Advocacy

Each year the Chapter sponsors RFDASH.  RFDASH was founded in 2005 by residents in the Massachusetts General Hospital forChildren Pediatrics residency program, and is now organized through a collaboration of all the Massachusetts pediatrics residencies and the MCAAP.  It was established as a time for the pediatric trainees of our state to come together as advocates for the children of our shared community. Since then, we have advocated for over 27 bills, many of which have been passed and are current Massachusetts law.

During this annual event, pediatric residents, fellows, and medical students  from all of the MA residency programs choose 2-3 state bills for which to advocate.  During this program, they learn about the bills from pediatric advocates, participate in lobbying  workshops and meet with their legislators to advocate for bills that affect children and families. Click here to access information about the 2024 RFDASH.

“At the heart of it, advocacy is about endorsing effective solutions. Advocacy can happen on many different levels, ranging from developing community-based resources to lobbying at the national level.” (Schwarz, Sisk, et al) – A Common Thread: Pediatric Advocacy Training. Kristin Schwarz, Bryan Sisk, Justin Schreiber, Faisal Malik. Pediatrics Jan 2015, 135 (1) 7-9;

Throughout its history, the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics has advocated for child health and its members. We have a strong Legislative Committee which works with the Executive Board and the Chapter’s lobbyist, on forwarding the chapter’s health policy priorities to Beacon Hill and in the community. Individual members are invited to join in the advocacy efforts of both the Chapter and national AAP.  In 2018, the Chapter began to make advocacy resources more accessible for member grassroots efforts.

As a pediatrician, you are probably advocating every day on an individual and community level for the benefit of your patients. Not all pediatricians want to advocate on the legislative level but many who have become involved in state and federal advocacy find that it energizes their clinical work. There are many systemic barriers to health and care for the children we treat and voicing our concerns can help our patients. Pediatricians are experts in child health and while we can hire expert lobbyists and consultants on the legislative process, nobody can tell stories of kids like pediatricians can.

• Become a MCAAP Key Contact and begin to reach out to your representatives, click here to sign up.
• Attend an MCAAP Legislative Committee meeting. Contact chaggerty@mcaap.org for more information.
• Reach out to the Chapter to for endorsement of a child health focused bill, click here to access the form.
• Learn how to meet with decision makers and present a strong argument for action, click here.
• Learn about the way bills move through the MA legislature (see under “resources” below).
• Use social media to speak out for child health. Tweet, blog, or join a pediatrician Facebook group to raise awareness on issues like vaccine safety, firearm safety, early education, or children with special healthcare needs.
  • Popular Twitter hashtags for child health are #tweetiatrician and  #putkids1st
  • As a Massachusetts pediatrician, you may want to use:
    • #MApediatriciansspeakout
    • #MAtweetiatrician
    • #SpeakOutForMAkids

• Access to PEDJobs.org – an on-line job database – serving over 400 job seekers
• CME Courses now available on-line through Pedialink, Pediatric Review and Education Program (PREP) – A self-study program for CME in general pediatrics that prepares pediatricians for the certification and renewal exam
• Automatic Membership in the Resident Section
• Grant Opportunities specific to residents
• Managed Care Resources including managed care, practice management, and coding tools
• Access to the Members Only Channel