Advocacy Training Grantees

Resident & Faculty: Sabrina Benitez, MD & Taylor Rosenbaum, MD

Goal: Provide support to successfully launch a new advocacy curriculum, especially an Advocacy Track a new three-year longitudinal individualized track for two residents per year. The track consists of one dedicated advocacy month per year of residency.

Key Components:

• Establish annual Advocacy Bootcamp for all residents introducing the topic of advocacy including elective options for those interested in additional skills training.
• Creation of the Advocacy Track which will consist of one dedicated advocacy month per year of residency.

Anticipated Outcomes

• Create dedicated Advocacy Track curriculum
• Create link between advocacy program and the Florida Chapter of the AAP and Florida’s Children Week
• Residents will become comfortable with reviewing advocacy related research and be able to apply it to their patient population

Resident & Faculty: Ethan Bursott, MD & Sheilah Snyder, MD

Goal: To sustainably embed legislative and public health advocacy skills within the pediatric residency curriculum, empowering our future physicians to translate clinical insights into community-level policy action that proactively addresses the social and political determinants of health impacting Nebraska’s children.

Key components:

• Implement a Skills Workshop during didactic sessions to provide hands-on training in effective advocacy
• Host two noon conferences
• Expand existing programming by incorporating a Grand Rounds session focused on local Social Determinants of Health specific to our patient population

Anticipated Outcomes:

• Deliver a Skills Workshop for all PGY levels focused on letter writing, navigating the Nebraska unicameral legislature, identifying bills affecting pediatric healthcare, and communication strategies for engaging policymakers.
• Hold conference featuring Nebraska AAP representatives discussing current state-level legislation relevant to pediatrics.
• Residents will be able to craft patient-centered narratives for use in legislative testimony or written advocacy.

Resident & Faculty: Isha Darbari, MD & Maurine Sam, MD

Goal: To increase pediatric residents’ access, confidence, and competency in legislative advocacy skills by integrating hands-on advocacy training into the Community Organization Resident Practicum.

Key Components:

• A legislative advocacy skills workshop led by TPS Legislative Leads focused on understanding the Texas legislative process and applying practical advocacy skills when communicating with legislators using legislative policy on unassigned albuterol.
• A workshop focusing on media advocacy led by staff from the Dallas Morning News, paired with an interactive session led by a local pediatrician, who will share her experience integrating pediatric pulmonology expertise with legislative and media advocacy to address asthma exacerbations.

Anticipated Outcomes:

• Increased confidence and readiness level of residents to navigate legislative processes.
• Increased participation of residents in the TPS All Trainee Advocacy Day

Resident & Faculty: Shaemion McBride, MD & Pratishtha Chhabra, MD

Goal: To re-establish and strengthen a sustainable, community-engaged advocacy curriculum that equips pediatric residents with practical legislative and media advocacy skills through intentional partnership with youth leaders, ensuring that child and adolescent voices meaningfully inform advocacy efforts to address child health inequities in the San Joaquin Valley.

Key Components:

• Interactive workshops introducing legislative advocacy skills, including identifying relevant child health legislation, communicating with policymakers, and understanding state and local policy pathways
• Media and social media advocacy training focused on responsible, effective use of digital platforms, letter writing, and op-ed development to elevate child health issues relevant to our region.

Anticipated Outcomes:

• Advocacy content developed through this project will be formally incorporated into at least one recurring residency educational activity
• Residents will demonstrate increased confidence in legislative and social media advocacy