LGBTQIA+ Resources

Local Organizations

There are many Boston-based organizations that are available to you, loved ones and to future patients.

This list is not exhaustive. Please email librarian@mghihp.edu with recommendations.

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.

Evidence