One of the things that has been very exciting about being a fellow is that I am continuously encouraged to pursue all of my academic interests. One of those is being vocal about marginalized and underserved populations not only from a social aspect but also most proximal to me in the realm of healthcare.
One such experience was attending the ACOG's Congressional Leadership Conference earlier this month as a sponsored Junior fellow. ACOG puts on this event every year and encourage everyone interfere to come to Washington DC for an intense two days of training and preparation for a day on Capitol Hill discussing some of the biggest legislation that pertains to our patients. It was like an intense study combining our knowledge of health equity, disparities, government, and current events.
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| North Carolina docs in DC |
This year, there were SEVEN HUNDRED OBGYN DOCTORS that traveled to DC to be advocates. ACOG's two big initiatives are making sure the government continues the work started last year to reduce maternal mortality in the United States, and also makesure that women remained insured and covered in their benefit plans.
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| UNC MFM Fellows! |
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| An awesome talk on health equity by Dr. Allison Bryant |
We heard from the US Attorney General, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Congresswoman Robin Kelly, and many others who stood with us in our crusade for women's health.
I think that this might have been one of the most exciting, enjoyable and inspirational things that I have done this far as a physician. On the last day, I was able to sit in rooms with our legislator's Health Aides and speak face-to-face about my patient's stories that illustrated the importance and urgency of making sure that our politician's decisions reflect patients' needs.
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Congressman GK Butterfield (my district!)
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As an added bonus, one of my little bros happened to be in town then too, so we got to hang out and do a little sigh-seeing too!
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| The White House |
Below are more of my favorite pictures from the weekend. Can't wait to do it again next year, but there is plenty more to do in the meantime!
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| My sweet co-fellow Annie! |
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| MFM Docs at the CLC! |
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| Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley |
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| US Attorney General Dr. Jerome Adams |
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| My co-fellow Angelica |
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| I also got to meet some of my insta buddies! @mindfulofmed |
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| NC docs outside one of our Health aid visits! |
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| Congressman David Price |
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| Congress |
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| The Supreme Court |
