As we are thinking about how to more fully bring the voices of patients to the Social Media Summit in Rochester in October, we realize that it can be difficult for patients to participate in an event like this.
We have Dave DeBronkart, Kelly Young and Tom Vanderwell among our Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media Advisory Board members because we want to be sure to have patient perspectives included. And while in one sense we are all patients, many of us also have job responsibilities that are our primary identity in the healthcare world. Those of us employed in healthcare typically have work-related sources of funds to cover costs of event registration and travel.
That’s why I’m excited that we have identified a funding source to provide a limited number of scholarships for patient advocates and caregivers to attend the Summit and related events Oct. 17-21, 2011.
Scholarships are available to individuals who:
- have already demonstrated a strong commitment to enhancing health and healthcare delivery via patient empowerment; and
- have not, because of financial constraints, been able to attend this type of conference.
These individuals would include those who have been engaged with the patient experience, either as a patient or caregiver.
The Center for Social Media is now taking applications for five full scholarships to the Social Media Summit, Social Media Health Network member meeting and Social Media Residency. The scholarships will cover registration fees/tuition for the recipients to attend all three events and will also pay airfare and lodging costs. Each recipient may bring one companion to participate in the events at no charge, but travel costs for the companion are not included in the prize.
Applicants are required to complete a brief application and submit a 400-700 word essay telling your patient/caregiver story. Describe how your participation would serve the greater good of the health community during and after the conference. How would you hope to contribute to the conference discussion as a participant? What do you hope to learn?
Please also describe your experience using social media tools such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and blogs. Patients and caregivers interested in the strategic use of social media to enhance health and healthcare but who have not yet become active are also encouraged to apply.
Recipients will be chosen though a combination of a public, crowd-sourced vote on essays as well as evaluation of applications by a panel drawn from the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media Advisory Board.
Applicants’ essays will be posted on Mayo Clinic’s new social networking community site, and the top 15 essays from the community vote will become finalists, from which the judging panel will select five winners.
To enter:
- Download and complete the Official Application.
- Submit your signed application along with your essay by Aug. 15, 2011. Essays should be sent via email to socialmediacenter@mayo.edu. Application forms may be scanned and emailed or sent via fax. See the Official Contest Rules for further details.
Note: If you are or have been a patient at any Mayo Clinic or Mayo Health System facility, you also will need to complete the Authorization To Release Protected Health Information in order for us to publish your essay.
We’re excited to be able to offer these scholarships, and look forward both to the contest and to having the recipients participate on a discussion panel at a general session during the Social Media Health Network member meeting on Oct. 19.
If you have questions about the process for the contest or anything related to the Summit, please ask them in the comments below or send them via email.
Please help spread the word about this contest to help involve patients and caregivers in the Social Media Summit. If you know someone who would be a good candidate, please encourage submission of an essay and application. We see social media tools having power to help patients and to make healthcare more patient-centered, and we hope this event will contribute toward that goal.
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Lee Aase
Shawn Bishop
Randy Schwarz
Makala Johnson
Joyce Groenke
Joel Streed
Dana Sparks
Polly Gilgenbach
Ronald Petrovich
Stacy Theobald
Susana Shephard
Alyson Fleming
Jason Pratt
paulspeyser
mayoclinic
Farris Timimi
Happy to see how far a short encounter during a conference can lead!
Last month in Paris, at the http://www.doctors20.com international conference on how health professionals use the internet and social media, I met Dr. Montori and after introductions and congratulations on his excellent presentation of social media at Mayo, I told him that I would very much appreciate to attend the Mayo Clinic Social Media Summit, about which I had read so enthusiastic comments during last year’s live tweeting.
I also informed him that I had already enquired about the possibility of scholarships to facilitate the participation of patients to which I had not yet at that time received an answer. I was surprised to see tonight the following in my twitter timeline
From @vmontori
@MayoClinic: Scholarship contest for patients & caregivers to attend #MCCSM Social Media Summit mayocl.in/rtdDGx @kgapo @ePatientDave
Thank you Dr. Montori for remembering our short exchange and both you and Lee Aase for taking action!
