Author: Sammy Daas of the Epsilon Beta chapter at the UNTHSC College of Pharmacy

Self-advocacy is one of the most powerful communication techniques we have, but it is also one of the most difficult to master. Being an effective advocate for yourself leads to improved career satisfaction, self-confidence, and mental health, and helps you build stronger personal and professional relationships. The broadest definition of self-advocacy is the ability to speak up for yourself. It is about knowing yourself and helping others to know you.

The broadest definition of self-advocacy is the ability to speak up for yourself.

Know yourself.

Nobody knows you better than you know yourself! Think about your goals, aspirations, and what you need to make your dreams happen. As students, this means understanding your learning style and identifying barriers to accomplishing your short-term goals. Assess your strengths and weaknesses, so that you can find ways to highlight or address them.

Know your worth.

A common reason for struggling to feel self-worth is imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome leads people to downplay their accomplishments and make excuses for their success because they believe that they don’t have the talent, skills, or ability to achieve success.

People who struggle with imposter syndrome have a persistent internalized fear of being exposed a fraud because they don’t feel as intelligent or competent as they outwardly portray themselves to be. They feel that they don’t deserve success and as a result are more likely to remain passive in situations where their needs are being neglected. Nobody can advocate for you better than you. You can’t effectively advocate for yourself if you don’t believe in yourself!

By taking a passive role in your own life, you are doing yourself a huge injustice. In an era of significant stress and burnout for healthcare professionals, self-advocacy is an important tool to take care of your mental health.

Communicate your needs.

Becoming an effective advocate for oneself is challenging because it takes great deal of confidence to challenge the status quo in a professional environment. In a 2023 survey of 2,100 women by Indeed and Luminary to assess workplace satisfaction, the most common reason they did not advocate for themselves was general shyness or anxiety (59%). It’s common to be afraid to ruffle feathers and it can be especially lonely and intimidating if it feels like nobody else shares your feelings. However, the alternative option is to suffer in silence, which can lead to burnout, and resentment of your colleagues.

As students, we have all felt like the only one to care about a group project. But, ask yourself if in those situations you expressed your feelings to the other group member(s). Had you spoken up more often, perhaps you wouldn’t have had to do the whole project on your own. Or, if you took the extra step to address why others might be experiencing barriers, then your team may be able to overcome them together to balance out the workload. Even if effective communication didn’t change anything, at least you’re not bottling up those emotions.

You can’t effectively advocate for yourself if you don’t believe in yourself!

In short, knowing yourself, knowing your worth, and communicating your needs is a fantastic way to begin practicing self advocacy. It can be tough as a pharmacy student, but I promise you will never regret speaking up for yourself in appropriate situations!