Contents tagged with TAFP rotation
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A prescription for community health: The importance of advocacy in medicine
By Lane J. Aiena, MD
As physicians we are tasked with the monumental privilege of helping people as our craft. We train for four years in our undergraduate education, four years in medical school, and an additional three years minimum in residency to be given this trust by our patients. From this education, we gain the ability to help the patient in front of us, but all too often we lose sight of our ability to help the community as a whole. As physicians we have the ability to treat not just the patient in front of us but the thousands of patients beyond our door that are affected every day by policy.
Recently I was able to do a rotation with TAFP in Austin. This rotation was set up after several advocacy trips to Washington D.C. piqued my interest in policy. I was fortunate to match to a residency, Conroe Family Medicine Residency, that is very active both in its community and at the national level. The main takeaway from my first trip was this: everyone in politics has an ask, but stories are what stick. Simply talking about what we do on a daily basis can be a huge vehicle for change. I wanted a way to learn how to more effectively “get my story out there,” and this rotation was the perfect way to do just that.
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