Speaker fees are how I fund my work, allowing me to do the research and learning that inform my talks, and allowing my participation on behalf of patients in policy meetings in Washington.
I want to be hired for more speaking engagements, so I’d like to share some feedback I just got.
Today I delivered the keynote address at the 13th annual ICSI/IHI Colloquium. ICSI is the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement, and IHI is the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Both are magnificent organizations of smart caring people devoted to, well, Improvement. :–)
In the audience was Jim Conway MD, Senior VP of IHI, a tremendous speaker himself. Afterward, he wrote:
“Your content was great, your slides most impressive, and your delivery spectacular. I have no doubt – there are many in the room who are in a different place now because of you.”
That’s my purpose in every talk: to leave people in a different condition than when they walked in. My goal is to awaken new possibilities, speaking on behalf of patients everywhere – I’d even dare to say, I aim to leave people with a different view of life.
Kent Bottles MD, President of ICSI, followed up the next day with these kind words:
“e-Patient Dave gave the best keynote I have heard in years at the ICSI conference in the Twin Cities. If you want to learn and cry, book him.”
On May 12 on the ICSI blog Kent’s colleague Gary Oftedahl MD added:
“…shaking those of us in health care up to the need to pay attention, and ‘use’ the expertise and experiences of our patients. I’ve heard no one in over 30 years in medicine who has so passionately and personally captured the essence of this powerful message”
If your organization would like to hire me:
I was a clinic administrator sitting in that audience today during your talk and I agree with Mr. Conway that your talk was very good.
I intended to be there as a health care provider learning skills that I can put into practice in the clinic I lead. However, today was different.
Just before leaving I spoke to my childhood friend who has a son the same age as my son (16 yrs old). Her son is in the final stage of dying of a brain tumor. This family has spent almost every minute of the last 18 months fighting against cancer to save this boys life. They have traveled across country in search of something that will help keep their boy alive. Unfortunately, there is nothing more that can be done.
This morning as I was driving to the conference, I received a text from his mom asking me (since I’m in healthcare) if I knew of a massage therapist that could come to their house to do massage for his aching muscles. He’s having very long seizures and is immobile at this point. His tired muscles ache and he needs this small gift of massage to help him find comfort from the pain of this illness. Unfortunately mom is so tired and can’t provide the kind of support he needs.
I was thinking how heartbreaking it is that we as healthcare providers do not put enough attention on some of the “easy” stuff that really makes a difference to patients. Your comments about how it made a difference just to be involved and feel empowered during your illness made so much sense to me.
If we really take the time to stop and listen to our patients and find out what they really need, it could have such an impact. Whether it’s hearing that a tired, sad mom who is about to lose her beloved son needs some help finding a simple resource at the end of his life, or helping a desperate patient get a complete copy of his medical record to take to a specialist, or just understanding that a patient needs and wants to be involved in the decision making processes related to his illness…it’s all so important, so simple, and can have a great impact on our patients.
I appreciate the reminder that you gave all of us today about how important patient involvement is. Patients need to have the ability to be as involved as they want to be and we (healthcare providers) have to get comfortable allowing that involvement. Thank you for sharing your story. It does make a difference!
Amy, thank you for your heartfelt note. I’m almost in tears thinking of your friend’s family.
Please drop me a note (see my contact page) about where she lives.