From “I Will” to I do.

Teach the commitment. Observe the behavior. Sustain the practice.

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COMMITMENT 01

I Will be a patient advocate.

Learning objective: Translate a patient’s expressed need into an accountable action.

1. Understand the commitment

Advocacy begins by asking what matters to the patient, then identifying what the organization must do. A leader connects the patient with the appropriate clinical or operational decision maker, explains the next step, and verifies that someone owns it. Respect informed choices, including a choice that differs from the team’s preference. Advocacy is not a promise to obtain every requested service; it is a commitment to a fair, responsive process.

Observable behaviors

Elicit the patient’s priority in their own words.
Assign an owner and a time for the next update.
Check whether the concern was resolved with the patient.

Describe a recent moment when this commitment was difficult. What could an observer have seen or heard you do?

2. Practice and reflect

A patient’s ordered imaging has been delayed twice. The family is anxious and nobody can explain who owns the next step. What should the leader do first?

Choose the strongest leadership response Tell the family the team is doing its best and wait. Clarify the patient’s concern, contact the responsible team, and agree on an owner and update time. Promise the examination will happen today without checking capacity or clinical urgency.

Read the facilitator’s explanation

A named owner and an agreed update make advocacy observable. Clinical urgency should be assessed by the appropriate clinician; a leader should not promise an unsupported outcome.

Reflect: Whose concern did you help resolve, and how did you verify that the response addressed what mattered to them?

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3. Observe and coach

Choose the behavioral level supported by your evidence. Unobserved commitments remain unscored.

Coach assessment1BeginningRecognizes an unmet need when prompted.2DevelopingEscalates a concern but needs help arranging follow-up.3ConsistentIndependently secures an owner, a timely update, and confirmation with the patient.4SustainingCoaches others and improves the advocacy process using recurring concern themes.

Evidence to look for

A de-identified concern, assigned owner, follow-up interval, and confirmation that the loop was closed.

Suggested process measure

Concerns with a documented owner and follow-up / concerns reviewed.

Evidence-informed teaching. Sources: [1] [3]

Kelly Emrick, DHSc, PhD, MBA