What is a Coalition?
Although most of us have heard of the term “coalition”, it may not be clear to all of us exactly what a “coalition” is. There are several dictionary definitions of the term “coalition”, including:
- An alliance or partnership between representatives of diverse groups coming together to achieve a common goal,
- A “growing together of parts”, or
- The union of diverse entities into one forum.
These definitions emphasize the unique feature of a coalition: a group of diverse individuals joining together to form a single unified entity. The definitions suggest that people who might normally work independently in a particular field of endeavor can achieve greater results by coming together around a shared desired goal. However, a coalition seeks not to “homogenize” the viewpoints of its members into a single mode of thought, but seeks to celebrate and preserve the unique perspectives, talents, and contributions of its members.
Thus, the defining characteristic of a coalition is the strength of the different viewpoints brought to it by its members. Diversity of experience and talent can be leveraged to forge novel solutions to challenging problems.
Many coalitions form at a grassroots, informal level in response to an identified problem in a community or a society. Many grassroots coalitions have been able to influence history in significant ways. The American Revolution and the American Civil Rights Movement are examples of grassroots coalitions that changed the course of our history.
In our field of breast health, the National Breast Cancer Coalition has worked tirelessly to lobby for increased funding for breast cancer research, diagnosis, and treatment. Their many achievements include increasing federal funding for breast cancer research and raising awareness of breast cancer throughout our society. According to the Coalition’s website, it was selected as “one of the twenty most influential groups in health policy” in the United States. For more information on the National Breast Coalition, visit stopbreastcancer.org.
In this rich tradition, the Leonides Coalition seeks to bring together diverse individuals with a common interest in breast care to exchange knowledge and ideas on ways we can improve health decisions and quality of care for our patients. We invite you to join us to discuss how we can pool our bodies of knowledge, experience, and data to improve the quality of the care we provide to our patients.
Logix Drive is the Mammologix Client System
The Leonides Coalition
