One of the most unique aspects of attending the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) is its home in the nation’s capital. Recently, second-year SMHS physician assistant (PA) studies student Tatum Little took advantage of GW’s location, joining other members of the Physician Assistant Education Association’s (PAEA) Student Health Policy Fellowship by lobbying on Capitol Hill in support of their future profession.
The annual Capitol Hill lobbying trip is one of the organization's signature student development offerings.
The in-person meeting consisted of a day of lectures and interactive sessions with advocacy staff from the American Academy of Physician Assistants and PAEA focusing on policy issues related to PA education and practice, advocacy, and the power of grassroots advocates. Little then got to meet with her representatives on the Hill to advocate for the profession and learn about legislation related to health care.
“Within the PA profession we’ve been more patient-focused and haven’t done much work advocating from a policy perspective,” said Little, “so what we see is PAs being left out of really important legislation.”
She said because of that, the chance to meet with lawmakers was incredible.
Little met with California lawmakers’ staffers, including those of Rep. Karen Bass (D), the only PA in Congress; Rep. Doris Matsui (D); and Sens. Kamala Harris (D) and Diane Feinstein (D).
“PAs fill in a lot of the health care gaps and provide more health care to underserved and more rural communities,” Little added. “But the challenge is that we don’t have as much diversity within the PA profession. So one of the objectives that is particularly important to me is increasing diversity in the PA profession.”
Little spoke about the importance of meeting their peers and future colleagues from across the country. She also addressed the importance of experience of being able to take what she's learned about advocacy and put it into practice.
“This was is exciting because it was the first time they’re actually teaching us to be leaders in advocacy, so it’s about how do you organize and get the message out there to benefit the profession, which is good because that benefits the patients later down the line,” she said.