This activity is FREE for SGIM/ACLGIM Members.
The price for non-members is $31.50
Course Description
As physicians, we have access to privileged and profound information about the human experience through our daily clinical encounters, and our social position makes it seem as though we have the ability to speak through megaphones. We are thus professionally obligated to shed light on injustices, spread the word about good ideas, and bring meaning to the tedium of daily work. Beyond obligation, advocacy can serve as an opportunity to contribute to the solution, as well as an emotional outlet and an endeavor of hope – something all healthcare providers need in the midst of rising burnout, moral injury, and cynicism.
Op-ed writing can be an extremely powerful advocacy tool, but for many physicians, this still feels out of reach. Op-eds serve many purposes, including raising awareness about a problem, promoting a cause or initiative, or influencing public opinion and policy. Physicians hae the opportunity to write powerful op-eds by drawing on their experience and research, numerous patient encounters, and challenging interactions with the healthcare system. Op-ed writing is a skill that can be taught, yet training in this skill is absent from most medical curricula. We aim to address this gap in training while also reinvigorating the civic duty to not just treat medical disease but to advocate for change in the system and address inequities that continue to plaguecour society.
This course will give clinicians the confidence and know-how to advocate about issues in the news, on the wards, from their in-baskets, and beyond. The interactive session will cover the purpose(s), structure, and submission steps for successful op-eds, along with illustrative examples and tips for skillful writing. The presenters have extensive experience in writing published op-eds and other opinion pieces and will share their own stories of how they learned to become effective writers. You will take away practical guidance for success with op-eds and strategies for getting your viewpoints in print. You will also gain a sense of the op-ed platform as accessible and impactful and your powerful voice as a clinician.
Learning Objectives
- Identify ways that op-ed writing can support an advocacy issue and serve as an extension of a health professional role in society.
- Identify a system-level problem, frame the issue, and articulate a call to action.
- Describe the structure and characteristics of effective op-eds utilizing the expertise of clinicians on health-related issues.
CME/MOC
Continuing Education Units Available: 1.25 CME; 1.25 MOC
CME/MOC Expires: January 15, 2028
To receive CME / MOC credit, you must:
- View all content recordings and case studies (viewing one section will give access to the following sections);
- Open and complete the Evaluation/Assessment; and
- Open the Certificate and claim your certificate (print/save for your records).
Authors
- V. Ram Krishnamoorthi, MD, MPH
University of Chicago The Pritzker School of Medicine - Maggie Salinger, MD, MPP, MPH
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University - Tracey L. Henry, MD, MPH, MS, FACP
Emory University School of Medicine
