Medical Advocacy

[KIDPOWER]

"People Safety" skills mean what individuals can do to protect themselves from harm and to speak up for the well-being of themselves and others. One crucial People Safety skill is advocacy. We have heard many stories from our students about how problems in communications with their doctors have led to many of them not getting the help they need or even having their problems made worse.

The book How Doctors Think gives very useful ideas for understanding the context that doctors are working in, ways to communicate more effectively as a patient, and what to do when things go wrong.

This description of the author’s interview with NPR gives the highlights:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8946558

I'd love to have your comments, ideas and experiences on this topic.

[Chocko]

I am very interested in this topic and specifically the different generation reactions to this topic. I ask questions, ask for copies of blood work, do my own research and refer to it in chat with the doctor. I had to learn to do this when I was not diagnosed for four years and had to become my own advocate. My mom on the other hand, follows her doctors blindly and when I ask her why, what, or how, she has no idea and is actually amazed that I would think she would have the answers to these questions. Her fav. response is : " I am sure the doctor knows why, but he didn't tell me." Very frustrating and almost life threatening when she was given the go ahead for a forth coming surgery, only to visit a second opinion doctor to appease me and he discovered her hemoglobin was at 9. I think she is too intimidated to ask questions and it scares me with her health so poor.

I am looking forward to the responses on this thread too:)