Patient Advocacy: Listening and Observing

Reader Contribution by Blythe Pelham
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I have found myself as patient advocate many times through the years. It is a role I enjoy, excel at, and one that comes quite naturally. I have the ability to become invisible for long periods of time yet pop into action when needed. I’m good in a crisis without becoming flustered or overwhelmed. I can maintain critical thinking and act when pressure ensues without letting my emotions bubble over the top. These are important keys in patient advocacy. I’ll describe three stories here to clearly show why I believe this is a necessary task to be handled when illness or injury interferes with our daily lives.

Story One

My father-in-law was in a long-term care facility. We visited him regularly. It fell to me to see him most often because of my more flexible schedule. I noticed he was “off” one day and checked in with the nursing staff. Though they weren’t initially as concerned as I was, we decided a visit to the ER was warranted.

My husband joined me in watching his father’s steadily worsening state. After nearly an hour and being told dad was going to be transported back to the nursing home, we sought out a doctor for more information. Though not verbatim, we were basically informed that dad was old and people eventually die of something. We were completely floored. We were not given any specific information on the problem or the proposed treatment.

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