen Vogel, as they conducted their important work. The crew even met with client-patients who AnnMarie and Karen found were willing to discuss their own

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The Sinkhole

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Regular readers of this blog know a couple of things about me. For one thing, they know I live in Florida, having moved here from Upstate NY two years ago, no longer willing to freeze my cabungus off during the winter. (Or, as my husband phrases it, “you don’t have to shovel 90 degrees!”) They also know many of my blog posts are metaphorical, based on inspiration I get from my daily life which at times is well, yes, pretty darn metaphorical! And thus we set the stage for today’s post – The Sinkhole. Pure Florida. Pure Metaphor. See what

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B*tching and Moaning – Therapeutic and Educational

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It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it’s always an eyeopener and usually quite unsettling. When done well, and handled well, it can turn out to be therapeutic, and has the potential for great opportunity. I’m talking about moaning, groaning, complaining and yes – b*tching. Whether it’s a client complaining about an advocate, or the other way around, sometimes it’s fair and understandable, sometimes not. Sometimes it can escalate. Other times it can be diffused. In all cases we can learn from complaints. So let’s take a look.

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