Transcript Physician Advocacy 2.0

Physician Advocacy 2.0
Stories Stick, Facts are Forgotten:
Storytelling as a Tool for Advocacy
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Society of Teachers of Family Medicine
San Antonio, Texas
May 4, 2014
OBJECTIVES
 By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
 Discuss the importance of advocacy by physicians
and educators
 Author one patient story to advocate for an issue
 Develop strategies to incorporate storytelling as an
advocacy tool into medical education
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DEFINING PHYSICIAN ADVOCACY
Action by a physician to promote social, economic,
educational and political changes that ameliorate the
suffering and threats to human health and well-being
that s/he identifies through his/her professional work
and expertise
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INFLUENCES ON HEALTH
Individual
Patient Care
Access
to Care
Direct
Socioeconomic
Influences
Broad
Socioeconomic
Influences
Global
Health
Influences
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Adapted from: Gruen RL, et al. JAMA 2004;291:94-98.
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ADVOCACY MODELS
 Policy
 Legislative
 Regulatory
 Media and Communications
 Traditional
 Social
 Medical Education
 Professional Associations and Societies
 Others?
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WHY PHYSICIANS AS ADVOCATES?
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56% in 1976
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http://www.gallup.com/poll/1654/honesty-ethics-professions.aspx
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INNATE SKILLS
 Credibility
 Technical and scientific knowledge
 Access to and understanding of research
 Experience with advocating for individual patients
 Patient stories
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SKILLS TO DEVELOP
 Defining the audience and the goal
 Developing and sticking to a message
 Recognizing opportunities for advocacy
 Developing relationships with partners, media, legislators
 Using personal stories to frame the issue
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STORYTELLING
 The bedrock of writing and
speaking about the human
impact of law and policy
 No one ever marched on
Washington because of a
good pie chart. Andy Goodman
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TESTIMONY TAKES CENTER STAGE
...Another patient named Monica, a 23 year-old woman,
presented to me at almost 12 weeks. She had a three-and-a-halfmonth-old baby girl at home who was delivered by Cesarean
section. This patient did not realize she was pregnant earlier
because she had not had a menstrual period since her delivery.
We were able to provide her abortion procedure to her safely and
quickly so that she could to return home to care for her baby. A
young mother does not have time to travel many miles or hours
away. She needs to be able to get back to her infant and take
care of herself and her family.
My patients come from all walks of life, from every situation
imaginable. One thing they have in common is that they seek
abortion because they’ve weighed all the options and know in
their hearts that this private decision is best for themselves and
their families. They do not deserve the burden of a law that has
no medical benefit or basis…The cost-prohibitive regulations
associated with S.B. 537 would force safe, accessible abortion
facilities to close while doing nothing to improve patient safety.
Testimony of Robin Wallace, MD, MAS
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INTEGRATING & UTILIZING STORIES
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Avoid acronyms and medical jargon
Humanize your patient
Show your passion
Be brief: a few well-chosen
sentences may be all you
need
Drs. Aisha Mays, Pratima Gupta, and Gabrielle Gaspar
meet with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggar’s staff to
discuss the Parental Notification Initiative, May 2009
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ROBIN’S JOURNAL
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STORYTELLING
EXERCISE
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ADVOCACY & MEDICAL EDUCATION
 ACGME Requirement
 Residents are expected to … advocate for quality
patient care and optimal patient care systems
 What does this mean?
 How is this accomplished?
 Role for storytelling?
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http://www.acgme.org/acgmeweb/Portals/0/PFAssets/ProgramRequire
ments/120_family_medicine_07012014.pdf
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MEDICAL EDUCATION STRATEGIES
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Curriculum
Grand rounds
Conferences
Elective
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QUESTIONS?
Lin-Fan Wang, MD, MPH
• Reproductive Health Advocacy Fellow
• [email protected]
Robin Wallace, MD, MAS
• Clinical Assistant Professor,
Family and Community Medicine, UTSW
• [email protected]
Want to get more involved?
Check out: www.prh.org
THANK YOU!
Libby Benedict, MPA
• Director of Leadership Training Networks
• [email protected]
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