You're navigating the patient advocacy industry. What networking strategies should you prioritize?

Seek Like-Minded Individuals: Attend industry conferences, webinars, and local meet-ups to find professionals who share your passion for patient advocacy. Join Professional Organizations: Become a member of associations such as the National Patient Advocate Foundation or similar groups in your area to connect with peers and potential collaborators. Collaborate with Healthcare Providers: Form partnerships with doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who understand the value of advocacy and can provide insights and referrals.

Identifying allies within the industry is crucial for a patient advocate. Start by attending industry conferences and events where you can meet professionals who share your passion for patient rights and healthcare improvement. Engage in meaningful conversations, exchange contact information, and follow up with new acquaintances to foster relationships. Remember, allies are not just those who work within patient advocacy but also include healthcare providers, policymakers, and community leaders who can support your advocacy efforts.

One thing I have realized is that ensuring your values and mission are clear, is very important in identifying your allies. This way, you can easily recognize individuals who share your principles and can share the learnings from their journey with you. Attending and actively participating in community events, conferences, and webinars allows you to meet these individuals, collaborate, and learn from each other. It is important to note that, your allies must be from all aspects of the healthcare delivery chain (i.e patients, policymakers, providers, fellow advocates and managers), as different perspectives, resources, and complementary skills enhance conversations and improve overall healthcare delivery.

Most definitely. We continue to learn to enhance patients’ rights and support advocacy. The more we learn and share, will assist each of us to promote the need for further ongoing education, and its importance.

This includes allies within your chosen sector but also those outside. There are often confluences between disparate industries and it’s important to seek those individuals out as well.

Social media platforms are powerful tools for networking in the patient advocacy industry. Create professional profiles on platforms like LinkedIn, where you can connect with fellow advocates, join relevant groups, and participate in discussions. Share insightful content, comment on posts by industry leaders, and use hashtags to increase visibility. Social media networking requires consistent engagement, so be sure to allocate time each week to build and maintain your online presence.

People often underestimate the value of social media or fail to use it effectively. It’s not just about reposting content but it’s about sharing your own created content, things you’re passionate about, highlighting the strengths and uniqueness of your organization or efforts, and connecting with others who are like minded. Social media is one of the top ways I’ve networked over the last 5 years and it’s helped spread awareness, and extend my reach beyond my small circle.

Volunteering offers a hands-on approach to networking while contributing to causes you care about. Seek volunteer opportunities with organizations that align with your advocacy goals. Through volunteering, you not only gain valuable experience but also meet like-minded individuals who may become collaborators or mentors. It's a chance to demonstrate your commitment and skills in real-world settings, which can be a powerful testament to your dedication as a patient advocate.

Having worked one on one with patients in various capacity as health care provider, volunteering to advocate for a patient helps a lot in terms of strengthening communication, trust and on the other end ensuring they get the right care with the right set of approach to their treatment and options available in the dynamic health care system

Cultivating relationships is a long-term investment in your network. After meeting new contacts, keep in touch through regular communication, such as emails or coffee meetings. Offer your help and expertise without expecting immediate returns; this builds trust and reciprocity. Attend industry gatherings consistently, as repeated interactions can strengthen ties. Remember, strong relationships are built on mutual respect and shared experiences.

As a business development director, I keenly understand the value of relationship building. But it’s not solely the job of business development, marketing or the founder/Executives. Everyone can and should be a relationship builder!

Cultivating relationships has been the cornerstone of my Independent Patient Advocacy practice. This includes developing a strategic outreach plan, creating a solid follow up plan, targeting only those individuals with whom I can see myself engaging with regularly for the long term. This means these are the individuals whom align with me and my personal values, ethics, and social activities. These types of connections are much easier to manage and navigate from a place of authenticity. Developing with this type of authenticity allows for the strongest and most valuable relationships; both personally and professionally.

Well, good relations often always come with a good course. It means freedom of expression without holding back a better understanding and cohesiveness. With good relations much can be achieved in patient advocacy.

In healthcare, cultivating relationships with all members of the healthcare team is important. Know your resources. I liken this skill to the principal lyrics of Ghostbusters. Who do you call when you need to coordinate durable medical equipment? When there is a challenge with where a patient can be safely discharged to? When you are unclear about specific medical insurance coverage? Allied Health Practitioners (Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, Social Workers, Case Managers) are invaluable for their specialized knowledge of their respective areas of expertise and are tremendous assets.

Embrace continuous learning to stay informed about the latest developments in patient advocacy. This not only enhances your expertise but also provides common ground for discussions with peers. Attend workshops, enroll in courses, and read industry publications. By being knowledgeable, you become a valuable resource to your network and can engage more effectively in conversations that may lead to collaborative opportunities.

The healthcare space changes very quickly, and keeping up with trends and the newest innovations is vital to being an effective patient advocate. Staying up-to-date means actively participating in webinars and workshops. Enrolling in as many industry-relevant upgrade courses as necessary, reading newspaper and article publications, and staying abreast of legislation. These improve your knowledge base, cement your credibility, and make you a worthy advocate for your patients and partners.

Continuous education is essential, for instances where new laws are created and the continuously changing treatment, new diagnostic tools without mentioning the emergence of new diseases and invention of new drugs. To stay at bar with this education is key and getting informed.

We often ignore the journey a patient has gone through in seeking of medication and care which makes them feel left out. Journey with a patient through their desperation and pain understand and respond accordingly, this builds and strengthens the relationship existing.

Remember to be an effective and efficient member of any group or team you may be a part of. You quickly become irrelevant to partners and colleagues if you do not collaborate or actively engage in projects. For this reason, do not overstretch by being a member of too many collaborative groups, teams, or projects. Find 2 who share your mission and values, and build very strong relationships with your colleagues. Actively participate in all initiatives, advocacy campaigns, and projects, and be a formidable member of the group.