Guiding principles for patient advocacy
There are many approaches to advocacy; ours is one. Our guiding principles stem from patient- and family-centeredness. To us, this means:
- we will help patients and families recognize and honor their own values and priorities when making decisions;
- whenever possible, we will help patients and families build the capacity to advocate for themselves; and
- advocacy approaches are individualized--while all of us share common threads of experience, each person's experience and healing path is distinct.
These principles require some caveats:
- As patients, we are not always "right".
- Patients are part of a team, and preferably they can become the "captain" of their team.
- Patients and families can communicate in ways that build rather than burn bridges.
- Patients may not always act with their own or their families' best interests in mind. It's an art to help shine light on possibilities without imposing judgment, or even seeming to impose judgment.
