Child Health Advocacy Institute Equity and Policy Elective
A diverse workforce of academic clinicians equipped with the skills to dismantle structural inequities is essential to improving the health of all patients, in particular, those of systemically disadvantaged and under-resourced backgrounds.
The CHAI Equity and Policy Elective is a structured, two-week elective that will expose participants to pertinent topics in pediatric health equity through didactic lectures and asynchronous readings. Students will also engage in discussions with physicians and field experts who are experienced in advocacy, equity and health policy. As future physicians, students will be able to apply this knowledge to serve as physician-advocates.
Accepted applicants will be provided a stipend to cover travel and accommodation expenses. All applicants are welcomed though we are particularly interested in those with diverse life experiences and backgrounds.
How to Apply
Applicants must be in good standing at their medical school and have completed core clinical clerkships with passing grades by the time of participation in the elective.
Please complete our online application by 11:59pm (EST) on Friday, April 28, 2023.
For more information, email us.
More About the CHAI Elective
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In 2007, Children’s National became home to the country’s first hospital based department focused exclusively on child health advocacy, the Child Health Advocacy Institute (CHAI). Through leadership and collaboration, CHAI advances policy and systems changes to achieve health equity for all children.
CHAI features five departments, including:
- Community Affairs
- Government Affairs
- Community Mental Health
- Child Health Data Lab
- Advocacy Education
Areas of focus include:
- Community engagement
- Data
- Education
- Policy
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Please note the Children’s National Hospital clinical rotation date that coincides with the Equity and Policy Elective:
Sept. 11-22, 2023. This elective is only offered during this time frame. If you would require minor variations in the dates, please contact us to discuss prior to applying.
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No. All materials must be received by the final submission date. Please do not forget to finalize and submit your application by April 28, 2023.
Applications that are not completed and submitted by that date will not be considered. All supporting documents must be included.
We begin our application review promptly on May 1, 2023, so we can provide funding decisions as soon as possible.
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Yes, the VSAS application is how we place our visiting students into clinical rotations, a key portion of the program. Please submit your rotation preference via VSAS by May 31, 2023.
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All Children’s National electives are listed under George Washington University in VSAS because we are their department of pediatrics. The elective is PED 371, Building Health Equity.
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There are several other two-week electives offered that may be of interest to you. Please contact us for more information and you can consider doing a four-week elective with paired two-week components.
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An unofficial copy is acceptable, but a score report must be included. Simply indicating passing or not passing is not sufficient (though we recognize Step 1 is a pass/fail exam).
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No. A transcript is required but an unofficial copy is sufficient for the purposes of the application.
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Yes, one letter of recommendation is required for your application to be considered complete. Please have a faculty member who knows you clinically (rotation director, faculty who has worked with you on a rotation, pediatrics or otherwise, etc.) either provide you with a PDF copy of a letter or email it directly to
Matt Magyar. Note that your acceptance to the program may be conditional on receipt of a letter of recommendation.
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Yes. You can still sign up via VSAS though will be responsible for your own expenses. There is a cap on the course participants, so it is possible you may still be unable to participate.
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In addition to the typical expenses of an away rotation (room/board, food, travel), our field experiences will require use of transportation. This could include the Metro, buses, cabs/rideshare or personal vehicles.