Narcolepsy Meets Design Thinking – Join Me for Unique Boston Event
Please join Project Sleep in Boston for “Innovations in Narcolepsy Awareness” on Saturday, Sept. 15, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the NonProfit Center (89 South Street, Boston, MA – one block from South Station).
This one-day meeting and interactive workshop will empower and educate advocates while also advancing novel approaches to educating the public about narcolepsy. Attendees will have the unique opportunity to leverage their lived experience to explore how we might breakdown stereotypes and design a brighter future for narcolepsy.
Admission is free and lunch will be provided, but space is limited so please RSVP today: https://project-sleep.com/innovations/
What’s Different About This Event?
Design thinking is a powerful tool to innovate healthcare. I’ve been lucky to participate in design thinking exercises at Stanford Medicine X and the 2016 White House Precision Medicine Initiative.
Admittedly, I didn’t drink the “Design Thinking” Kool-Aid right away. I was skeptical of the post-it note collages. Yet, design thinking snuck up on me and changed my life – making me a better advocate, innovator and human.
Design Thinking Meets Narcolepsy!
One of the people who opened my eyes to design thinking is Nick Dawson, a healthcare design leader who I look up to a lot. I’m SO honored Nick will join us (all the way from San Francisco!) to lead us through interactive “design thinking” exercises.
To my knowledge, this is the first design thinking workshop to advance the goals of the narcolepsy community. I hope this is just the beginning and that this powerful tool will spread across the sleep field to facilitate more cross-disciplinary collaboration.
The Power of Storytelling
Research shows that personal stories are invaluable public education tools. Audiences are much more likely to engage with and retain information when it is delivered by someone with lived experience, giving a “face” to medical terminology and statistics.
This is why I can’t wait for Rising Voices of Narcolepsy trained speaker, Michelle Zagardo, to share her inspiring RVN presentation during this event! Rising Voices of Narcolepsy is a program of Project Sleep to empower patient-advocates to share their stories and improve public understanding of narcolepsy.
Likewise, I’m an itsy-bitsy bit excited to share my inspiring narcolepsy presentation to kick off the event. Despite giving this presentation so many places now, I’ve never presented this in Boston – the city where it all began.<3
All Are Welcome. Spread the Word!
A wide range of perspectives is encouraged to enrich the discussion, including people living with health conditions, loved ones, friends, clinicians, researchers, drug developers, and educators. Participants will leave feeling knowledgeable, inspired, and connected to each other and something bigger.
This is a unique opportunity and I hope to see you in Boston! Please share this announcement with anyone who might be interested.