I am delighted to hear of the Patient, Caregiver Scholarship Contest for Social Media Summit!
I am a survivor, and president of Encephalitis Global Inc., a registered charity in the USA. I am also a resident of Canada.
As I am not a USA resident, would it be permitted for me to apply for this Scholarship?
I checked with our legal advisors, and because of conflicting laws in various other countries we need to limit the scholarship contest to U.S. residents. I will be in touch via email with some further details and options to consider.
Like Wendy, I too am a resident of Canada, but unlike Wendy, when I applied in 2008 to attend Mayo Clinic’s ‘WomenHeart Science & Leadership Symposium for Women With Heart Disease’, I was accepted (all expenses paid) – the first Canadian ever invited to attend this Symposium.
I’m really hoping that your legal team reconsiders this restrictive decision – particularly given that social media is by definition ‘without borders’.
Cheers,
C.
I believe the scholarships in that case were provided by the WomenHeart organization, and the event was held at Mayo Clinic.
So is that an official “No”?
I AM 5 YEARS PAST THE STORM OF ENCEPHALITIS,,AND THE RISIDUALS ARE A CONSTANT BATTLE IN DAILY LIFE,THERE IS NO ONE TO TALK TO OR ANYONE THAT UNDERSTANDS UNLESSS U WALK IN OUR SHOES.I WOULD RREALY HOPE TO SEE WENDY STATION ATTEND AND BRING MORE AWARENESS TO THIS HORRIFIC BATTLE WE DEAL WITH..GOOD LUCK WENDY..FOR ALL OF US
I am a survivor of an extreme case of Guillain Barre Syndrome. I am three years out of the “storm” but residuals run deep. This contest may be a wondeful way how I, as a patient can not only tell my story and truly begin the healing process but also shed some insight for other people who have had the disease, their family members, and Doctors as well as all in the health care field that find themselves confronted with this bizarre and VERY rare disease.
sincerely,
Guillain Barr Girl
jen barber gets my vote
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Jen Barber gets my vote!
I love what Carolyn says about social media being without borders..I have found this to be so very true. I live in Ireland but in the two and half years since setting up my blog Journeying Beyond Breast Cancer, I have connected with and learned from women with experience of breast cancer from all over the world. My primary audience is from the USA and most people who read my blog never realise that I am from Ireland. My own cancer advocacy has been informd, enriched and expanded by connecting with my american counterparts. Although sadly I am not eligible to apply myself, I will certainly spread the word about this very worthwhile scholarship via Journeying Beyond Breast Cancer, and I look forward to reading all about the experience when the delegates return from the Summit.
I hope the committee will reconsider its decision regarding Wendy Station’s inquiry about the impact of her Canadian citizenship on her eligibility for a scholarship. A very large percentage of those who benefit from Wendy’s brainchild – Encephalitis Global – are in the US, and I am among them. In fact, the other significant source of information and support for encephalitis patients is located in the UK (The Encephalitis Society). I believe it was the lack of a north american counterpart to the Encephalitis Society that led Wendy to want to form EG.
Because Wendy’s work so directly helps US patients and caregivers, I believe the committee should reverse its prior decision to exclude Canadians from the scholarship. Warmest regards, Nicola Nelson, J.D.
Thank you for your note. I have passed on your thoughts and someone will get back to you.
Along with Ms. Nelson, I sincerely hope you treat Ms. Station’s application as a valid one. Her work is invaluable and is a model of social media.
I have just checked the relevant statutes in Canada. You are correct that if Ms. Station were a resident of Quebec, there could potentially be a problem. However, Ms. Station is a resident of British Columbia, which has no such restrictions.
Please consider her application without prejudice. Her work benefits hundreds of us in the United States.
Dale D. Hunter, Ph.D., J.D.
