During the three-year training program, UW pediatric residents are encouraged to develop skills in child advocacy and community health through a variety of opportunities.
The UW pediatric residency was one of the first in the country to offer a month-long experience in child advocacy. The advocacy elective is tailored to the individual interests of each resident. Working with experts in child advocacy, residents determine a project and identify an appropriate mentor.
Residents are encouraged to select projects that will be personally engaging. Recent projects have run the gamut–from local to national advocacy on behalf of children and communities.
Recent efforts have included development of a culturally-sensitive swim program for East African Muslim immigrant women, the addition of Vitamin D to the Washington State Medicaid formulary, and the addition of the Reach Out and Read program to our Roosevelt continuity clinic site.
We are currently developing a Community Health and Advocacy Pathway for interested residents. This pathway will focus on preparing residents for a career in community health, public health and/or advocacy and policy work. We anticipate the start of this pathway for the incoming 2008 intern class. Residents will apply for positions in the community health pathway in their R1 year, and spend two months as both R2s (Seattle-based) and R3s (site of individual choice) in the community health pathway.