I just had the most amazing discussion with one of my smart, savvy colleagues and friends, Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum. She runs a heart health practice – a holistic preventative practice for women. We chatted a lot about the importance of advocating for yourself in healthcare to have the happy, healthy, ageless life you deserve.
Dr. Suzanne and I share some of the same philosophies to healthcare even though we’re in two separate fields. We both advocate total body care and prevention. In both of our fields, we find that women don’t understand the power they have to control their own health or the health of people they touch.
Women now is your time to advocate for a healthy, ageless, and vital life.
Women who open up, stand up, and amplify their voices to advocate for themselves is always great to see from a medical professional standpoint. Dr. Steinbaum believes that it’s important to change the entire paradigm, and change the entire system. She says, “It’s about having a place, having a platform, owning your power, and really owning your strength.”
Historically, as women, we’ve had to suck up a lot because we couldn’t amplify our own voices or be authentic in the way that women today can and should.
Now is the time to practice advocacy. Suzanne mentioned that 20 years ago when she began her practice colleagues told her that there was no such thing as heart disease in women – which is not true at all. The studies back then didn’t include women. They were male-dominated, as a lot of studies were, and so as we’re gathering this new information we need to adapt as a society, that includes medical professionals, but also you as a patient.
Something we’re taught in medical school is how to write a SOAP note and I love that Dr. Suzanne teaches her patients how to do this.
SOAP stands for:
- Subjective
- Objective
- Assessment
- Plan
According to the National Library of Medicine, “The SOAP note is a way for healthcare workers to document in a structured and organized way.”
Women, this is how your doctor thinks. Men have a very different way of processing and expressing information, and so for women, the SOAP note idea is incredibly valuable. Doctors can’t teach you how to speak medicine, but we can teach you to think the way doctors think.
Women are 51% of the population and if we want something, we must ask for it instead of just sitting back.
Recently, I also chatted with Dr. Juliana Houser, about this concept of agency, which is taking control of making decisions. That’s what Dr. Suzanne asks her own patients to do. She teaches them to speak to healthcare professionals in a way to communicate the facts better. I love that her approach is not just medical, but it’s educational and focuses on advocacy.
For all my authentic, Ajles readers, own your agency, and please advocate for your health in this way.
If you try this method, please let us know how empowered it made you feel and how successful you were in taking control of your own healthy, ageless, and vital life.
Come be a part of the conversation and the Ajles Life community or join us at our next Doyenne dinner to chat in person with like-minded, smart, savvy, and successful women.