What are the most in-demand skills for patient advocates?

Effective patient advocates need to stay up-to-date on the availability of community resources for their target populations. When a resource is unknown, the advocate must possess the skills or the networking to secure the resource as soon as possible. Timely health services contribute to higher quality health outcomes - the more time spent on research of effective resources, the higher the risk of adverse health events.

Knowing where to find evidenced based information is important for patient advocacy and allows for improved patient outcomes. It is important to know how to research and where to look for information so that as a nurse we can provide care that is safe, reliable, relevant and effective for our patients.

I agree. In order to be an effective patient advocate, you have to be able to effectively use critical thinking to research data, evaluate and communicate it effectively for the best patient outcomes.

Patient advocates need to use perspective taking in understanding and empathizing with patients situation & needs. Empathy is an important interpersonal skill they need to possess while dealing with vulnerable population. This will help them to develop strategies to truly help patients attain their goals and improve their lives.

I am an "informal" patient advocate - in that I have not been through formal training and don't have letters behind my name. That being said, Anoop Rajan is correct: This is one of the most important skills for a patient advocate to have. Unfortunately, it is also one that is extremely difficult to "teach" someone who doesn't come by this naturally. I am naturally empathetic but not everyone is. I have been a patient advocate for 23 years. First for my mom and then my children. Then for thousands of others worldwide who are living with a progressive terminal lung disease. I teach patients and their loved ones daily how to advocate.

Interpersonal communication skills are crucial for improving trust and workplace communication. When an advocate has good interpersonal relationships with their peers, clients, and their managers, they are more likely to recognize each others’ good work and give constructive feedback.

In my experience, a nurse needs a well rounded nursing background. They need to “think outside the box” and sometimes dig deeper than the hospitalists do. It’s our job to get a good understanding of the situation, cause and factors causing it. Doctors and mid levels often don’t have or take the time to put all the labs together to get a total picture. On the other hand, as a patient advocate, it’s important to understand what the patient wants out of his treatments. Does he want to be poked and prodded to try to find a root cause or is he to the point he just wants to be comfortable and enjoy whatever time they might have left. We need to take a step back and make our priority our patient.

Patient advocates are often responsible for population wide services rather than a small group of patients. It is important for advocates to have clear and concise organization methods so that they are able to meet the needs of their patients in a timely fashion. Although they are most effective when they are self directed and motivated, effective patient advocate also understands that they are fallible and know when to ask for guidance on organization.

Story telling is your superpower. But not all story telling is equal. Make your story, clear, focussed, and with a clear and directive purpose.

One of the most important skills to have is the ability to empower others. The ultimate job of a patient advocate is to teach others to use their voice, to take a helpless situation show them to find hope. To give patient community the tools they need to create change for themselves is not an easy task but one we must focus on. What does it mean to empower someone in their own care. Empowerment involves helping someone take control over their life and make tbeir own decisions. By helping them feel confident and capable enough to make choices on their own, they will become less reliant on you and more reliant on themselves as problem solvers and resource-searchers. By empowering others, you are creating an army of advocates.

If you are going to advocate for any patient's needs; have a rationale for them. Does the patient have special or specific needs that need to be met? It is also important to try to find common ground, especially if those needs can't easily be met or may seem unreasonable. Your role as advocate can be to attempt to make the rest of the treatment team aware of the request, but also set expectations that it may or may not always be accommodated. Never promise anything you cannot deliver.

Though not an advocate myself, I work closely with advocates and navigators, and have worked in healthcare for years. From my perspective, advocates must advocate for themselves first and foremost. You can only do so much for patients without the proper resources. Unfortunately, many programs across the US are devastatingly under-resourced, at a time when patient need is greater than ever before. Building the business case for investment and getting leadership buy-in is crucial to securing more resources. An effective approach is to join forces with cross-functional stakeholders that have a vested interest in improving access (oncology, infusion, specialty/retail pharmacies, RCM, patient access) to act as a steering committee.