Students from many disciplines study at the Center through various paths – field placements, clerkships, fellowships, or our courses. For more information about specific opportunities, see the applicable sections below. If you do not see your discipline listed and are interested in learning advocacy, consider enrolling in our applied advocacy experience via our Applied Advocacy Experience (Patient-Centered Care and Health Advocacy Clinical).

• Medical Students
• Law Students
• MPH Students
• Pharmacy Students
• Social Work Students
• Genetic Counseling Students

Note that a field placement, clerkship, or fellowship at the Center for Patient Partnerships can count towards completion of a Consumer Health Advocacy Certificate.

Medical Student Fellowship Opportunities

Medical Student Fellowship Opportunities

Medical students join us for our applied advocacy experience and courses each semester or spend the summer advocating for patients and working on a research project funded by a Shapiro Fellowship.

If you are a UW-Madison medical student interested in doing a Shapiro Fellowship with the Center for Patient Partnerships, and learning about patient advocacy, please contact us at learning@patientpartnerships.org

The Shapiro Fellowship competition provides a stipend for a research project relevant to medical science and practice. Information on funding for student research, including Shapiro Fellowships is available here.

For more information about funding contact:
Lynne Cleeland
Assistant Dean, Academic Affairs
4119 HSLC
lmcleela@wisc.edu

Examples of Shapiro Fellowship projects:

• Bret Valentine, UWSMPH MD Candidate, 2014, completed research on End of Life programs in hospitals and recent attempts to pass federal legislation to compensate physicians for related consultations with patients.
• Alicia Sprecher, UWSMPH MD Candidate 2014, engaged in qualitative research about the role of interdisciplinary teams in Cancer care: “Studying at the Center and completing a Shapiro Fellowship gave me insight into the vast world of healthcare that starts once a patient leaves the doctor’s office.”
• Deborah Fadowole, UWSMPH MD ‘10 completed research on patients’ use of the Internet: “Working as an advocate allowed me to explore medicine from another perspective: the patient’s. It was an enlightening experience that will influence the rest of my medical education and my future as a physician.”
• Brian Schmidt UWSMPH MD ‘10 completed research on access to clinical trials: “I learned an incredible lesson that will benefit me years from now, both in medicine and in life. A patient’s concern is not always someone else’s problem. All too often, a patient’s concern is forwarded to another provider. My experience at the Center inspires me to be sure that when a patient voices a concern I will address it and/or make sure another provider will.”

Legal Clinical Experience

The Center’s Applied Advocacy Experience (Patient-Centered Care and Health Advocacy Clinical) offers an excellent opportunity for law students to learn about laws that impact patients in the areas of health, insurance, disability, and employment. Students also learn skills relevant to serving future legal clients: including interdisciplinary problem-solving, interviewing and communicating, case management, and correspondence drafting. Students are eligible to enroll beginning the summer after their first year.

Our clinical offering may be started any semester but requires an application and permission of instructor.

Learn More >

MPH Field Experience

In addition to advocacy education, the Center engages in grant-funded projects, research and systemic advocacy. Field placement students are invited to participate in on-going projects or design a self-directed project relevant to patient engagement/empowerment, health advocacy, health care navigation, or consumer-influenced healthcare improvement. Past projects have included: analysis of the PPACA and creation of guidebook for advocates; researching the impact of patient-driven internet research on the relationship between patients and providers; legislative advocacy regarding private health insurance coverage and mental health parity; community outreach to vulnerable populations; studying state-wide variability regarding screening for melanoma; and examining oncologist communication regarding clinical trial opportunities.

An MPH field experience includes:

• Applied education in advocacy skills and methods, patient-centered care, and interprofessional (teamwork) problem-solving through our Patient-centered Care and Health Advocacy course. Students are required to enroll in this course in tandem with their field placement.
• Identification and completion a project in an area of public health practice including core public health functions (e.g. needs assessment, program planning, program evaluation, policy development, educational campaign, or an applied research project) and relevant to patient engagement/empowerment, health advocacy, health care navigation, or consumer-driven health systems performance improvement.

To apply, contact us at learning@patientpartnerships.org to express your interest and a preliminary topic area. Three credits of the field placement (PHS 788) can apply towards the Consumer Health Advocacy Certificate requirements.

Pharmacy Clerkship & Shadowing Opportunities

Application for these opportunities occurs through the Pharmacy school. Contact us at learning@patientpartnerships.org for more information.

