Switching Hats: Advocacy for Health Care Providers

Illness doesn’t discriminate.  The young, old, highly educated, less educated and even providers in health care can find themselves faced with an acute and unexpected illness. Although health care providers generally play the role of expert advocates, once they switch hats and become the patient or patient’s loved one, continuing the advocate role isn’t always possible or recommended.

When my daughter was 18, I thought she had the flu; body aches, slight fever and a sore throat.  Nothing to worry about, I thought. However, within 3 days she needed urgent care.  Upon arrival to the emergency room, she was breathing at a rate of 40 per minute (normal is 12 -16), had a heart rate of 180 beats per minute (normal is 60 – 100) and her oxygen saturation levels were only 72% (normal is 95-100%). She was admitted to the intensive care unit with acute viral pneumonia.

I watched helplessly as the nurses and physicians assessed her, ordered tests, discussed her condition and made decisions about her treatment. I kept thinking that as a nurse, I should be involved in the discussions. However, I couldn’t think straight. All I saw was my daughter lying in the bed, barely able to breath.  My ability to think clearly was gone. I was no longer a competent, knowledgeable nurse. I was a mother who was scared to see her daughter struggling to survive.

My daughter was admitted to a hospital where I worked as an Advanced Practice Nurse.  Although I knew many of the physicians and nurses, it was different being the mother of their patient. They were all very gracious and allowed me to stay, but they really didn’t involve me in her care.  I was frustrated. After all, I was a nurse.  I was trying to ask questions, participate in discussions and even tried to make suggestions.  At the same time, I was trying to comfort my daughter and tell her everything would be okay.  A colleague of mine knew how frustrated I was and asked if she could step in as an advocate for us, allowing me to focus solely on my daughter. She helped me to see that what my daughter needed most was for me to be her mother – not her nurse.  My friend communicated on our behalf with the physicians while I focused all of my time and energy on the most important person – my daughter. She gave me peace of mind, knowing that they were all working collaboratively together to ensure my daughter received the best care.

If you are a health care provider and find yourself in the role of patient or if your loved one is a patient, the best thing you can do is to switch hats and ask somebody else to advocate for you. Your time, energy and focus need to be on yourself or your loved one.

My daughter did well and was released from the hospital one week after her ordeal. I am thankful that she received great care by the physicians and nurses and that I was able to keep my "mom hat" on while at her bedside.

Take care and be well

R. Thompson, MSN, RN

To find out how advocacy can help you or your loved one, please contact the advocates at Uppta at www.uppta.com.