P2.095: A Doctor in the House (and Senate): Implementing a Novel Rotation for Pediatric Residents in the Colorado State Legislature

Background: Pediatricians advocate for the health of children and families, at the individual, community, and institutional level. To prepare trainees for this role, advocacy training is part of the curriculum in all Pediatric residency programs in the United States. Few advocacy training curricula offer the opportunity to see the legislative process from the inside, “where the sausage is made” (as the saying goes). Using the model of experiential education embodied in residency training, we sought to create an immersive legislative rotation for junior and senior pediatric residents in the Colorado State Legislature during the 2025 Legislative Session.

Project Description: A one-month elective rotation was offered to rising junior and senior residents at the University of Colorado School of Medicine Pediatrics and Med-Peds residency programs in the summer of 2024. Interested residents were matched with State legislators ast “Legislative Fellows,” working with the Member’s staff to address issues identified by their office as important to their constituents and to the State.  The Fellow was expected to complete all required trainings and policies of the State Legislature during the rotation and to be physically present at the State House as required by the Member.  The specific educational objectives of the rotation were to:
- Articulate an understanding of the policy making process within the State Legislature.
- Conduct an analysis of at least one specific health policy initiative, to inform a policy memo that accounts for the views of multiple stakeholders and offers options for policy-makers.
- Prepare clear, concise written materials for a variety of stakeholder groups (i.e. talking points, one-pagers, press releases, policy memo, etc).
Evaluation consisted of periodic debriefing with the residency faculty, comments by the professional Legislative staff, and written reflection by the Fellow.

Discussion: During the 2025 Legislative session 4 residents were placed in 3 offices within the Colorado General Assembly (2 in the House and 2 in the Senate). Reviews from the professional legislative staff were uniformly positive, and the residents reported comprehensive participation in all aspects of the legislative process. All the legislative offices engaged in the process expressed interest in participating again in the future. Residents who participated in this novel immersive experience within the Colorado State legislature reported a deeper understanding of the legislative process and improved skills to advocate for children and families. Future efforts include expanding the program within the Pediatric residency and expansion to other specialty training programs within the School of Medicine.

Conclusion: Residency training is based on immersive educational experiences. Incorporating an immersive legislative experience into Pediatric residency training may encourage advocacy by overcoming perceived barriers and lead to a deeper understanding of the role of the Pediatrician in the creation and implementation of sound child health policy.