Pharmacy Contact: Mara Kieser, Asst. Dean/Clinical Assoc. Professor, makieser@pharmacy.wisc.edu, 608.265.4842.

Advanced clerkships provide pharmacy students the opportunity to learn about the health care system from patients’ perspectives in an interdisciplinary environment along with medical, law, social work, public health, and other graduate students. Students learn key patient advocacy skills and substantive knowledge about health care navigation (medical decision making, insurance, finance, disability, and related laws and regulations) as they advocate with patients.

Specifically, Pharm D. students:

• Attend an intensive two week orientation which introduces students to health advocacy and related substantive topics;
• Provide comprehensive advocacy to individual patient cases;
• Provide intake to potential clients who contact the Center, utilizing interviewing and assessment skills;
• Attend weekly sessions including case review with colleagues and instructors and presentations by guest speakers on relevant topics (e.g. researching a medical issue, employment law related to disability/healthcare issues, administrative agency processes, insurance coverage);
• Learn core patient advocacy skills (case monitoring, confidentiality, communication, research, and ethics), and work with other professional and graduate students from a variety of programs around campus.

Advanced clerkship logistical information:

• Hours – Pharm. D. clerkships are full time, (i.e. a minimum of forty hours per week, five days per week.)
• Course – A clerkship at the Center for Patient Partnerships qualifies for: 760 – Pharmaceutical Care Clerkship (Elective clerkship rotations; inpatient or outpatient).
• Experience can count towards Consumer Health Advocacy Certificate.

Pharmacy Shadowing

Pharm D (DPH-1, DPH-2, DPH-3) students can shadow Center faculty during their Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPE’s). This opportunity gives pharmacy students an introduction to patient advocacy, interaction in an interdisciplinary environment and contact with a diverse patient population. During shadowing Pharm D students may attend a clinical seminar, sit in on a client meeting or meet with faculty. For more information contact us at learning@patientpartnerships.org.

Social Work Field Placement Opportunities

Open to first or second year students.

First (1) year graduate students: Specific responsibilities will include: phone intake intervention, in-person contact and health care advocacy. Student goals will include developing generalist social work skills, understanding the multiple systems encountered in the health care system, developing and applying advocacy skills and working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary setting. The student would be expected to be flexible, enthusiastic, and strongly interested in these issues. No parking is available and a car is not needed.

Second (2) year graduate students: Specific responsibilities will include: phone intake intervention, in-person contact (on some cases), and health care advocacy. Student goals will include building on generalist skills, understanding the various systems encountered in the health care system, developing and applying advocacy skills and working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary setting. The student would be expected to be flexible, enthusiastic, and strongly interested in these issues. No parking is available and a car is not needed.

SW Practice and Social Policy students will focus on analyzing policy and its impact on a micro level. Based on opportunity and student interest, they may have the opportunity to do one or more of the following; community outreach and advocacy training, develop policy initiatives with community partners and on a statewide level.

SW Practice and Health students will focus and develop advanced knowledge of the health care system, including the players involved, roles of the consumer and policy implications. The student will gain skills and knowledge related to working in an interdisciplinary setting.

Contact us at learning@patientpartnerships.org for further information.

Genetic Counseling Modified Consumer Health Advocacy Certificate

The Center has forged a unique partnership with the Genetic Counseling Masters program. Since Genetic Counseling students focus on advocacy skills unique to genetic counseling in their program, students interested in completing our Consumer Health Advocacy Certificate follow a modified course of study, enrolling in 3 credits of our Applied Advocacy Experience course and 3 credits of our Models of Advocacy course. Click here here for more information about the graduate Certificate.

Genetic Counseling Program Director Catherine Reiser on the Program:

“Genetic Counselors, as required by their Practice Based competencies and Scope of Practice, serve as an advocate for their clients so that they ’can understand a client’s needs and perceptions and represent their interests in accessing services and responses form the medical and social service system.’ This competency is consistent with the goals of the Consumer Health Advocacy Certificate Program. The CHAC curriculum is an exceptional resource for practicing genetic counselors and current genetic counseling students who wish to build upon their skills. The interdisciplinary focus and service-learning components of the Consumer Health Advocacy Certificate Program ensure its students are competent and effective advocates.”

Click here to learn about Genetic Counseling student’s experiences learning advocacy skills.