Students of Change: Health Policy in Action

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Health policy is more impactful for public health than many other strategies as it can improve health outcomes for an entire population. Yet in the “see one, do one, teach one” environment of medical school, most students never get past the “see one” stage in learning about the powerful tools of health policy and advocacy. The University of New Mexico School of Medicine mandates health policy and advocacy education for all medical students during their family medicine clerkship rotation. The aim of this project is to describe a unique health policy and advocacy course within a family medicine clerkship. Methods: We analyzed policy briefs from 265 third-year medical students from April 2016 through April 2019. Each brief is categorized by the level of change targeted for policy reform: national, state, city, or university/school. Implemented policies are described. Results: Slightly less than one-third of the policies (30%) relate to education, 36% advocate for health system change by addressing cost, access, or quality issues, and 34% focus on public health issues. Fourteen policies have been initiated or successfully enacted. Conclusions: This curriculum gives each medical student a health policy tool kit with immediate opportunities to test their skills, learn from health policy and advocacy experts, and in some cases, implement health policies while still in medical school. A 1-week family medicine policy course can have impact beyond the classroom even during medical school, and other schools should consider this as a tool to increase the impact of their graduates.

The Power of Policy

“…Students desire training in advocacy and health policy, and they energetically seek out opportunities to improve health care. 10,11 Through experiential learning in health policy, we can leverage this enthusiasm; engender additional commitment to these efforts; foster leadership skills; and concretely influence institutional, state, and national policies. [11][12][13] Engaging our trainees in health policy and advocacy is also incentivized by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).…”

“…10,11 Through experiential learning in health policy, we can leverage this enthusiasm; engender additional commitment to these efforts; foster leadership skills; and concretely influence institutional, state, and national policies. [11][12][13] Engaging our trainees in health policy and advocacy is also incentivized by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). 14,15 For resources, we can find examples of pilot projects for medical schools and residency programs in the literature.…”

“…14,15 For resources, we can find examples of pilot projects for medical schools and residency programs in the literature. 2,11,13,16 Additionally, our organizations offer practical resources to support our and our trainees' learning, such as the STFM free online Legislative Advocacy Course and the AAFP's State Legislative Issue Backgrounders. 17,18 We have the tools at our disposal, and it is up to us to use them.…”