Connecting the role of advocacy in her work and world outlook
2023 AAMC Action Ambassador Rachel Schafer is a fourth-year medical student at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. She is a dual-degree student and is getting her master’s in public health with a concentration in public policy and advocacy while finishing medical school. Rachel sat down with the AAMC team to talk about the AAMC Action Ambassador program, her thoughts on what it means to be an advocate, and her plans for her future career in medicine.
AAMC Action:
Can you talk a little bit more about what you’re focusing on in your degree, and what you’re learning that you’re passionate about?
Rachel Schafer:
I’m actually in my research year right now since my program is five years long. So I am doing a full year of research with the plastics department looking at multi-level healthcare factors that influence patient satisfaction for patients who have reconstruction after a mastectomy. And so through that, I also have a public health lens because of my master’s, so I’m looking to see how national health care policy has affected the diversity of our patients who are able to access breast reconstruction. Next year will be my final year of medical school, but I hope to go into plastic and reconstructive surgery, working with both breast cancer patients and transgender patients and pursuing a gender-affirming surgeries fellowship.
AAMC Action:
How was your experience as a member of the first AAMC Action Ambassador cohort, and what did you like about the program?
Rachel Schafer:
The AAMC Action Ambassador program was incredibly helpful to me in building my understanding of public policy and the intersection of medicine with policy issues. I think the sessions that we had every month helped give me the knowledge and background of the policies that we try to advocate for, and then I could use that information to share about advocacy issues within my sphere of friends and on Twitter. It was also so great getting to connect with students all across the country who share this passion for health care policy and advocacy and learning from professionals at the AAMC that are engaging with health care policy work every day.
AAMC Action:
What was one of the policy issues the Ambassador program helped you learn more about?
Rachel Schafer:
I was especially drawn to the GME bill that we discussed and advocated for that was trying to increase the number of GME-backed residency spots over the next few years due to the physician shortage. I think this issue stuck with me both as a medical student and knowing friends that did not match even though they’re incredibly qualified students with their degrees, and because of this huge national problem of the physicians shortage, particularly in underserved communities. So to see a policy that really aims to address these aspects struck a chord with me. I really tried to bring up these discussions when I could and make that the main policy platform that I was trying to back throughout the year and promote.
AAMC Action:
How do you approach conversations around advocacy, whether on social media or in person?
Rachel Schafer:
I think what was really empowering about this program was that I got to further develop my skills as an advocate throughout the year. And so initially I started off just by copying and pasting information that was sent to us by AAMC on Twitter and left it at that. But over time I developed, I would say, more confidence throughout the year in bringing up in class or through conversations with friends about different issues and sharing information about what AAMC was focusing on. And then separately, I am a huge lover of memes. I think humor is the best way to convey most information. And so I tried to add a little bit more of a flair to the tweets that I was sending out, just in the hopes that it would lighten the mood, grab attention, and still be able to convey the important information.
AAMC Action:
Why is advocacy important to you as a future physician?
Rachel Schafer:
As a future physician, I want to do everything I can to serve my patients to the best of my abilities. And I think that applies on many different levels. First, just gaining clinical knowledge and expertise so that I can provide them with the best evidence-based medicine. But going beyond that, believing and practicing that everyone deserves to be able to access the best care, and benefit from that care. And I really think that that’s where the policy and advocacy work that we’re doing here at AAMC comes into play.
AAMC Action:
Why would you encourage a medical student or resident to consider the AAMC Action Ambassador Program?
Rachel Schafer:
I would highly recommend engaging with the AAMC Ambassador program if you have that strong desire to learn more about health care policy, health care implementation, and learn how you can step into the role of a health care advocate. This program will give you the foundation of knowledge, but also the tools to add to your toolbox to start engaging your community and help contribute to health care policy change.