Hopefully you have received the survey we have been sending to PPALS alumni and other interested parties. We are trying to measure the interest in establishing a Master’s in Patient Advocacy Program. In our efforts to educate patient advocates and pharma companies on the need and importance of the role we believe a professional degree is the next step. It would be an on-line program based at a nationally known US university. The survey is attached to this blog. Please complete it if you haven’t already and please feel free to share it with others who would be interested in a Masters in Patient Advocacy degree. The survey link.
We hope your summer is going well and that you have enjoyed some time off with friends and families. Jean Campbell and I were in Ireland for 10 days with her family and friends. Her siblings are as much fun as Jean so we had a great time! Jayne wasn’t with us but made sure we felt her presence. This is the first restaurant we ate at in Ireland.
The third annual PPALS course is in the books!! It was our highest attendance ever. We had to use a second hotel as we exceeded our block at the hotel. We had a great diversity in attendees from across the patient community and pharma companies. Some new speakers this year brought additional perspectives. The evaluations were excellent and we are already planning next year’s conference.
For those of you looking to add an adventure to your next PPALS visit to South Dakota consider this:
After the course of studies five of us took a road trip to Rapid City, SD to see the sites in western South Dakota. We stopped at Wall Drugs (famous local landmark known for 5 cent coffee). It was cloudy and foggy when we reached the Badlands which added an out– of– this –world feel. The next day we visited Mount Rushmore… twice. First time it was totally fogged in and we couldn’t see anything. The second time the fog was gone and it was spectacular. We also visited the Crazy Horse monument and learned about the amazing family building it. My east coast traveling partners were amazed at the 80mph speed limit until they realized the wide –open spaces between cars and towns along the way.
Are you going to Global Genes this year? It will be October 2-5 in Irvine, CA. Would you be up for a PPALS alumni reunion in the bar one of those evenings? It would be fun to get everybody together for a quick hello and update on your activities. Let us know if you are interested.
Next steps:
– complete the Masters interest program survey
-share the survey with advocates that you know
-let us know if you are interested in a PPALS get together at Global Genes
Stay cool, enjoy the rest of the summer and stay tuned for more PPALS news.