Surprised to read “because of conflicting laws in various other countries we need to limit the scholarship contest to U.S. residents”.
Which can be the laws that do not allow e.g. a European citizen to attend a US conference? There isn’t one as far as I have experienced attending several US conferences and congresses, among them the big oncology US congresses. Unless, this concerns this specific conference…
I would more consider it as an attempt to cut down on airfare cost from far out countries…
There are no laws preventing attendance. The problem, according to our attorneys, is that some countries or jurisdictions within countries have regulations on contests and giveaways like this. As I understand it, Quebec in Canada is one such example. Airfare costs were not the concern; the concern is that violations of a contest-related law in some other country could lead to fines or other legal issues. That is why we needed to limit eligibility to U.S. residents.
Hi Lee – couldn’t we just find out if our province has restrictive regulations like Quebec does?
My caregiver story does not involve treatment at the Mayo Clinic. Is treatment at the clinic part of the eligibility for caregivers? Can you tell me if 700 is the absolute maximum for the essay. Mine is a bit longer.
Thanks.
Thank you for your note. It is not necessary for you to have treatment at Mayo Clinic to be eligible for the essay contest. We would be happy to have you submit your essay. The application deadline is midnight tonite.
Iam an Indian. I would like to participate in the contest. As far as my knowledge is concerned there is no Law barring us to participate in such a contest. Afterall this is for the sake of Humanity. These type of contests will encourage people to help suffering patients.
Awesome!
Wendy Station gets my vote.
Wow I just heard about the Social Media Summit and the contest to win a scholarship by a tweet when the countdown was 6 hours! I prayed about it and then just DID it!
Excited
I’m Mexican and I was also writing my essay to participate until I read that it was for US residents only. I am diagnosed CREST and Fybromialgia and have been under treatment in my country but I already have my appointment to attend Mayo Clinic next month.
A few months ago I participate on a FB contest organized by the Asociacion Argentina de Esclerodermia y Raynaud on submiting a picture on “How you use your hands” I won! I couldn´t attend personally to the event but it was nice to share with other Scleroderma patients on how I manage to continue doing what I like to do despite the illness.
Hope limitation to US citizen can be reconsidered. We foreigners also want to help to spread the word, give hope and learn from other patients, social networks are global…. make this event global!
Regards and best wishes for the major success.
Carmen Baez
I, too, ask you to reconsider your restriction on Wendy Station’s entry and eligibility for the Social Media Summit scholarship. Wendy is a resident of British Columbia, not Quebec. Is British Columbia a “problem” province, too?
Her work has been unparalleled and of immeasurable assistance and encouragement to both survivors and caregivers of those who have suffered the assualt of encephalitis. She has not limited her compassion to Canadians, she has opened her forum to anyone around the world. We are now 1,237 people who are indeed a virtual community… a touchstone in a sea of ignorance about the aftermath of encephalitis. Without Wendy’s work so many of us — most of us in the USA — would be iscolated and alone. She has helped connect us and the Encephalitis Global Community has brought us hope and a brighter tomorrow.
Fr. Bob Morris, Episcopal Priest, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
I would like to place a vote for Martha Garrett. She is an ideal representative for patients with Multiple Sclerosis, who has lived so very victoriously combating this disease. She is a beautiful inspiration to others and continues to bolster them with her encouragement and concern.
In anxious expectation
to know who the 15 finalists are for the Mayo Clinic Social Media Contest for Scholarships? If I just count the most “likes” for each essay I am delighted to see that I’m #15 (was #14 yesterday.. the amounts keep changing) but they’ve said that that part of the contest is completed. Wondering if they will let the finalists know or if they are actually waiting till they pick the 5 who will get the scholarships?
This site is growing on me.. I’m enjoying interacting with people on the discussion boards. Just need more people “friends” to engage with. I realize this will come with time.
Thanks
Martha Garrett My Essay is in there
I was hospitalized and did not make the deadline for the essay; however I and John will be attending the Social Media Conference.
So . . . who are the winners?