SJOGREN'S ELEVATOR PITCH HANDOUT
Key Concepts
The Sjogren’s Elevator Pitch Handout is unique because it is crafted by people with Sjogren’s for people with Sjogren’s.
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Share copies of the Sjogren's Elevator Pitch Handout with family, friends, and non-rheumatology clinicians who need to know what Sjogren's is, how it affects you, and why you may need their understanding and/or help.
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Note: This handout is not intended for rheumatologists. Please read KNOW YOUR RHEUMATOLOGIST to learn more about how to choose and share information with rheumatologists.
About The Sjogren's Elevator Pitch Handout
An elevator pitch is a short, simple description and/or explanation of a topic that any listener can understand in the time it takes to ride an elevator, thirty seconds to a couple of minutes.
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People with Sjogren's must often pitch Sjogren's: what it is, how it affects them, and why they need help, in a couple of minutes at most. Joel, a member of the Smart Patients Sjogren's community, inspired my idea for a handout that would help do this. I asked the Smart Patients Sjogren's group if they would like a handout like this and got an enthusiastic “Yes!” response. More than a dozen members shared what they felt was most important for others to understand about the disease. Bexi then designed and refined the handout based on this collective input.
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The Sjogren's Elevator Pitch Handout is an example of what we can achieve together when we share our experience, knowledge, talents, and resources. A big thank you to everyone who contributed.
The Sjogren’s Elevator Pitch Handout is unique
because it is crafted by people with Sjogren’s for people with Sjogren’s.
Download, Printing, and Sharing Instructions
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Click the first PDF icon (Sjogren's Elevator Pitch Handout For Print) to download the document.
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Find the file on your device and open it.
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Select "Print File" and choose the 2-sided printing option, flip on long edge (if you don't know what that means don't worry about it, just select 2-sided print and see what happens).
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Once printed, fold the handout in half so that the "About Sjogren's" page is the title page and the "How Sjogren's Impacts Me" page is on the inside.
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Show how Sjogren's impacts you by drawing and writing on the body outline and the Notes page of the handout.
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Make copies of your personalized handout and keep them easily accessible to share (in your purse/wallet, medical folder, car).
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Practice using your personalized handout to emphasize the points you want to make about what Sjogren's is and how it affects you.
Examples Of How To Use The Handout
1. To advocate for your needs with family and friends who've been pushing you to do more, share this handout with them and circle, "Sjogren’s is disabling; it’s the disease, NOT laziness, that limits what people can do." and, "Sjogren's is costly." Point to what you've drawn and written on the body outline and/or notes.
2. To advocate for yourself during an ER or urgent care visit, circle, "Sjogren’s is a serious, systemic disease" and/or "Sjogren’s is invisible". Point to what you've drawn and written on the body outline and/or notes.
Options For Making A Smaller Handout
We recognize that some of you might like to have a simpler, smaller printed version. You will find PDFs of each page of the handout below. You can use these to create a smaller 2-sided version of the handout.
If you don't have the technical skills to do this, please ask the Sjogren's Smart Patients community for help.
Please DO NOT contact Sjogren's Advocate for technical help.
Updated 06-01-2024