How can you use patient advocacy tools while supporting patients emotionally?

1 Know your scope of practice

As a patient advocate, you are not a therapist, a counselor, or a medical provider. You are not expected to diagnose, treat, or prescribe anything for your clients' emotional or mental health. However, you can provide emotional support, active listening, empathy, and validation. You can also refer your clients to appropriate resources, such as mental health professionals, support groups, or crisis hotlines, if they need more specialized or urgent help. Know your scope of practice and your ethical boundaries, and do not overstep them.

2 Use communication skills

Communication is one of the most important patient advocacy tools you can use to support your clients emotionally. You can use communication skills such as open-ended questions, paraphrasing, summarizing, reflecting, and clarifying to elicit your clients' concerns, feelings, and goals. You can also use communication skills such as affirming, praising, encouraging, and expressing appreciation to build rapport, trust, and confidence with your clients. You can also use communication skills such as informing, educating, explaining, and providing options to empower your clients to make informed decisions and advocate for themselves.

3 Manage your emotions

Supporting patients emotionally can be rewarding, but also challenging and stressful. You may encounter situations where you feel angry, frustrated, sad, or overwhelmed by your clients' stories, problems, or behaviors. You may also experience compassion fatigue, burnout, or vicarious trauma as a result of your work. To avoid these negative outcomes, you need to manage your emotions and practice self-care. You can do this by setting boundaries, prioritizing your tasks, delegating when possible, seeking supervision or peer support, engaging in hobbies or leisure activities, and seeking professional help if needed.

4 Respect diversity and culture

Patients come from diverse backgrounds and cultures, and they may have different beliefs, values, and preferences regarding their health and well-being. As a patient advocate, you need to respect diversity and culture and avoid making assumptions or judgments based on your own biases or stereotypes. You can do this by learning about your clients' cultural backgrounds, asking them about their preferences and expectations, using culturally appropriate language and gestures, and acknowledging and addressing any cultural barriers or conflicts that may arise.

5 Use technology wisely

Technology can be a useful patient advocacy tool to support your clients emotionally, especially in times of social distancing or limited access to in-person services. You can use technology such as phone calls, emails, text messages, video chats, or online platforms to communicate with your clients, provide information and education, monitor their progress, and offer feedback and encouragement. However, you also need to use technology wisely and ethically, and be aware of the potential risks and limitations. You need to ensure your clients' privacy and confidentiality, obtain their consent and agreement, follow the relevant laws and regulations, and troubleshoot any technical issues that may occur.

6 Collaborate with others

Patient advocacy is not a solo endeavor. You are part of a multidisciplinary team that includes your clients, their families, their healthcare providers, and other professionals or organizations that may be involved in their care. To support your clients emotionally, you need to collaborate with others and foster a positive and respectful working relationship. You can do this by communicating clearly and effectively, sharing relevant information and updates, coordinating tasks and responsibilities, resolving conflicts or disagreements, and acknowledging and appreciating each other's contributions.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?