How To Become A Patient Advocate: What It Is and Career Path

What is a patient advocate and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A patient advocate works on behalf of patients and their families to ensure they receive appropriate medical care. Patient advocates may help patients navigate the healthcare system, communicate with providers, and understand their rights and options for treatment. They may also provide emotional support, assist with insurance questions, and help patients access resources including financial assistance and community services. Patient advocates typically work in hospitals, clinics, and private practices.

ScorePatient AdvocateUS Average

Salary

2.8

Avg. Salary $36,325

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.3

Growth rate -4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.67%

Asian 6.79%

Black or African American 10.53%

Hispanic or Latino 23.65%

Unknown 5.18%

White 53.18%

Gender

female 82.48%

male 17.52%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

8.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.6

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.5

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a patient advocate?

Pros

Working in a rewarding and meaningful career
Potentially earning a good salary and benefits
Having the opportunity to work in various healthcare settings
Being a part of a growing field with increasing demand for advocates
Contributing to the overall improvement of healthcare quality

Cons

Managing high levels of stress and burnout
Working long hours or irregular schedules
Struggling to balance the needs and expectations of multiple patients and families
Dealing with legal or ethical dilemmas that can be challenging to navigate
Dealing with limited resources and funding for patient advocacy programs

Key steps to become a patient advocate

Explore patient advocate education requirements

Most common patient advocate degrees

Bachelor's

49.5 %

Associate

20.4 %

High School Diploma

10.5 %

Start to develop specific patient advocate skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	28.45%
Customer Service	10.80%
Patient Care	4.95%
Medicaid	4.11%
Financial Assistance	4.08%

Complete relevant patient advocate training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New patient advocates learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a patient advocate based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real patient advocate resumes.

Research patient advocate duties and responsibilities

Manage the complaint process as required by CMS for the hospital.
Provide support for emergencies by managing inappropriate behaviors, aggressive patients, CPR and persons in crisis.
Train to welcome and register patients at ESI triage window.
Document patients medical problems using ICD 9 and CPT coding for patients diagnosis.

Prepare your patient advocate resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your patient advocate resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a patient advocate resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable patient advocate resume templates

Build a professional patient advocate resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your patient advocate resume.

Apply for patient advocate jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a patient advocate job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do patient advocates rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Patient advocate reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2020

Pros

Putting that patient/customet first and directing (directions) that person to their Doctors office and setting or cancelling their appointments, just helping people.

Cons

There's nothing to dislike.