Physicians and residents have until March 16 to apply to be part of the next cohort of the Medical Justice in Advocacy Fellowship. The collaborative initiative is empowering physician-led advocacy to advance optimal health for all people and communities.
The Medical Justice in Advocacy Fellowship, launched in 2021, is preparing the next generation of physician advocacy leaders to generate and exchange solutions and drive meaningful policy changes. Learn more and apply now.
This first-of-its-kind postdoctoral fellowship is designed to enhance physicians’ advocacy leadership skills to improve health outcomes in the areas they serve or may serve. Using a unique learning framework, the fellowship provides a mentoring and training platform that equips participants with the foundational skills, tools, and knowledge to engage in health advocacy.
This involves exploring several critical topic areas, including:
- Upstream, action-based models of advocacy that address social drivers of health.
- Cultural and historical analysis of policies and their impact on health outcomes.
- Sector and resource engagement required to improve community health and well-being.
The fourth cohort runs from September 2026 through November 2027. The fellowship is open to all physicians and residents who have a demonstrated interest in optimal health outcomes and health advocacy.
Fellows take part in a three-day, in-person learning intensive at the beginning of the fellowship and subsequently engage in virtual monthly learning sessions with a multidisciplinary, multisectoral group of nationally-renowned experts, scholars, researchers, and current and former policymakers across all levels of government.
Fellows will receive a stipend for their participation in the fellowship program and would be eligible for CME credit hours.
Learning to be a powerful voice for patients
Over the years, Medical Justice in Advocacy Fellows have taken the time to talk with the AMA about what they have learned by taking part in this education initiative provided by the AMA and the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine.
For example, AMA member Whitney Sambhariya, MD, PhD, an ophthalmology resident, said last year that growing as an advocate is an essential part of her career—not an extracurricular activity.
Her advocacy is tied to what she encounters in her clinical work. She has seen firsthand how patients with low vision—that is, with visual impairments that can sometimes be addressed with medical interventions—can struggle in many facets of their lives.
“Low vision doesn’t just affect our patients when they’re in the ophthalmology clinic,” she said. “It affects them when they're in anyone's office, when they're in the grocery store—every part of their life.”
To rectify the dangers, Dr. Sambhariya has begun working with technologies that allow patients to have their prescriptions read aloud to them.
Dr. Sambhariya believes that stories based on her patients’ lived experience are essential to fostering real change beyond the exam room or hospital corridors. Physicians are uniquely positioned to tell those stories.
“We need physicians to be there to tell the stories of their patients, to tell what they're going through at a more microscopic level,” she said.
Another opportunity to lead
In a separate effort to advance optimal health outcomes, the AMA has launched a $1 million program offering $50,000 in funding for up to 20 physician-led initiatives that are focused on addressing urgent and unique health challenges confronting patient populations in their local communities.
The AMA Community Health Impact Lab micro grants will empower physicians to drive change through creative, community-centered solutions—whether tackling food insecurity, expanding caregiving support, improving maternal health or addressing other local health needs.
The application period is open now and submissions are due March 1, 2026. Recipients will be notified by April 30, 2026, and projects will launch soon after. Physicians interested in applying can find more information and submit proposals on the AMA Community Health Impact Lab micro grants page.
