Whether you are a medical professional, a social worker, a businessman, a neighbor or a friend, you are capable of making a difference in the lives of medical patients by ensuring that their needs such as treatment options, insurance, government benefits and patients’ rights, among others, are met. Patient advocacy is a vital aspect in undertaking optimal delivery of healthcare to patients; you can help by serving as a medical liaison. While doctors, nurses and other professionals in the medical field have the skills necessary for securing this job, you can be a patient advocate even if your educational background or existing career is unrelated to healthcare.
You can enroll in online classes which will help you become a patient advocate—accredited online schools offer coursework which can help you break into this rewarding field without having to attend actual classes.
Consider the following pointers on how to become a patient advocate.
- Determine the type of patient advocacy services you would like to provide. The job can be more medically oriented, more service-oriented or more administrative in nature. If you were a medical patient advocate, you would be responsible for coordinating with medical professionals or healthcare providers on behalf of the patient in terms of treatment options, potential issues and communication. Higher levels of education, such as a graduate degree, are required for those patient advocates wishing to be more medically oriented. Many medically oriented patient advocates are nurses, social workers or even doctors. The minimum required degree would be an associate’s degree in nursing. As a service-oriented patient advocate, you will help in setting and maintaining patient home care, physical therapy, visiting nurses or caregivers and the like. If you were an administrative patient advocate, you would assist with the arrangement of cost and usage of medical treatment, insurance options, reimbursements and other types of paperwork. All of these types of patient advocacy require compassion for people and dedication to the job.
- Take programs that provide patient advocate training. There is no strict or specific educational requirement for acquiring a position. There are patient advocate programs that range from an undergraduate certificate (no degree) to medical doctors who have taken a patient advocate position. Patient advocates may come from a range of backgrounds, but it is beneficial to take any degree (or certificate) in medicine, healthcare, public health, psychology, law, social work and the like. However, since this career is now on the rise, there are now certain institutions that provide workshops, certificates or programs specifically for patient advocacy. Some of the institutions that provide these courses are the University of Wisconsin (graduate certificate), Sarah Lawrence (graduate certificate), Stanford University (undergraduate certificate), Cleveland State University (undergraduate certificate) and the University of Miami Medical Group (undergraduate and graduate certificate).
- Determine the necessary skills to become patient advocates. More important than the educational program you prefer are the skills that include problem-solving, time-management, communication and organizational skills. Whether you choose to work at hospitals, nursing homes, health insurance companies, preventive health organizations, charitable institutions, or federal, state, or local health departments, your job will require perseverance, patience and compassion for others, as you will be responsible for providing added value to your medical patients as well as to the health care providers.
Patient advocacy is an up and coming field. The need for patient advocates is rapidly growing; therefore the job growth outlook is good. The average annual salary of a patient advocate is $37,000.
While you consider opting for this kind of career or shifting from your existing vocation, it is a great advantage to study as much as you can about the medical industry. Regardless of the type of patient advocacy you choose or where you are hired, you need to be well-versed about laws, practices and policies pertaining to patients, healthcare, medical professionals and medical institutions.