Women’s History Month: Sodasavanh Khamsoukthavong

Longtime Legacy provider shares her voice with her patients

Sodasavanh Khamsoukthavong celebrates her 20^th anniversary at Legacy this spring. During that tenure, the program manager and advanced practice provider for the Legacy Medical Group cardiology team watched the group grow into what she envisioned when she joined Legacy.

When Sodasavanh came to Legacy as a clinical nurse specialist, she was one of just two people who were hired to build Legacy’s arrhythmia program. At that time, cardiology services comprised of two outside practices. She stayed at Legacy, in part, to see that practice mature.

“I’m a person who objectively weighs pros and cons when assessing a new opportunity,” she said. “Unless there is a significant difference, there’s no reason to change.”

Sodasavanh joins Legacy’s celebration of Women’s History Month by talking about her time at Legacy and how she helps her patients in their care and finding their voice.

Tell us about your background and how it relates to women’s health.

I’ve worked at Legacy for a long time and understand how I’m able to carry on the mission of what Legacy hopes to accomplish. It’s a small piece of course but I am carrying it out every day. I’m a provider now but it didn’t start that way. Today, I work with patients one-on-one and able to direct their care. That’s my professional role. Personally, working here aligns with what I like to do and believe. I love cardiology and specifically arrhythmia management and cardiac implantable devices. I believe in encouraging people to do self-care or preventative maintenance.  Over the years, Legacy generally has moved to a preventative medicine approach. You can see that is reflected in the benefits given to its employees.

This year’s Women’s History Month theme at Legacy is Women’s Health: Moving beyond “I’m fine.” How does this theme resonate with your personal and professional experiences? 

Interestingly, that hits on a personal note given my age and the realization that I need to move beyond, I’m fine. Even if you feel okay, there are things you should be doing beyond a certain age. Not just routine checkups, but also health screenings. For me, on a personal level, I deal with that now, stuff I didn’t think about before. At this age, I am facing questions that I really do have to think about and act on.

On a professional level, this is what I help people deal with on a regular basis. We see patients of all ages. I’ve learned to focus and pay attention to things that might be more subtle. Medicine, diseases, or medical procedure is tough because nobody wants to deal with it. You may have data to back up what you’re proposing, but sometimes the patient feels okay and isn’t inclined to take your advice. I think it’s important to help patients understand their role in their care. I’m not here to tell them what to do but rather to help them understand, know their options and eventually make a choice.

How do you advocate for women at Legacy Health? 

I advocate regularly among my patients and the people I work with. I try to create a supportive work environment. Some things I can relate more to women because I’m a woman. I promote opportunities for everyone and encourage people to pursue those opportunities. Sometimes I don’t have the answer for patients, but I do know how to utilize resources. For instance, we have a great social worker who helps with many things that I am not familiar with. There are also support groups and programs I can direct people to. In our device program, it’s a small group of people and we help each other daily. As the device program manager, I share the voices of the team with management and advocate not just for the patients but also for the needs of the team.

If a woman feels uncertain about advocating for themself, how would you encourage them? What specific advice or resources would you share with them?

I don’t share a lot of personal stuff with patients, but occasionally I will because I think connecting to patients on that level might help them. When I do, it’s okay, this is what the patient needs. I put emphasis on understanding your own abilities and beliefs and what you can do to get through the process. Self-advocacy takes practice. Sometimes we need help from outside resources. Sometimes people just want to be listened to.

In helping women advocate for themselves, try to recognize the barriers and many roles that women play. You have to keep that in mind to help them through it. I think much has to do with patience and understanding.