Abstract
Pediatricians have a responsibility to vote because decisions made by the government have a large effect on both the children we serve and the way we practice medicine. Unfortunately, voter turnout by doctors is less than the general population, although this trend has been improving. To encourage pediatric residents to vote, we assessed barriers to voting and then implemented interventions to overcome these barriers. Using designated voting schedules, informational sessions, and frequent reminders of voting dates, we saw nearly 100% voter participation of respondents in the 2020 and 2022 elections. Residency programs can make voting more feasible for their residents with simple, easy to implement interventions.
Key Take Away Points
- Voting is a great way to practice patient and legislative advocacy.
- Pediatric residents face barriers to voting, most notably time constraints.
- Residency programs should take an active role to facilitate residents executing their right to vote through interventions including providing details of voting times and locations, reminders, and designated voting times.
Author Biography
Dr. Taylor Rosenbaum is a pediatric hospitalist. She is a passionate advocate with interests in firearm violence reduction and civic engagement. Dr. Allison C Young is a pediatric chief resident, leader in the residency advocacy committee, and future chief resident with plans to pursue neonatal intensive care fellowship in the future. Dr. Jonathan Pan is an internal medicine pediatrics resident interested in critical care and hematology/ oncology. Dr. Pratishtha Chhabra is a resident in the Primary Care Leaders Evaluating and Addressing Disparities pediatric program, who is planning on practicing primary care pediatrics. Dr. Ariel M Lyons-Warren is a child neurologist and physician scientist whose research focuses on sensory processing from circuits to phenotypes. For the last 5 years, she has organized voter registration for all incoming medical trainees in the Texas Medical Center. They are all passionate advocates and believe in the importance of voting.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Dr. Michelle Lopez for her help with editing and brainstorming.
Recommended Citation
T Rosenbaum, AC Young, P Chhabra, J Pan, AM Lyons-Warren. (2023) "Vote Rx: An Advocacy Prescription for Residency Programs," Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk: Vol. 14: Iss. 2, Article 5.DOI: https://doi.org/10.58464/2155-5834.1528
Available at: https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/childrenatrisk/vol14/iss2/5
