Owning Her Ambition: Rebecca Bloom’s Fight for Women in Healthcare
Welcome to Own Your Ambition, the weekly newsletter designed to give professional women the tools they need to be successful. As a former CEO who made it to the C Suite from an entry level, I know first hand what it takes for women to realize their ambition and reach their career goals.
I have always been inspired by ambitious women who own their talent and make a difference in the world. Many of these women have been guests on my podcast, Badass Women at Any Age.
Now I’m shifting gears a bit and featuring exceptional women in this newsletter.
This week, I’m writing about Rebecca Bloom and her work helping women navigate the complexity and bias of our healthcare system. Rebecca’s new book, When Women Get Sick: An Empowering Approach for Getting the Support You Need, is a must read for women and the people who love them, giving them the tools they need to to navigate a healthcare system not built for them.
Rebecca Bloom never set out to be a women’s health advocate. She didn’t have a master plan, a grand mission, or a childhood dream of changing healthcare. Instead, she evolved into it, shaped by the circumstances of her own life, her legal career, and her mother’s breast cancer diagnosis.
“It just so happened that the very specific facts of my life, the legal specialty that I chose, and then my mother’s breast cancer diagnosis led me to discover that I had some specialized knowledge that could be useful to women on health journeys,” Rebecca told me.
Watching her mother navigate a terrifying diagnosis opened Rebecca’s eyes to the complexity and stress of healthcare, how quickly things could go wrong, and how many barriers women faced in simply getting the care they deserved. That personal experience became the catalyst. “When I saw how complicated and stress-making the whole experience can be up so close, I felt compelled to see if I could find a way to support women as they go through it.”
More than 26 years ago, she connected with Bay Area Cancer Connections, an organization that supports women through cancer. That partnership changed her life. “I have learned so much from so many incredible women,” she said. “It made me realize this was work I had to do.”
For Rebecca, advocacy was less a decision and more a calling. She describes herself as a problem solver, professionally and personally, and in healthcare, she saw problems everywhere.
“Diagnosis of any serious illness comes with fear, complexity, bureaucracy, expense and other tough stuff,” she explained. “So many things can go sideways. I realized I had a set of skills and knowledge that could truly make a difference in an area where problems were vexing in the workplace, health space, insurance and benefits world, and practical, holistic solutions were few.”
Her legal background gave her the ability to navigate rules, policies, and bureaucracies. Her personal experience gave her empathy. And her ambition gave her the drive to keep pushing.
“I saw my decision to help as many women as I could as a chance to truly make an impact.”
In her new book, When Women Get Sick: An Empowering Approach to Getting the Support You Need, Rebecca guides women through the complexity of healthcare challenges and advocacy.
The System Is Stacked Against Women
The more she worked with women, the more Rebecca saw the structural challenges that make healthcare uniquely difficult for them.
“The major challenges can be summed up in one word: complexity,” she said.
That complexity shows up in countless ways:
Access & Coverage. Understanding insurance, benefits, and costs is overwhelming even for professionals, let alone for patients in crisis.
Research Bias. Women have been historically under-researched. For decades, women were excluded from clinical trials, leading to treatments based largely on male physiology. Even today, women remain underrepresented in many areas of research.
Economic Disadvantage. Women are more likely to be economically marginalized, making the cost of treatment a greater barrier.
Caretaker Responsibilities. Women often bear the brunt of family care, leaving them with less time, energy, and resources to manage their own health.
Dismissal of Pain. Studies confirm that women’s pain is more likely to be underestimated or dismissed. A 2024 study found that women waited significantly longer than men for pain medication in ERs.
Gendered Stereotypes. Women are still too often labeled “hysterical,” “anxious,” or “difficult” when voicing concerns.
“Put it all together,” Rebecca said, “and that is a complicated stew.”
Don’t Go It Alone
So how can women navigate this reality? Rebecca’s first piece of advice is simple but powerful: don’t go it alone.
“Draft your team,” she said. “Most of us have people in our lives who can fill important lanes in a health journey. It’s a matter of lining up the right people to play the right supportive roles. We don’t hesitate to do this in business, where an org chart is a mainstay of planning. But when it comes to asking for help on a health journey, women are less inclined.”
Support can look different for every woman. A trusted friend might attend appointments to take notes. A colleague might step in to cover at work during treatment. A family member might handle insurance calls. The point is: healing doesn’t have to be a solo endeavor.
Be Proactive
Rebecca emphasizes that being proactive is one of the most powerful ways women can reclaim control.
“Smart planning can go far,” she said. “Even before a diagnosis, every woman should know what her coverage situation looks like. What is her plan? What does it say? That’s a big deal and something everyone can have a grip on.”
Once a diagnosis is in hand, proactivity means building relationships early with key players:
Human Resources. Understand workplace benefits, leave policies, and protections.
Insurance Case Managers. They can help cut through red tape and get approvals.
Health System Administrators. Knowing someone in billing or scheduling can save hours of frustration.
Doctors’ Staff. Nurses, physician assistants, and office managers often smooth the path for patients.
Rebecca encourages women to send a simple introductory email:
“I’m embarking on a health journey, and it would be so great to know that I can reach out to you should I have any questions or concerns along the way.”
“Now you’ve got a friend at a calm moment instead of a stranger when you’re feeling anxious and stressed,” she said.
Even communication preferences matter. “Ask your doctors how they prefer to communicate with you. Don’t assume it’s the portal. Some want calls, some texts. It’s worth asking.”
The Art of Self-Advocacy
Perhaps Rebecca’s most important lesson is that women must advocate for themselves even when it feels uncomfortable.
“There are many ways to successfully be our own advocate,” she said, “but the main route is through asking informed, respectful questions.”
The challenge is that women are often conditioned to people-please. “A woman’s health journey is no time for people-pleasing, yet this is so often the default,” she said.
She urges women to:
Do the Homework. Research your condition, treatment options, and questions ahead of appointments.
Write Questions Down. Don’t rely on memory in stressful moments.
Resist Apologizing. Don’t worry about “taking up too much time or space.”
Keep Asking. If something doesn’t make sense, don’t let it go until it does.
“Women sometimes feel rushed, intimidated, judged or worse when they ask about their health. My advice is—don’t give up on asking.”
Ambition as Advocacy
Owning her ambition has been key to Rebecca’s journey. For years, she, like many women, felt the pressure to shrink her ambition, to avoid being “too much.” But her work in healthcare advocacy showed her that ambition, when harnessed, could save lives.
“I stopped apologizing for taking up space,” she said. “I realized that ambition isn’t about me. It’s about the impact I can have.”
That’s the message she hopes more women in healthcare, whether patients or professionals, will embrace.
Practical lessons for all women:
Know Your Coverage. Understand your health plan before you need it.
Draft Your Team. Healing is not a solo act—line up support.
Be Proactive. Build relationships with key stakeholders before problems arise.
Ask Questions. Respectfully, consistently, and without apology.
Own Your Power. Don’t wait for permission to advocate for yourself.
The healthcare system may still be stacked against women, but with knowledge, support, and self-advocacy, women can reclaim power in their own health journeys.
Rebecca Bloom didn’t set out to be a woman who saves other women. But by owning her talent, her expertise, and her ambition, she became exactly that.
And perhaps that’s the deeper message: every woman has the capacity to be her own best advocate and in doing so, she makes it easier for the next woman to do the same.
Get a copy of Rebecca’s book today.
It's pretty unreal how dismissive medical professionals can be. I've had more than my share. It makes you feel belittled and looked down upon. I'm confident enough to research and stand up for myself but not everyone feels that way.
Thank you, Bonnie, for this excellent conversation!