Mastering Communication

Effective communication is a crucial skill for patient advocates, yet many face difficulties in conveying their messages to doctors, NGOs, and the public. Common obstacles include translating complex information into simpler terms, engaging effectively with the media, and improving public speaking skills. To address these challenges, the PatientAdvocacy.Academy 2024 dedicated its program to strengthening these key competencies, empowering advocates to make a stronger impact. By the end of the training, participants felt confident and prepared to share their mission with clarity and influence.

How did PAA 2024 actually look like?

We have planned a 21-day program featuring a variety of activities designed to maximize benefits, while also allowing for participation that can be easily balanced with daily responsibilities and professional work.

1.      1-to-1 preliminary online meetings

This year, we continued our 1-to-1 preliminary meetings to boost engagement. These brief sessions help us connect with participants, understand their challenges, and tailor the Academy's content to their needs. This personalized approach enhances participation, especially for newcomers, and gives returning participants a chance to reflect on their progress, making these meetings a key part of the Academy’s success.

2.      Engaging video content

The PAA 2024 featured 10 video lectures, addressing key communication issues. The videos covered both the theoretical foundations of communication with various individuals and entities, as well as practical skills in public speaking and self-presentation.

To enhance accessibility, we provided English subtitles and, at participants' request, added Russian and Ukrainian dubbing using AI.

Supplementary materials like charts and infographics enriched the learning experience, and participants often paused the videos to explore additional content, showcasing its practical relevance.

3.      Educational materials

Each video lecture included additional resources to help participants apply their learning in their organizations: a printable PDF exercise and a short 5-question quiz. The exercises helped create actionable solutions, while the quizzes offered a quick and engaging way to reinforce key concepts.

4.      Online video circles

Through online coaching circles, we fostered a strong sense of unity among participants, enabling them to learn from each other, share motivation, and give valuable feedback. This edition featured two online meetings:

Session 1: Participants shared impactful success stories and insights on mastering communication.

Session 2: The "elevator pitch" challenge – a 1-minute pitch scenario with the Health Minister. Feedback from peers and trainers highlighted each pitch's strengths and areas for improvement.

5.      Ongoing communication on Facebook group

A key element of each edition is the ongoing group discussions. Due to participant requests, we moved from Slack to a private Facebook group where participants shared experiences, discussed video lectures, offered insights, and showcased the achievements of their patient organizations.

6.      Individual mentoring sessions

This year, participants had 1-on-1 mentoring sessions with trainers, addressing real challenges within their patient organizations. These personalized meetings provided focused attention, allowing trainers to collaborate on practical, tailored solutions.

Improvements in communication skills

To assess the Academy's effectiveness, we conduct surveys at the beginning and end of each course. This year’s results reveal a marked improvement in participants' communication skills. Post-course ratings significantly exceeded pre-course ones, showing our goals have been met.

Participants rated their communication skills at 4.7 (out of 10) before the course and 8.8 after, indicating a 87% increase in self-assessed abilities.

To learn the participants' opinions, after completing the Academy, we asked them a few questions about the course in the form of an anonymous survey. We are glad that the Academy again received a very high rating! All opinions and suggestions will be used to prepare even better training next year!

“This was my second year in the academy. And I have the intention to continue applying for the academy, because the topics dealt in the academy are different every year. The videos are of great quality, and they are easy to follow. It is obvious how much experience Kamila, Bernadeta and Adrian have. (...) they answer all the questions you have and even find the time to make 1 on 1 meetings if someone has the need to discuss some additional topics or questions...”

Kornelije Juranić, Hrvatska Anderson Fabry udruga

“Firstly, I want to thank the organizers of this awesome online Patient Advocacy Academy 2024 training and the instructors for their intellectual teachings. This training will help many understand communication in the patient advocacy field. I am thrilled by how the training exercises were done. Thank you for imparting this wealth of knowledge to a group of patients and patient organizations. This online training was very beneficial to me and relevant in my career field. It will help me enormously. I enjoyed all the sessions of the training. Thank you for the opportunity to learn.”

Bianca Özcan, Multiple Sclerosis Namibia

If you want to learn more about PatientAdvocacy.Academy 2024, please click here to check our report in the PDF file.