Editor's Note

Brie Howerton, DO, MSBE
AAWEP Junior Resident Representative

Happy New Year to all! As we start a new year, let us renew our focus on advocacy! Whether it is advocating for patients in the department, yourself in your local ecosystem, or all of the above at a state or national level, advocacy is critical to advancing health policy for all.

While the battle of misinformation continues, at my shop, we have started focusing on providing many brochures to patients, as well as reaching out through social media posts related to what are reasons to come to the PCP, ER, or urgent care. These are fun, easy touch points with our patients that help develop leadership in the community and build awareness around important healthcare topics. Some of these topics include URI symptom red flags, differentials for chest pain, and tricks for spotting strokes quickly.

We have a lot of fun interacting with our other staff members and the residents enjoy teasing our attendings during the videos. It has definitely helped provide an outlet for our physicians to advocate for patients’ needs, as well as bring to light policy issues we are working on throughout the year.

I challenge you and your shop to engage in social media health advocacy videos and see what kind of positive changes you can bring to your community!