Advanced practice provider Stephanie McDonald, FNP-BC, AOCNP, shares how she empowers patients to take an active leadership role in their care. She explains why patients, not clinicians, are the true experts in their lived experience, and how reinforcing that understanding builds trust, strengthens communication, and supports shared decision-making.
Transcript
Stephanie McDonald, FNP-BC, AOCNP:
I empower my patients by making sure that they understand that they are empowered. They are the ones who are at the center of their own medical team. Many patients really end up deferring to their providers or the expertise of their medical team. But I always like to remind my patients and their families that they just know so much more about their own unique medical situation, and they’re the ones who are the best in tune with their own bodies and the symptoms that they have.
So I really try to empower them to be able to embrace that role as the center or the lead of the medical team. And really, our role as the APP or the medical provider is to really encourage them to be able to ask questions and to really never be afraid to speak up about any concerns that they have or about their own health or what their treatment plan is. Like Dr. Sands has said and has taught me, like, we always want to walk in the room, and before a patient leaves, I want to make sure that they know that they’re the captain of the ship. We’re here to listen to them and allow them to ask questions.
I pride myself on really getting to know my patients inside and out from day one, getting to know them, getting to know their families, starting to build rapport and a really trusting relationship from the beginning. And I think over time, that relationship helps facilitate these meaningful and difficult discussions that are to be had along their disease trajectory. And it really helps understand what’s truly important to our patients and their families and to really continuously provide holistic, comprehensive care within their goals. And I think that is what’s truly important to be able to empower our patients.