Making an Impact: Residents Leading the Way in Radiotherapy Advocacy
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
What does it take to turn a passion for radiotherapy advocacy into a campaign that creates real impact? GCR Resident Partners Co-Chair Joaquín Carlos Ferrer Criado shared his experience with launching a successful national campaign from Uruguay for World Radiotherapy Awareness Day (WRAD).
In a meeting for the GCR Resident Partners, Dr. Ferrer Criado described how he coordinated a small multi-disciplinary team to get this campaign off the ground, with no budget.
Listen to his 10 minute presentation here, and learn how you can get started with your own advocacy campaign:
PATIENTS AT THE CENTER
Outlining the practical steps necessary for this kind of advocacy is important, but not the most important thing. Dr. Ferrer Criado shared why patient voices are essential.
"I think that having patients speak for themselves rather than professionals speaking about them, changed the tone of the whole campaign. It stopped being about doctors explaining their technology, and it became a community talking about something that affects them." - Joaquín Carlos Ferrer Criado
Dr. Sandra Turner, Co-Chair of WRAD presented on World Radiotherapy Awareness Day, highlighting Uruguay's successful nationwide campaign as an example for others to follow, while emphasizing the importance of patient involvement.
"The Uruguayans just showcase perfectly the use of media and the power of all forms of media; and consistency: speaking with one voice, repeating messages, keeping it simple- is always more effective. Using patient stories is very, very powerful." - Sandra Turner
ADVOCACY AND THE GCR
GCR Executive Director Darien Laird concluded the meeting encouraging participants to use the GCR Advocacy Toolkit as a playbook to build their own campaign.
"Every voice is important. You can start small. It can be the social media posts, it can be the staff meetings. We have wonderful GCR resident partners all over the world who are already engaging, and we want you to be next. We want you to join Joaquin, follow his lead, and talk with him about ideas.” - Darien Laird
Join the GCR Resident Partners by signing up on our Contact page and indicating your interest in participating.
Get involved with WRAD activities on September 7th. Check out their website:
Watch the full meeting here:
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