Seven health professionals have been named Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellows for 1998-1999 by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences.
The fellows -- outstanding, mid-career health professionals working in academic and community-based settings -- were chosen on a competitive basis from nominations by academic health centers and other institutions with medical schools, as well as by organized health care delivery systems such as HMOs and other community-based providers. The fellows will complete a wide range of activities designed to enrich their knowledge of the public-policy process, and foster a better understanding of how government health activities relate to the mission of their home institutions and local communities. After a period of orientation, each fellow will work in congressional and executive branch offices with key responsibilities for health legislation and programs. The fellowship program was established in 1973 at the Institute of Medicine with a grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton, N.J.
Home institutions of the award recipients include Case Western Reserve University, Georgetown University Medical Center, Louisiana State University, Oregon Health Sciences University, Pennsylvania State University, University of Kansas Medical Center, and Vanderbilt University. Upon completion of the program, fellows are expected to return to their home institutions.
The fellows are selected by the IOM's Health Policy Fellowships Advisory Board, chaired by Sheila A. Ryan, Ph.D., dean, School of Nursing, and director, Medical Center Nursing, University of Rochester, Rochester, N.Y. The recipients are:
The fellowship year begins in September with three months of orientation sessions arranged by the Institute of Medicine. These sessions acquaint fellows with current health issues, federal health agencies, principal congressional committees active in health affairs, and major health-interest groups. The fellows then participate in a three-week schedule of further orientation sessions organized by the American Political Science Association in conjunction with its Congressional Fellowship Program. These three weeks provide the fellows with a broadened perspective on the range of public-policy issues and the political process. During this time, the fellows interview for their work assignments in the offices of senators and representatives in Congress and the executive branch. Supplementary activities for the fellows are scheduled by the Institute of Medicine throughout the year.
Additional information on the fellowship program can be found on the Internet at http://www4.nas.edu/iom/hppf/rwj/main.nsf .