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A rewarding way for
community volunteers to get involved
with MayView is to train to become a
patient advocate, a popular volunteer
position.
Patient
Advocate Training Program
A strong element of care at MayView is
providing information, prevention
education and support that will enable
our patients to make responsible
decisions about their health and to
become more informed health care
consumers. We engage our patients as
equal partners in the health care
process. This approach, promoted through
our unique Patient Advocate Program, is
particularly important for our high-risk
patient population‚ those most likely
to enter the medical system with little
or no preventive care.
The PA (patient advocate) serves as the
patient's ally and friend during the
clinic appointment. An advocate
understands that medicine is a team
effort combining medical information and
diagnosis with patient education. This
model motivates good health practices
and compliance with the treatment
program on the part of the patient, by
making them a partner in their
own health care.
We provide two trainings a year for
volunteers in the community to become
patient advocates at our clinics. The
trainings cover the philosophy of
patient advocacy, general in-take and
patient history, taking height, weight,
and temperature and acting as a support
person for patient advocate staff
members by providing additional health
education and social services resources.
Our program is one of the few
model programs to provide this type of
health care in Santa Clara County. A
four-session curriculum, followed by
in-clinic training, is a requirement for
volunteer participation. Patient
advocates are asked to commit to serving
for four hours a week for a year after
the training session. Through this
specialized training program, MayView
provides a unique opportunity for
members of the community to learn
first-hand about primary care in a
community-based clinic.
By introducing individuals interested in
the
health care profession to the concept
of involving patients in their health
care, we create a model for a
patient-centered orientation to
treatment, increasing awareness of
patient rights and of the difficulty
low-income and monolingual patients have
in finding accessible, affordable and
relevant medical care.
Interested in becoming a MayView
volunteer?
Contact us for more
information, or if you would rather make
a donation we will tell you how.
Online contributions |
