Public Health Care Policy Fellowship

Setup Instructions

2004 DHHS Primary Health Care Policy Fellowship Program

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Introduction

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is committed to enhancing the nation's health status, particularly by supporting health promotion and disease prevention activities. Today, many Americans lack access to an ongoing source of primary health care services. Yet, this Nation spends far more per capita on health care than any other. The DHHS believes that in order to improve access to essential clinical preventive services and contain costs, it must join with other public entities and the private sector to revitalize the Nation's primary health care delivery system. However, primary health care is delivered by a constellation of providers from different health professions and does not benefit form a unified professional voice. There is no central organization of leadership that promotes improved primary health care services, training, and research. In this context, the original DHHS Primary Care Policy Fellowship was initiated.

Purpose

The purpose of this intensive 6-month Fellowship is to provide a unique learning experience for early-to-mid career professionals with 5-10 years professional experience in any combination of primary health; care/service, academics, research, and administration. The program provides a better understanding of the dynamics of primary health care policy development, the legislative process, and resource identification, with the overall goal of increasing the capabilities of primary health care leaders to affect health policy at institutional, local, state, and national levels. During this period there will be three weeks of on-site training.

This cadre of professionals will:

learn about the DHHS Initiatives on primary health care, service and research,
identify interdisciplinary approaches to become more effective advocates for improving primary health care, service, and research
examine primary health care programs and policy issues
examine the policy development process (program and legislative), and
have the opportunity to develop and maintain an ongoing interdisciplinary private and public professional network to share perspectives on primary health care.

Objectives

To introduce the principles of the DHHS Initiatives.
To explore the roles of the Agencies within the DHHS and the specific programs that address primary health care service, training, and research.
To introduce the legislative process, i.e., how bills are presented before Congress, how committees and staff prepare prospective legislation, how Federal agencies participate in the legislative process, and how legislation is enacted.
To introduce specific elements of policy development including primary health care financing, outcomes research, public health, constituency development, and work force.
To present multidisciplinary perspectives on primary health care.
To sensitize participants to the strengths of an interdisciplinary approach to collaborating and networking to affect health care delivery and policy.
To provide an integrated educational experience in interdisciplinary policy teamwork culminating in the opportunity to present and discuss their work and policy recommendations with senior officials in DHHS.

Time Requirements

To complete the DHHS Primary Health Care Policy Fellowship, participants are expected to attend all on-site training. This will require an absence from their work for a minimum of 3 weeks, during the 6-month period. During time periods between on-site training, participants are expected to work individually and with their policy development team to complete all assignments. All program components must be completed. Interested individuals should carefully consider the time requirements of the Fellowship before having their sponsoring association/organization submit a nomination package.

Funding

Travel expenses and per diem will be paid for all non-Federal fellows, but no salary or honorarium will be offered. Federal fellows travel expenses and per diem are the responsibility of their Agency.

Nominating Process

Approximately seventy health profession associations/organizations are asked to nominate a candidate for the DHHS Primary Health Care Policy Fellowship. The competition for the Fellowship is high. Interested individuals must be nominated by one of the Participating Associations/Organizations.

Nominations are presented in the form of a letter to the Executive Director and must include the following information on the nominee:

a current curricula vitae
one-page bio-sketch
Participating Association/Organization assessment of the individual’s: 1) demonstrated commitment to primary health care; 2) potential to utilize the Fellowship experience; 3) potential to be an active contributor during the Fellowship program; 4) current/future potential for leadership position in primary health care; 5) management experience; and 6) constituency representation.

The Fellowship does not accept unsolicited nominations.

Nominations for the 2005 class will be sent to the associations/organizations in early Fall 2004.

Preliminary Fellowship Course Content

Leadership and Team Development Assessment/Fellowship Pre-Assessment

Before attending the Orientation/Federal Policy and Government Week, the fellows will complete a multi-rater assessment with the application of values related to leading and following. The participant will receive feedback in a composite report from up to six raters about the participant’s perceived values in leadership and teamwork. To evaluate the fellows expectations of the Fellowship and their perceived knowledge of the topic areas, a Fellowship pre-assessment will be completed. Fellows will also complete the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), an assessment that enhances individual’s understanding of themselves, their type, and the world around them.

Orientation/Federal Policy and Government Week

The orientation will establish a working relationship between the participants and program staff and outlines program requirements, policies, expectations and opportunities. This session will introduce each fellow to the roles of the Federal Agencies within the DHHS and the specific DHHS Secretarial Initiatives that address primary health care service, training, and research. It will also introduce all participants to the legislative process, i.e., how bills are presented before Congress, how committees and staff prepare prospective legislation, how Federal agencies participate in the legislative process, and how legislation is enacted. This session will be held in the Washington, D.C. area.

Policy Topics/Interdisciplinary Group Work

The participants, working in interdisciplinary groups, will design and develop policy topic projects. Early on in the session the fellows will be asked to identify some of the most pressing policy issues related to implementation of the DHHS Secretarial Initiatives. Resulting policy recommendations will be discussed with senior officials in DHHS at the end of the Fellowship. This exercise will sensitize participants to the strengths of an interdisciplinary approach and collaborating and networking to affect health care delivery and policy. It will also give the participants experiential knowledge of the policy process from formulation through application.

Team Leadership and Policy Development Week

The Team Leadership and Development Week will guide participants to achieve exemplary leadership, team development, and interpersonal communication skills through exploration and understanding of participant’s strengths, preferences, developmental areas, and impact on others.

This session will be held outside the Washington, D.C. area.

Policy Development Session and Final Week Activities

The Policy Development Session will introduce participants to specific areas of policy development including primary health care financing, outcomes research, public health, constituency development, and work force. Fellows will be trained to be more effective in guiding primary health care policy development at the national, state, and local levels.

During the final week of the Fellowship program, the fellows will plan and conduct activities to round out their personal program experience:

Group meeting with senior officials in DHHS
Individual meetings with Constituent Organizations
Individual meetings with Congressional Representatives
Commencement

The Bureau of Health Professions coordinates and supports the DHHS Primary Health Care Policy Fellowship. For more information on the program, contact Lynn R. Wegman, Director, DSCPH, Bureau of Health Professions, 301-443-1648; email: lwegman@hrsa.gov or Jennifer Donovan, Program Manager, Bureau of Health Professions, 301-443-8044; email: jdonovan@hrsa.gov