Take STFM's free Advocacy Course and learn to educate legislators on the value of family medicine and encourage them to support expansion of a well-trained family medicine workforce. This course has been taken by over 3,000 family medicine educators and residents, and the updated version includes a new module on state and local advocacy.
The Milestones 2.0 include more robust requirements for Advocacy competencies. This course will help residents achieve level four of the Advocacy subcompetency.
The online course, which takes a little over an hour to complete, provides skills and practical strategies for governmental advocacy and promoting the value of family medicine. A certificate is available upon completion of the course. If you get interrupted during a module, you can pause it and resume at any time.
Added in 2020:
- A new module on state and local advocacy
- Improved user experience and design
- New pre- and post-course surveys help the learner assess their knowledge and comfort with advocacy
You can find additional free resources in the Advocacy Toolkit.
Topics and Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, participants should be able to:
- Define advocacy
- Understand its importance
- Know more about their feelings regarding advocacy
By the end of this section, participants should be able to:
- Understand the differences between state/local advocacy and federal advocacy
- Find and contact their legislators and local officials
- Develop a strong local advocacy campaign
By the end of this section, participants should be able to:
- Explain some key terms relating to Congressional legislation
- Learn about some of the key people with whom they will be interacting in advocacy work
By the end of this section, participants should be able to:
- Prepare for their advocacy efforts
- Find their legislator and his or her information
- Determine how best to make contact
- Set the groundwork for the relationship
By the end of this section, participants should be able to:
- Explain the importance of a one-pager
- Target their ask
- Provide background
- Write a one-pager
By the end of this section, participants should be able to:
- Prepare for their visit
- Interact with their legislator
- Have an effective visit with their legislator
By the end of this section, participants should be able to:
- Maintain a relationship with a legislator or staffer
- Be a resource
- Know when to check in and how to do so
Technical Requirements
In order to get the full experience of these courses, we recommend that the courses be viewed on a desktop computer, laptop, or tablet. Smartphones are not supported at this time.
How To Begin
Once you have purchased the course, go to your My Account page on stfm.org. Click Online Learning at the top to begin. The course will be in the Courses section of the online learning center.
Enroll Now
New: Institutional Advocacy Courses!
Advocate for Change within Your Health System
STFM has released two new online courses to help faculty and residents to advocate within their health systems–"Advocating Within Your Health System" and "Analyzing Health Systems Data." These interactive courses are designed to help you target messaging to decision makers within your health care systems. Learn how to effectively use data and tell stories when advocating for a proposal at your institution. Demonstrate the need for a health system change by building a business case that clearly supports your request.
Questions?
Have questions or need help enrolling? Email Brian Hischier, STFM manager of Online Education, or call (913) 800-5198.
