Purpose
In a fast-changing health policy landscape, training medical students to acquire the knowledge and practical advocacy skills to inform change is crucial. This abstract evaluates the implementation of a mandatory health policy curriculum focusing on advocacy.

Methods
The policy curriculum was introduced to first and second-year medical students. Students completed a needs assessment, which informed the course development. In addition to the health policy content, the curriculum utilized the Earnest physician advocacy model and the Master Adaptive Learner (MAL) Model. This was achieved by sharing real-world success stories of physicians’ advocates, analyzing patient cases, and identifying strategies for success. Guest speakers ranged from nationally recognized physicians to medical students. Students reported their perceived self-efficacy in six advocacy skills: identifying policy issues, identifying areas of change, collecting and presenting evidence for change, identifying policymakers, and engaging stakeholders. They ranked the usefulness of the various activities used in class and reported the change in their MAL skills, including curiosity to learn, motivation, growth mindset, and resilience to make a change.

Results
Among 242 students, top areas valued were: funding residency training, fair work conditions, equal pay/opportunities for physicians, and advocating for patients’ wellbeing. Top-rated activities were patient cases (86%) and meeting with physician advocates (85%). Follow-up data showed that the perceived confidence in all advocacy-related skills increased significantly over time. Responses showed that 80-94% agreed that the course improved their MAL skills. Themes from qualitative data showed that students valued the sessions, preferred local speakers over national ones, and found activities led by other students more relatable.

Conclusion
This health policy curriculum was highly valued by students and improved their advocacy skills.