Every life science company wants to help the people they serve become more confident and engaged managers of their health
But doing so means connecting with them in meaningful ways based on shared trust
Plucky
(adj.) having or showing determined courage in the face of difficulties
If every person who faced disease or trauma were plucky, our healthcare system would be in a much better place. But many people can find it difficult to meet their condition with courage and tenacity, at least on their own. That's why the life science industry provides patient engagement specialists who help nurture the type of patient behaviors that lead to better health outcomes.
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In doing this, the life science industry notably seeks to put the patient at the center of such relationships. But addressing just patient needs and values ignores the fact that creating an authentic connection requires a shared trust bond. This means centering the needs and values of the relationship that's created by both parties... the patient as well as the clinicians and agents who engage with them on the industry's behalf.
This is relationship centricity.
"...I think that’s what I like about plucky. It’s a word that engenders something that’s more realistic and obtainable. There are many patients who tenaciously battle disease but will always lack the confidence and energy to describe themselves as 'relentless' or 'unstoppable'... But they may have enough resolve to see themselves as plucky"
We can help you nurture authentic relationship-centric connections built on shared trust
Specialists who engage with patients on behalf of the life science industry can find the work rewarding, but also challenging and ethically ambiguous. Relationship centricity can address this.
"So it's really rewarding to hear patients say, ‘I appreciate that you're calling... I'm feeling better because of what you told me. I have a new outlook on life because of this’ For me, that's the reward, is leaving somebody better than you found them.”*
Nadine
(pharma telephonic nurse educator)
"There is no little pharma bird on the wall listening to everything we say. So, it becomes an ethical question. What do I do ethically? Where is my first responsibility? Is it to this patient or is it to this drug company?"*
Iris
(pharma field nurse educator)
"You know, you either fail your patient or you fail the compliance. With the regulations as strict as they are, often I left the session feeling like the patient really didn’t get what they needed…that’s the kind of patient that eventually fails treatment... because they didn’t understand."
Vivian
(pharma field nurse educator)
*Barshinger, T.A. (2020) Interpretations of communication experiences of pharmaceutical-sponsored clinical educators (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertation and Theses database (UMI No. 28086978)
