
Hello all! This isn’t a typical blog post. But I wanted to share someplace our clients, patients, and followers could EASILY access my TEDx talk.
For those of you who don’t know, in October 2018, I was invited to give a TEDx talk at the University of Waterloo. I applied back in April (ish) 2018, on a whim. And had NO idea what I was in for. I had it on my bucket list to give a TEDx talk one day. I just didn’t expect it to be so soon! The application deadline was quickly coming to an end when I heard of the event. So I applied with an idea that was near and dear to my heart, and very different than what I ever thought I would speak on a TEDx stage about (hello, didn’t you think I’d be up there about gut health? Well let me tell you I worked a few things in 😉 )
How I put my idea together
As I worked on putting my idea together, I realized what I ACTUALLY do doesn’t have much to do with specific science. It comes down to the art of connection, something I felt was discouraged in my training. Or rather, focused on ‘building rapport’. A fancy way of saying ‘learn a bit about the patient, build their trust, but still, wear your ‘health professional mask’.
How did my career as a registered dietitian start out?
I worked in the hospital at the beginning of my career. I thought I was doing ‘everything right’ but was constantly frustrated with what I felt was occasional small wins. But mostly, feeling like I wasn’t making a huge difference. As I got more comfortable with what I did, especially as I worked in cirrhosis care and oncology, I started to change how I communicated with patients.
In turn, it transformed the way I gave patients care. It didn’t happen over night, but I realized, you have to GIVE to get. You have to connect with people FIRST if you want to make an impact. YES, my background in science matters. BUT. To make it matter to patients, you need to master the art of human connection first.
In my TEDx talk, I talk about this skill. As well as what YOU can do to navigate complex nutrition messages online!
Without further ado, here’s my TEDx talk – Quit Killing Human Connection with Science: Making Patient Care Meaningful
Andrea Hardy does speaking and media work in addition to her client work at Ignite Nutrition. To find out more visit www.andreahardyrd.com
Categorized: Food Relationship, Gut Health & IBS, Healthy Eating, Women's Health