An individualized introduction to physician advocacy in Illinois.
Explore how health policy decisions affect your patients and family medicine. Working with IAFP and its lobbyist, you will connect your interests to current legislative and regulatory issues, examine the policy process, and practice communicating a physician's perspective.
Family medicine residents may participate with approval from their residency program and confirmation of eligibility by IAFP. Electives generally run for two or four weeks. Common requested periods are February through April and October through November; other dates or lengths may be considered based on capacity.
Contact Gordana Krkic, CAE, at gkrkic@iafp.com. Include your residency program, proposed dates and duration, faculty contact, and a short description of your interests. Your residency supplies its signed elective authorization or equivalent approval and any institutional requirements.
For more details on the elective and residency program approval, click here for the IAFP Advocacy Elective Program Guide.
Connect a health policy issue to patient care, access, or the practice of family medicine.
Read and interpret legislation or regulatory material and follow its progress.
Identify decision makers, stakeholder perspectives, and opportunities for physician advocacy.
Practice an evidence-informed advocacy message and identify ways to stay involved.
You will have one or two initial assessment meetings with IAFP and IAFP’s lobbyist. Bring your clinical interests, advocacy experience, career goals, and scheduling obligations. Together with your faculty mentor, you will agree on a manageable set of objectives, activities, resources, and evidence of learning.
Your interests might include access to care, Medicaid, medication access, primary care investment, workforce issues, public health, or another issue relevant to your patients. You do not need prior legislative experience.
Before your first elective week, you will receive a working report linking your selected topics to background materials and possible experiences. Your residency approves the workload and arrangements for clinic, didactics, call, and time reporting.
IAFP is also available for presenting to or helping with advocacy elective curriculum in residency programs.
Please contact gkrkic@iafp.com with any questions.