Finding Your Voice is a groundbreaking initiative that integrates patient advocacy, advance care planning and organ/tissue donation education. 

Created by Tiffany Christensen, author of Sick Girl Speaks (www.sickgirlspeaks.com) and James Brooks, Executive Director of Project Compassion, Finding Your Voice reaches patients, caregivers, consumers, healthcare students and professionals. 

Photo:  Tiffany Christensen, two-time double lung transplant recipient, advocates for organ/tissue donation with legislators at the NC State Legislature building.

In 2009, Finding Your Voice expanded statewide, reaching people in 17 cities across  NC.  In 2010 we will offer workshops and presentations for patients, caregivers, health care students and health care professionals. 

We are piloting a new Train the Trainer curriculum and workshop for community leaders.  Click here to find out more information on the first Finding Your Voice: Train the Trainer.

“Finding Your Voice in the Healthcare Maze” is a 3-part series for patients, caregivers and community members that helps participants learn how to be proactive patient advocates.

During one workshop series in Colfax, NC, participants focused in on the challenges patients face when they do not have an advocate.  As they discussed how difficult it is to make treatment choices, communicating end-of-life decisions and make organ/tissue donation wishes known without an advocate in place, several participants became deeply emotional.

Educating healthcare students and professionals is a cornerstone of Finding Your Voice. In 2009 over 1,000 future and current physicians, nurses, social workers and other health care professionals learned about the patient perspective, advocacy, advance care planning and organ/tissue donation through Finding Your Voice.

Remarkably, this vital information is seldom (and in many cases never) part of their professional or continuing education.