By Hal Richman
Having a solid strategy for gathering trusted and dependable information is critical for making informed treatment decisions when it comes to your health. It is also important to be able to communicate assertively with healthcare practitioners as an equal partner in shared decision-making.
This is all about your “agency” as a cancer patient – feeling empowered to make decisions that lead to meaningful action and leave you with a greater sense of freedom and well-being.
Powerful Healthcare Decisions is an online training tool designed to help you with gathering trusted and dependable information, and to communicate assertively with healthcare practitioners. In the world of 15-minute appointments in a system with limited resources, it is vitally important to be able to effectively communicate with healthcare practitioners. Here are some of the questions that the training can help you answer:
- How can I tell which sources of information are reliable for my illness and treatment options?
- How do I develop the skills to advocate for what I need and want in managing my health care in conversations with healthcare practitioners?
- What do I do when I do not understand what a healthcare practitioner is saying?
Each module contains narrated training content, resource materials, examples, and exercises for you to complete. Let’s look at one section of the module on Making Powerful Requests.
This is an example of a powerful request:
(Patient) Doctor, I would like to have an Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score Test done before a decision is made to schedule further treatments.
(Doctor) I am not that familiar with this test and feel my research and experience are all that is needed for us to arrive at a decision.
(Patient) I respect your research and experience; however, I feel this test is important and request you speak to your colleagues who have used this and order the test in the next few days.
(Doctor) Well, since you feel that strongly about this, I will do as you ask.
A powerful request empowers both the requester and the listener; is authentic, clear, and specific, and is respectful of both parties.
This is an example of a weak request:
(Patient) I would like to have an Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score Test done before a decision is made to schedule further treatments.
(Doctor) I am not that familiar with this test and feel my research and experience are all that is needed for us to arrive at a decision.
(Patient) I respect your research and experience; however, I would like the test if you think this is best
(Doctor) I will get back to you on this.
(Patient) Well, OK, If that’s the way it needs to be.
Weak requests are dis-empowering. A dis-empowering request is not specific enough to accurately represent what the requester wants and frequently won’t be understood by the listener.
As you navigate the challenges and uncertainties of breast cancer treatment, remember that your voice is a vital tool. The decisions you make about your health can significantly impact your overall quality of life. Equipping yourself with the knowledge and skills necessary to make clear, powerful requests can ensure that your treatment aligns with your personal values and needs. You are the most crucial member of your healthcare team, and your preferences play a key role in shaping your treatment path.
You can sign up for the course here. Use the 100% discount code “CBCN”.
The course is FREE for CBCN patients until August 11, 2024. You have ten days to complete the course once you register and can request more time if needed by contacting Hal.
After August 11, CBCN patients get a 35% discount from the $135 CAD price (taxes in) = $88; if this is a hurdle, you can contact Hal to get a ”pay what you can” discount code.
Hal Richman has a Ph.D. in Political Science where he studied how facilitation can help overcome power disparities in task-oriented groups. He has strong business planning and start-up experience, as well as 25+ years in online training in Canada and internationally.
Several years ago, at a clambake in rural New Brunswick, Hal was challenged by a doctor to reflect on times in his adolescence and adulthood where his agency was taken. This spurred him on to take a personal journey to reflect on these times and how he dealt with agency in his interactions with the healthcare system. This turned into a year of research and writing for a paper on agency and being one of the authors of a research paper recently published in Current Oncology.
For Hal, this work is both a passionate social mission to help people, as well as a business. It is informed by his healthcare journey, as well as his wife’s journey navigating breast cancer treatments and on-going care.
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