The future of physician advocacy: a survey of U.S. medical students

BMC Medical Education

Deborah Korenstein¹  Maha Mamoor²  Anna Kaltenboeck²  Susan Chimonas² 

[1] Center for Health Policy & Outcomes and chief of the General Internal Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA;Center for Health Policy & Outcomes at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 485 Lexington Avenue, 10017, New York, NY, USA;

关键词: Medical education;    Professional development;    Physician advocacy;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12909-021-02830-5

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundAdvocacy is a core component of medical professionalism. It is unclear how educators can best prepare trainees for this professional obligation. We sought to assess medical students’ attitudes toward advocacy, including activities and issues of interest, and to determine congruence with professional obligations.MethodsA cross-sectional, web-based survey probed U.S. medical students’ attitudes around 7 medical issues (e.g. nutrition/obesity, addiction) and 11 determinants of health (e.g. housing, transportation). Descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis tests, and regression analysis investigated associations with demographic characteristics.ResultsOf 240 students completing the survey, 53% were female; most were white (62%) or Asian (28%). Most agreed it is very important that physicians encourage medical organizations to advocate for public health (76%) and provide health-related expertise to the community (57%). More participants rated advocacy for medical issues as very important, compared to issues with indirect connections to health (p < 0.001). Generally, liberals and non-whites were likelier than others to value advocacy.ConclusionsMedical students reported strong interest in advocacy, particularly around health issues, consistent with professional standards. Many attitudes were associated with political affiliation and race. To optimize future physician advocacy, educators should provide opportunities for learning and engagement in issues of interest.

【 授权许可】

CC BY