Academic and Research Skills
Advocacy Pathway
Cross-Disciplinary Pathway
Shetal Shah, MD FAAP (he/him/his)
Professor of Pediatrics
Maria Fareri Children's Hospital, New York Medical College
Syosset, New York, United States
Audience: Residents, Fellows, Junior/Mid-Level Faculty interested in advocacy as an academic activity, Division/Department Heads
Co-sponsors: Pediatric Policy Council
Policy proposals play an outsize role in influencing child health. Child health advocacy is the process of influencing leaders -- at the institutional, community or governmental level – to make decisions which maximally benefit child well-being. Advocacy is thus now recognized as an essential component of pediatrics. There has been burgeoning interest among pediatric trainees and early/mid-level career physicians in advocacy work as part of their academic practice. National discussions surrounding issues such as vaccine safety and and paid family leave have brought greater attention to the role pediatricians play in influencing policy.
However, physicians concentrating on advocacy/policy face challenges which deter early career physicians from engaging in this work. While medical education and quality improvement are recognized as mechanisms to achieve promotion, advocacy is not viewed equivalently.
This symposium will provide practical advice on how to structure non-clinical time to engage in advocacy that is influential and recognized by review committees. Attendees will hear from diverse perspectives, including early career physicians beginning in their advocacy careers, division heads and department chairs who must endorse and recommend these physicians for promotion.
Speaker: Shetal Shah, MD – Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center
Speaker: Hayley Friedman, MD, MS – Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine
Speaker: Lois K. Lee, MD, MPH – Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Speaker: Jean L. Raphael, MD, MPH – Baylor College of Medicine
Speaker: Tina L. Cheng, MD, MPH – Cincinnati Children's Hospital, University of Cincinnati