Perseverance: YOU Be that One in a Million!: Life Radio Show with Deirdre Gilbert

by Dr. Margaret Aranda

I was just on Talk Radio with Deirdre Gilbert from Website and I must say it was informative,
inspirational, and motivating. I am simply humbled by her wisdom and life experiences.

We need to work to change the laws that we can change such as Tort Law state-by-state, and we need to help ourselves so that we can be helped. Her book, Can I Have Just a Little Bit? is available through her website and is certain to make you laugh and cry. Go here for the ebook.

I mentioned the Medicine X Stanford program that recognizes patients who educate themselves on the internet as e-patients; patients who later educate others on a disease process as e-scholars, and patients who both have the illness and teach about it as being e-scholar/patients. I suggest that maybe one way for patients to stay out of harm's way is to educate themselves, as serve as referrals for other patients who are looking for real answers to their questions. Too many mothers have been diagnosed with psychosomatic illnesses like Münchausen Syndrome by Proxy because the mother's believed the ailments of their child yet the doctor's didn't believe the mothers. But things are changing, and Stanford, my Alma Mater, is poised to take the lead. It's ok to educate yourself on the internet. It's ok to talk to your friends or FaceBook friends who have similar symptoms and complaints. It's ok to help them reach a diagnosis or find a local doctor you have used and trust. Stanford is empowering us to become e-patients and e-scholars and we love it! Thank you to Program Director Larry Chu, MD, Department of Anesthesiology, for taking the lead and empowering patients to take their own health care into their own hands. We need to do that.

It was a joy to have John James on the Program, too, talking about Tort Reform and his book, A Sea of Broken Hearts: Patient Rights in a Dangerous Health Care System, which is available on Amazon.com. He also recommended the American Medical Association website to view the 6 points to know the major points of Informed Consent. "The AMA's focus on patient's rights begins with the first national Patient's Bill of Rights day on 15 July 1998. Grassroots activities to inform the public, from news conferences to newspaper ads, were held across the country by state, county, and local medical societies" See History Timeline Here

The off-label use of drugs when given to a patient were discussed as topics for future discussion, as well as Gag Orders that are placed on patients. Looking forward to talking more about Informed Consent, Ethical Considerations, and Women's Health Issues.

In all, I know that God has a purpose and that He will guide us and lead us in His ways.

Never forget that there is Hope.

There is a future.

We can and we should make things better.

I believe that it is our obligation and our mission.

I know it's mine.