We emphasize the connection between the health of individual patients, their families and their communities. 

People’s health is affected by local, state & national political, economic, & social forces. 

We established the social and political activism area of concentration to train residents in public policy/ medical politics emphasizing advocating for social change and social justice.    

 Objectives

 The Social and Political Activism Track is designed to provide motivated residents opportunities to:

      1)       Learn how to become involved in public policy medical politics & what the opportunities are

2)       Provide logistical help to become involved in a political area & organization of interest

3)       Provide mentorship during the period of service to optimize participation and political influence in various arenas of public policy 

4)       Learn how political organizations work, including how to run a meeting, planning an agenda, group decision making, and so on

5)       Gain leadership experience in settings of public interest

 Requirements for Completion of the Political Activism Track

 In order to successfully complete the residents must:

      1)       Complete a pre- agreed upon portion of the reading curriculum with advisor on important topics in political activism

2)       Perform satisfactorily in the role as a member of a local, state or national organization: commission, committee, board of directors.

3)       Prepare & present a final scholarly project about your experiences

4)       Attend all lectures in the political activism track

5)       Attend a relevant CME program, approved by your advisor.

6)       Present an article at journal club relevant to the topic.

7)       2 months or 200 hours devoted to the area of concentration in total

 Public Policy and Political Activism- Lecture Series

This lecture series is designed to complement the readings and practical experiences.  Lectures each year will be given on a variety of topics of relevance to political activism.  Attendance at these lectures is mandatory for those wishing to complete the track.

 Public Policy Political Activism Track- Reading Curriculum 

This curriculum is designed to provide a sampling of pertinent and interesting articles covering important topics in resident political activism.

Public Policy Political Activism Opportunities

The purpose of this experience is to provide the resident with a hands-on experience as a member of a major local, state, or national political or public advocacy group.  It is a required experience for residents wanting to complete the Public Policy Political Activism Area of Concentration (AOC).

We are suggesting partnering with several organizations for your practical experience.  Pre-selected organizations offer many advantages, as they already welcome resident participation and membership.  They all have a tradition of resident leadership

Suggested Organizations:

King County Academy of Family Physicians

King County Regional Health Care Commission (Swedish is a member—I need to get the exact title)

Washington State Hospital Association  This is our principal lobbying organization.  We are the largest member.

Washington Department of Health

Washington Academy of Family Physicians

Work with the Washington State Legislature and Washington Congressional Delegation

Dan Dixon has contacts with the full time lobbyists working with Cherry Hill Health System, as well as direct contacts with state legislators and their professional staff people.  It is possible to spend time in Olympia, learning about the legislative process from the people who do that work full time.  In addition, he has longstanding relationships with our congressional delegation that may provide valuable internships.

Mr. Dixon can be reached at; dddixon2@comcast.net or dan.dixon@swedish.org .

CME

Documentation of attendance at a relevant advisor approved CME meeting in the area of political activism is required.  This must be approved in advance by the faculty advisor and program director. 

Journal Club

A Journal Club (critical appraisal) presentation of an article in the area of political activism is required prior to completion of the AOC. 

Final Presentation

After completion of the curriculum readings and near the completion of your term serving as a member of the medical political group, the final requirement of the elective is to prepare a verbal or written presentation on a topic of interest to you in the field of political activism. In most cases, this should be a formal presentation, given as an R3 talk or in another appropriate forum. 

You should choose a topic from within your readings and experience working in your organization.  While slides from your experience should certainly be used to illustrate your topic, your presentation should be scholarly, and not of a "where we went" type.

In addition, you must complete an evaluation form for your experience. This is to help guide future residents in their selection of an experience, as well as to help the faculty get a better impression of your experience.