First year medical student perceptions of physician advocacy and advocacy as a core competency: A qualitative analysis

Abstract

Purpose

Medical societies have embraced advocacy as a core professional competency, but little is known about how entering medical students view physician advocacy. This study examined how first year medical students define advocacy, their motivations for and anticipated challenges to advocacy, and whether they believe advocacy should be a core competency.

Method

This study used a qualitative content analysis approach to analyze first year medical student narrative responses about physician advocacy. The analysis included the written responses of 95% of the first-year medical students at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine during two academic years.

Results

Students shared consensus that physicians should advocate on behalf of their individual patients. Students had varying opinions on whether all physicians should engage in societal level advocacy and whether it should be a core competency in medical school. Students find several compelling reasons for physicians to engage in societal advocacy but nevertheless anticipate challenges to physician advocacy.

Conclusion

Given increasing consensus that advocacy is a core competency of physicians, providing medical students the skills to successfully engage in advocacy is increasingly important. Any new mandatory curricula will need to focus on how to engage learners with varied views on advocacy.

Keywords:

• Advocacy
• activism
• core competencies
• social determinants of health
• professional identity formation

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Dr. Charlie Wray for his thoughtful feedback and comments on the draft manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no declarations of interest.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elizabeth P. Griffiths

Elizabeth P. Griffiths, MD, MPH, is Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine (DOM) at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

Michelle S. Tong

Michelle S. Tong, B.A., is a third-year medical student at UCSF School of Medicine.

Arianne Teherani

Arianne Teherani, PhD, is Professor in the DOM at UCSF.

Megha Garg

Megha Garg, MD, MPH, is Assistant Clinical Professor in the DOM at UCSF and San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center.