We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Claudia Cometa a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Claudia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?
After graduating from pharmacy school in 2003, I entered the workforce bright eyed and busy tailed ready to start my career. While I hoped I was making an impactful difference in the lives of patients, I was faced with a life event that highlighted how blissfully ignorant I was. My father was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2016 and for the first time of any significance in my life, I was thrust onto the other side of the healthcare equation. As I geared up for battle in my father’s ICU room, I glanced around the cold and sterile space only to see patients in ICU beds alone, without a loved one present, without anyone advocating for them. I was in disbelief as I attentively and proactively monitored my father’s labs and imaging results, wondering who was doing the same for the other patients. And for the first time in my life, I made a heart-centered decision rather than an analytical one and I started my private patient advocacy company. My path became guided by my favorite quote by Ram Dass, “We are all just walking each other home.”
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a clinical pharmacist turned healthcare consultant and patient advocate. Facing my father’s cancer journey turned my life upside down and served as the catalyst for starting Peace Advocacy Group in 2017. We meet clients where they are on their own healthcare journey, lock arms with them, and walk them through each step of the process to ultimately move towards their wellness goals. This looks very different for each client. For some, it looks like meeting them in their ICU room at the hospital and communicating with their medical team to ensure they have a voice in their care and no red flags go unnoticed. For others, it means guiding them on the treatment options they have been presented with and helping them evaluate which feels most aligned with their goals.
I am most proud of the impact I have had on my clients. My first client in 2017 called me a few months after we worked together to tell me I was doing the work I was meant to do. That brought me to tears and, honestly, still does.
Another client shared the following testimonial:
“Stop looking and hire Claudia.
I firmly believe my mother would not have had a good outcome if not for Claudia’s involvement.”
Creating peace and clarity in healthcare – it’s what our team does and we pride ourselves on our unconditional commitment to our clients.
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
Many healthcare professionals enter the field of patient advocacy with the same mindset they had in their previous job. Advocacy requires a significant shift in how we approach healthcare. Our clients are no longer interested in our degrees, titles, or letters after our names. Instead, they want to know we are compassionate humans of high integrity who they can trust with their lives or the life of a loved one. Knowledge, while important, takes a back seat to humanism.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
Since becoming a business owner, I have dedicated time to learning from those who have come before me and paved the way. I am now an avid reader of books and I’m excited to share that my own book will be launching later this year! Some of the books that have impacted me the most are:
* Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
* Untethered Soul by Michael Singer
* Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer
* 10x is Easier than 2x by Benjamin Hardy and Dan Sullivan
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.peaceadvocacygroup.com/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudia-cometa-pharmd/
- Other: claudiacometa.com
Image Credits
Adrienne Fletcher