Being Your Own Self Advocate

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Being Your Own Self Advocate

• A Key to Success in the Field of Healthcare

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Outline

• Cant means Wont
• Understanding your disability Recognizing your
  strengths and weaknesses
• How to adapt the healthcare environment to fit
  your needs
• Self-advocacy
• Clinical/ Co-op Experiences
• How and when to ask for help

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Cant Means Wont

• Sarah Stonier, June 3rd 1987.
• 3rd year University of New Brunswick, Bathurst
  Site, Nursing Student
• Diagnosed in 1997 with Dysgraphia
• Placed in special SLD program for Jr. High and
  High School.
• Accepted into UNB in 2005 with an entrance
  scholarship

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Understanding your disability

• What is your disability?
• How did you feel when you found out/realised that
  you had a disability?
• What have you learned about yourself through
  living with your disability?
• Can you describe your disability, to your self,
  to your friends, to your employer?
• How have you adapted your life, your home to fit
  the needs of your disability?

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Strengths Weakness

• What are your strengths?
• I have a helicopter brain I can connect the
  dots easily
• I connect well with patients, Im a good listener

• What are your weakness?
• I have poor hand writing, documenting is
  difficult
• Working in the OR would be difficult. Keeping
  count of surgical instruments and sponges is
  hard.

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Adapting the Health Care Environment

• What additional needs for your work environment
  do you have?
• What things are you bringing to the environment
  to help yourself?
• What do you need your employer to provide?

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Self-advocacy

• Step 1 Introducing Yourself
• Step 2 Explaining your Disability
• Step 3 Strengths vs. Weaknesses
• Step 4 Adaptations and accommodations
• Step 5 Expectations and Accomplishments

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Clinical/ Co-op Experiences

• Challenges and difficulties
• Frustrations
• Rewards

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How and When to Ask for Help

• Ask politely Please and Thank You
• I Me and You statements
• Ask for help after youve tried at least once
  with no success
• Ask for help when youre able to accomplish
  something, but need help to accomplish it faster
  due to a deadline.

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• Thank you!!!