An assertive person as defined by Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary is someone who behaves confidently and is not frightened to say what he or she wants or believes. People who are not assertive are passive while assertive ones tend to be aggressive.
As for me, I tend to be passive because I concern myself too much about what the other person thinks or feels. Most of the time I regret why I didn’t express what I really feel. That’s why I’m trying my best to be assertive in all situations including my interactions with health care providers. Being assertive makes me feel good about myself.
I’m glad I came across a book entitled ‘Stand Up, Speak Out, Talk Back: The Key to Self-assertive Behavior’ by Robert Alberti and Michael Emmons when I was in high school. It was published a long time ago but the principles in the book are timeless. These principles helped me clearly state what I really want to tell with respect to myself and the other person.
These are some of the principles I got from the book that I apply in dealing with medical care practitioners:
1. Have a positive self-concept.
Having a good self-concept is having a positive view of one’s self. Patients tend to be shy in expressing their opinion to doctors, midwives or nurses because they are aware that these medical care practitioners studied for their profession but it doesn’t mean that they are perfect. They can commit mistakes too. That is why patients have to express their opinions and feelings especially when they are not sure of the procedure they’re going to do with their medical care practitioners. Patients should not let their medical care practitioners assume that they agree to everything.
2. Be aware of your rights.
You don’t think you are inferior or superior to another person. It means you are equal to that person as a human being. Remember if you are not satisfied with your health care provider, you have the right to get a second opinion.
According to Section 4 of the ‘Magna Carta of Patient’s Rights and Obligations', these are the rights of every patient:
a. Right to appropriate medical care and humane treatment
b. Right to informed consent
c. Right to privacy and confidentiality
d. Right to information
e. The right to choose health care provider and facility
f. Right to self-determination
g. Right to religious belief
h. Right to medical records
i. Right to leave
j. Right to refuse in medical research
k. Right to correspondence and receive visitors
l. Right to express grievances
m. Right to be informed of his rights and obligations as patients
3. Remember that what you utter is equally important to how you communicate.
Before seeing my doctor, I write down a list of questions to ask because I tend to forget. I tell my doctor what I really feel and I also tell her my concerns. It’s important to know what to say but patients shouldn’t just focus on what to tell their health care provider. How to tell something to them is equally important. Patients should speak clearly and they should look at the person in the eye. Of course, patients should remain respectful and avoid demeaning their health care providers.
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