MGH Guides: Black/African American Health Resources: Resources for Students & Practitioners

The Importance of Self-Advocacy

Self-Advocacy: What is it?

Self-advocacy means speaking up for yourself, being empowered and in control of making your own decisions about your life, learning how to get information so you can understand things that are of interest to you, knowing your rights and responsibilities, developing self-determination, the freedom to live as you choose and make decisions on your own. You know yourself better than anyone else knows you.

Why is it important?

Self-advocacy is equally important for those providing care as it is for those receiving care. Self-advocacy:

Enhances professional development: By asserting their needs and boundaries, healthcare providers can build confidence, negotiate workload, and seek necessary support.
Improves job satisfaction: Advocating for oneself leads to a healthier work-life balance, reduced burnout, and increased job satisfaction.
Fosters a supportive work environment: By openly discussing challenges and needs, healthcare professionals contribute to a culture of open communication and support within their workplace.
Builds resilience: Overcoming obstacles through self-advocacy strengthens problem-solving and coping skills, essential for handling the demands of the healthcare field.
Inspires patient trust: Healthcare providers who confidently advocate for themselves and their patients model the behavior they expect from their patients.

Self-Advocacy is a lifelong skill that all individuals need to continue to build.

Tips, provided by Medical Home Portal, can help you develop successful self-advocacy skills:

Value yourself and your rights

Understand that your rights, thoughts, feelings, needs, and desires are just as important as everyone else's. But remember they are not more important than anyone else's, either.
When in a discussion, don’t forget to listen and ask questions! It’s important to understand the other person’s point of view. Sometimes finding a compromise may be the best outcome as long as it doesn’t impact your safety, health, and overall well-being.
Believe that you deserve to be treated with respect and dignity at all times, and so does everyone else.
Don’t be afraid to speak up and describe the problems you’re facing. Beating around the bush just makes the issue unclear.
Don’t be afraid to disagree with others, even if it means upsetting the peace.
Hold everyone, including yourself, accountable for following through on decisions and actions.

Identify your needs and wants, and ask for them to be satisfied.

Don't wait for someone to recognize what you need or expect others to advocate for you.
Create ideas about how you can get your needs met without sacrificing others' needs in the process.
Don’t give up because of red tape, the status quo, or defeat.
Don’t accept “NO” from someone who doesn’t have the authority to say “YES.”

Express negative thoughts and feelings in a healthy and positive manner.

Allow yourself to be upset or angry, but always be respectful.
Do say what's on your mind, but do it in a way that doesn’t hurt someone else or place blame.
Control your emotions as much as possible by rehearsing your ideas before formally speaking.
Stand up for yourself and confront people who challenge you and/or your rights.
Remember that assertive communication is NOT aggressive communication.

Receive criticism and compliments positively.

Accept compliments graciously.
Allow for mistakes and ask for help, these are learning opportunities.
Accept feedback positively. Be prepared to say you don't agree, but do not get defensive or angry.
Sometimes you will have to agree to disagree on certain topics.

Always be ready.

Prepare for meetings.
Be informed about as much as possible on the topic you’ll be discussing. Do research, and listen, so you can gain other perspectives on the issue.
Keep records and document all meetings, conversations and correspondence.
Collaborate: having partners goes a long way.
Analyze problems and provide suggested solutions.
Keep an open mind. Brainstorm creative solutions to problems and challenges.

Advocacy Organizations

At the IHP

IHP Community Organizations
Includes general student groups for different disciplines as well as those focused on inclusive community-building, like the Coalition of OT Advocates for Diversity (COTAD) and Minorities Engaged in Dialogue and Services (MEDS).

Nursing

National Black Nurses Association

Physical Therapy

National Association of Black Physical Therapists, Inc.

Speech Language Pathology

Genetic Counseling

Healthcare Leaders

Occupational Therapy

National Black Occupational Therapy Caucus

Physician Assistants

National Society of Black Physician Assistants

Journal Articles

The articles selected below highlight some of the systemic barriers faced by Black/African American individuals in the healthcare field. They underscore the need for increased representation, support, and cultural competency within the profession to address health disparities. The research emphasizes the importance of understanding the unique experiences of Black/African American patients and healthcare providers to improve patient outcomes and create a more equitable healthcare system.

"Oh, you're my health care provider?" Recounting the experiences of people of African descent in Nova Scotia pursuing or working in health professions.
We found that mentorship, particularly within the community, was instrumental to promoting feelings of belonging. However, participants described the need for resilience in the face of discrimination during training and in practice in health care professions. Rather than focusing on their education, many had to educate those around them. Increased representation, support programs and updated curricula are needed to promote change.
Exploration of support for Black, Indigenous, and people of color students in genetic counseling programs.
Therefore, there is a large need for understanding how support is defined by BIPOC genetic counseling students, and then how to integrate specific aspects of training into a practical framework for programs to address racism and the resulting emotional implications. ... The top three supports were as follows: (1) presence of other BIPOC students; (2) presence of BIPOC faculty; and (3) financial funding.
Increasing the Representation of the Black Population in the Health Professions in Canada
Increased representation of the Black population in the health care system is central to decrease health disparities, enhance access to services, and improve health outcomes and quality of care. The added value of mentorship programs are presented as a promising approach for addressing the high rates of attrition of the Black population in health professional education institutions.
Microaggressions: Black students' experiences - A qualitative study
This study offers critical insights into the microaggressions that Black students experience. These microaggressions interfere with students' learning and highlight the need for academic institutions to take measures to dismantle these behaviors. These findings can illuminate to faculty and students the roles they play in perpetuating racism and subjecting students of color to detrimental psychological distress.
"Black/African American"—Black cultural erasure in genetic counseling
Without accurately collecting this more detailed information from Black patients, participants, communities, and students, any conclusions drawn do not fully encapsulate the intricacies and differences within the Black experience.
National Benchmarks to Understand How Doctor of Physical Therapy Learners From Minoritized Race and Ethnicity Groups Perceive Their Physical Therapist Education Program
Racial and ethnic minoritized (REM) respondents perceived the physical therapist learning environment more negatively than their non-minoritized peers but expressed strong interest in serving people from underserved communities. These national benchmarks offer academic institutions the opportunity to self-assess their own environment and to work to improve the quality of the educational experience for all learners.

Black/African American Health Resources

Podcasts

Books in Our Collection