ASSIGNMENT A:
You may think it odd that we begin a Program about Patient Advocacy with the establishment of a business relationship. You cannot create a respectful relationship with another without knowing your personal boundaries! Trust me, even if your advocacy is pro bono (free), it is critical that both parties know, with certainty, what is expected and what will be delivered!
Let’s crack open your first textbook, the one written by my friend and former PACB member, Trisha Torrey, entitled, The Health Advocate’s Start and Grow Your Own Practice.
Trisha does an exceptional job walking you through the identification of your personal business practices, offerings, expectations and the contracting process. Even if you are already a practicing Patient Advocate with a well-established client base, you will benefit from working through the exercises designed by Trisha.
Read "Chapters 1 – 4" in The Health Advocate’s Start and Grow Your Own Practice and complete the exercises for each of these chapters in the accompanying handbook. ( Dear writer, you will find my complete exercise in the PDF files provided with my order)
The assigned exercises will help you understand, at a gut level, the importance of clarity in your business offerings.
ASSIGNMENT C:
In many ways, serving as a “Patient Advocate” is identical to serving as a “coach.” The differences are found in the services offered. I know this because, in my past life, I have served as both a “coach” and as a “Patient Advocate.” The following online articles describe the process of negotiating boundaries / relationships. When you encounter the word, “coach” or “coaching,” substitute the word, “Patient Advocate” or “advocacy.”
Read each article with attention focused on those activities that create discomfort in you.
• "Contracting the Relationship and Setting Boundaries" visit http://www.wabccoaches.com/bcw/2010_v6_i3/on-the-sunny-side.html
• "7 Tips to Create Healthy Boundaries with Others" - visit https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/in-flux/201511/7-tips-create-healthy-boundaries-others
• "10 Way[s] to Build and Preserve Better Boundaries" - visit https://psychcentral.com/lib/10-way-to-build-and-preserve-better-boundaries/
• "6 Steps to Set Good Boundaries" - visit https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-13176/6-steps-to-set-good-boundaries.html
And, recognize that any discussion you initiate about boundaries with another person may be the very first time this other person has experienced such an exchange! As such, the most important thing you can do in this exchange is to model the behavior you seek in the other person. This shows the person, hopefully your future client, by your actions how:
• you wish to be treated;
• you will treat your client;
• you will treat your client’s service providers.
The requirement:
Your next assignment, to be completed on the discussion board under Reflections and Solutions Discussion, is to identify the most electrifying, scary things you learned about yourself during the completion of ASSIGNMENT A and ASSIGNMENT C. Explain how you will resolve these difficulties.