Purpose: Health policy and advocacy are essential physician competencies,
yet many medical curricula provide limited structured training for students
to learn about policy or resolution. This project describes the development
and evaluation of a health policy workshop designed to introduce medical
students to foundational policy knowledge, support their advocacy confidence,
and provide experience with drafting resolutions aligned with national policy
processes.
Methods: Guided by the Innovation-to-Action framework, we designed a
multimodal workshop consisting of: a pre-work online module introducing
health policy structures, advocacy pathways, and key components of
resolutions; a 2-hour in-person session using small-group facilitation, peer
collaboration, and physician mentorship to practice resolution development;
and a reflective post-workshop component with optional follow-up support.
AI-assisted tools were incorporated to help students identify policy gaps and
structure proposals. A single-group pre–post design aligned with the modified
Kirkpatrick model assessed reaction, knowledge, learning, intended behavior,
and perceived impact. Thirty-two first-year medical students completed the
workshop, with 23 providing matched pre- and post-data. We analyzed the
quantitative data using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests; open-ended responses
underwent thematic analysis.
Results: Participant reaction remained high (median 5.0 to 5.0). Knowledge
scores improved (2.65 to 3.26; p=.079). Significant gains were observed in
learning (2.55 to 4.36; p<.001; r=.85), intended behavior (3.62 to
4.57;p<001; r=.72), and perceived impact (4.36 to 4.75; p=.049; r=.41).
Qualitative data highlighted increased confidence, relevance, and engagement,
with students noting enhanced understanding of advocacy processes and greater
comfort navigating policy systems.
Conclusion: This blended, I2A-guided workshop improved multiple domains of
policy-related competency and was feasible to deliver using existing
resources. Strengths included multimodal design, structured mentorship, and
alignment with a national policy framework. Limitations included potential
ceiling effects (high initial scores). The workshop model is generalizable
and adaptable across institutions seeking to integrate scalable, multimodal
workshop-based health policy education into medical training.