Residency Fellowship in Health Policy
> About
The Residency Fellowship in Health Policy is an intensive, short-term health policy fellowship offered by the Social Mission Alliance, and is available exclusively to GW and CNMC residents from all disciplines who are interested in an intensive, short-term health policy fellowship as part of their graduate medical education experience.
It provides multi-specialty resident and fellow physicians with an understanding of U.S. health policy and its implications for medical practice and healthcare delivery.
The program increases participant knowledge of key health policy issues impacting their local communities and the nation, thus preparing them to be effective physician-leaders in system-based practice. The elective has two components: first, daily classroom-based learning and second, in-person site visits at various Washington, DC institutions. RFHP uniquely capitalizes on its location and the extraordinary resources available in the region.
Curriculum
The goal of the GW Residency Fellowship in Health Policy is to provide medical residents and fellows with an understanding of U.S. health policy and its implications for medical practice and healthcare oversight in the U.S. By the end of the fellowship, students will be able to confidently analyze and discuss key aspects of U.S. health policy through participation in intensive, interactive seminars. Core content areas include healthcare access, financing, regulation, quality, disparities, workforce, and law.
Participants will also witness health policy-making first-hand through site visits to Congress, Federal Agencies, think tanks, professional associations, Federally Qualified Health Centers, state health departments, media outlets, and more! In these settings, participants will have the opportunity to meet with the policy leaders driving today’s critical debates firsthand. The course culminates with group presentations wherein participants demonstrate their health policy analysis skills in simulations designed to mirror real-world challenges.
The course syllabus and materials, assignments, assessments, and communication features for RFHP will be on the GW Blackboard platform. Participants will be required to use your GWID to login.
Site Visits
During the three-week course, RFHP scholars will witness health policy-making first-hand through visits to various health care, and policy-related institutions in and around the DC area. Past site visits include:
- American Enterprise Institute
- America’s Essential Hospitals
- Aspen Institute
- Association of American Medical Colleges
- Cato Institute
- Kaiser Family Foundation
- Kaiser Health News
- National Public Radio
- PhRma
- Planned Parenthood Federation of America
- United States House of Representatives
- United States Senate
- United States Supreme Court
- White House
Course Speakers
Our course speakers include key public and private sector experts in health administration, research, academics, government, economics, and law. Speakers provide a firsthand look at the diverse areas that health professionals impact including: 1) health disparities, 2) healthcare quality, 3) public and private insurance structure, 4) workforce development, 5) pharmaceutical industry policy, 6) medical ethics, 7) advocacy and effective communication, 8) behavioral health, 9) health information technology, and 10) healthcare payment/incentives.
RFHP has had the distinct pleasure and honor to host speakers such as the Surgeon General of the United States, the President of the National Academy of Medicine, the President of Planned Parenthood, the Director of the American Academy of Family Medicine, the Deputy Under Secretary for Health at Veteran Affairs, the Senior Editor of Science and Medicine at National Public Radio (NPR), the Director of the Health Resources & Services Administration, the Executive Vice President of the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Director of DC Health, the Director of the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and George Washington University senior leadership.
