Stacie Broek - author, blogger, stroke survivor, mother of three and Passion-Based Therapy advocate shares her thoughts on trust and transformation in health services at a panel discussion with the WHO Regional Office for Europe.
How Can We Create Trust and Transformation in the Health Services?
I was asked this very question this week by the WHO Regional Office for Europe. I was invited to speak on a panel with them, the Ministry of Social Affairs of Estonia and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, as a person with lived experience.
I didn’t have to think about this for one second!
For me, I like to picture a sports team working towards the big game. There’s a captain who is rallying the troops and a coach who is giving them guidance and support. They are both essential and trusted parts of the team. Winning starts with passion! And stroke recovery begins with the survivor taking that passion to the doctors - or coaches - and working towards that common goal together.
If we see ourselves as part of a team, instead of patients and doctors, we perform better, because we’re working off of the same energy. I look to the doctors to HEAR ME and give me the right strategies to win. When I speak with a doctor, therapist – heck even to my insurance company, most of them have not had a stroke. They, however, know the theory by heart. But speaking about the theory is not what is needed to save ME from ME. A solid game plan, based on their knowledge and expertise of stroke, coupled with my goals and expertise on ME is what’s needed.
Communication and connection are what trust is made of. Stroke recovery is a slog and the path is long, complicated, and not at all straightforward. Not surprisingly, many abandon their therapies and give up hope.
In my personal journey, the doctors’ goals for me were much more modest than mine so I had to beg, borrow and steal to return to a much higher level of functionality than my doctors had
anticipated. We didn’t share the same game plan. Following your passions and staying motivated IS THE ONLY KEY for recovery – with your trusted coach walking alongside you. I believe in this wholeheartedly!
However, at the conference, there were also people from the health sector on the panel. I started to consider WHY my dream of “possibilities over prognoses” and “trust over theory” is not always possible. Time and resource constraints, organisational structures and priorities don’t always allow for patient-centred care. It also goes both ways. When I mentioned that we have to work as a team, another person said, “Yes, and the patients also have to trust us” (the doctors). Another great point! But how’s that possible…? Stroke, as we know, is debilitating. Some survivors lack the support, motivation and, ultimately, the will. I think the support of stroke survivors, groups and the village that surrounds them has to walk with them, lift them up and make darn sure that we don’t let anyone fall… that they find their passion and work like mad to realise their dreams, no matter what!
I felt the energy of everyone in that room – all of us wanting, needing, a system of trust. At the upcoming Tallinn 2023 Health Systems Conference this December, I hope that, together, we will be one step further.
It behoves us as a community - of survivors, therapists, healthcare professionals, and policymakers - to think of what is possible instead of what the diagnosis is.
You can connect more with Stacie here:
https://www.instagram.com/staciebroek
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