Ochsner Health is a system that delivers health to the people of Louisiana, Mississippi and the Gulf South with a mission to Serve, Heal, Lead, Educate and Innovate.
Pediatric Advocacy (virtual rotation for future pediatricians) - Medical Student Elective (4 weeks)
Goal
Cultivate skills in the forms of communication that pediatricians use to advocate for children
Objectives
- Identify the forms of communication used by pediatricians that result in system-level changes
- Describe the skills necessary to effectively communicate while advocating as a pediatrician
- Develop an advocacy portion of your curriculum vitae to describe successful advocacy
Course Outline
This 4-week rotation includes 2-hour virtual sessions on Mondays (includes didactic session and overview of weekly assignments) and Fridays (in which students present their assignments and receive feedback) over four consecutive weeks. During each Monday session, research relevant to successful advocacy will be described along with case examples by Dr. Carlson. Students will be asked to apply the theory to their own topics of interest with assignments to be carried out over the course of the week. During Friday sessions, Dr. Carlson and Dr. Bluett-Mills will listen to students present their assignments, with written feedback provided after each Friday session. Optional weekend sessions will be arranged for students needing extra support.
Week 1: Application of compassion theory to pediatric advocacy
- Defining the goals of pediatric advocacy
- Neurobiology of compassion
- Affect mirroring
- Crafting “the patient story”
- Identifying appropriate data for use in advocacy
- Clarifying “the ask”
Assignments:
- Choose a topic
- Craft a patient story
- Create a policy brief with data and ask
Week 2: Application of social percolation theory to pediatric advocacy
- Defining the activities of pediatric advocacy
- Social percolation theory
- Legislative advocacy
- National advocacy
- Community advocacy
- Print and broadcast media
- Social media
Assignments
- Using your patient story and policy brief, initiate five communications
- Describe the challenges in implementing advocacy communications
- Identify potential solutions to two forms of communication
Week 3: Application of grit theory to pediatric advocacy
- Characterizing successful versus unsuccessful pediatrician advocates
- Research on grit applied to skill-building
- Reinterpretation of compassion theory to the pediatrician advocate
- Overview of advocacy portfolios and the advocacy curriculum vitae
- Application of social percolation theory to advocacy CVs/portfolios
Assignments
- Continue to craft communication using two of the communication tools
- Create an advocacy portfolio/CV that describe these communications
- Develop a plan for building advocacy portfolio/CV next week
Week 4: Advanced skills in pediatric advocacy
- Mind change theory
- Curiosity in failure
- Coalition building
- Acquisition and use of data
- Research as advocacy
- Patient safety and QI as advocacy
- Broadening the scope of interests
- Restricting the scope of activity
Assignments
- Continue to advocate and update advocacy CV/portfolio
- Describe deviations in the plan developed last week
- Develop a plan for advocacy work over the next year
Please log in to the Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) for full details and application process and to view our elective catalog. Electives are approved with a maximum of one 4-week elective rotations and are based on academic merit and availability. Because the selection process is highly competitive, we ask that students please allow a minimum of 8 weeks for proper approval.
Please Note
Because of our increasing number of affiliate partnerships and the high demand for educational rotations at Ochsner, opportunities for visiting students from nonaffiliated schools may be limited.
Visiting students are responsible for locating and securing their own transportation, housing, and meals during the elective rotation(s).
We recommend that final housing and travel arrangements are deferred until enrollment has been confirmed in the event that we are unable to accommodate a specific course request.
All information requests must come through the UGME Office of Student Services.
Accepted students will be required to provide a completed Attestation Form signed by an authorized school representative, attesting to the student’s compliance with Ochsner requirements. This form must be submitted before the application can be processed. Students who receive a denied application for not submitting proper documentation cannot reapply for the same dates. The requirements are as follows:
- OIG/GSA Verification
- Personal health insurance documentation
- Immunization titers (MMR, Varicella)
- Proof of completed hepatitis B vaccine series
- Proof of annual TB skin test
- Proof of seasonal flu vaccine (for students rotating between December-April)
- Clear criminal and sexual offender background check
- Clean urine drug screen performed by a SAMHSA-approved laboratory
- Valid American Heart Association-issued Basic Life Support card
*Additionally, all students must submit proof of malpractice coverage from medical school, with limits of liability of $1,000,000/$3,000,000.
Ochsner Clinic Foundation
Undergraduate Medical Education
1401-A Jefferson Highway
Academic Center, First
Floor
New Orleans, LA 70121
Electives@ochsner.org
