Two second-year medical students have joined the ISMA Government Relations staff for the summer as health policy fellows. 

Ashley Poole, from Indianapolis, attends Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM). She graduated from DePauw University with a degree in biology and minors in Spanish and chemistry and earned an MS in cellular and integrative physiology from IUSM. She has worked as a tutor for inner-city youth and as a medical scribe. In July, she will work with patients in recovery from addiction and their families as part of the Hazelden Betty Ford Summer Institute for Medical Students in Minnesota.

Caitlin Harmon is a student at Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine. From Middlebury, Ind., she graduated from Taylor University with a degree in biology. She has worked at Starbucks and interned with Parkview Health and worked as a phlebotomist with IU Health before entering medical school.

The ISMA Health Policy Fellowship program began as a pilot program of the ISMA Medical Student Society in 2016. It is part of the Health Policy Fellowship Initiative, a national organization with the mission of promoting health policy and advocacy. The fellowships include a mandatory online curriculum in health economics, health policy, public policy and government relations. At the 2017 ISMA convention, the House of Delegates approved Resolution 17-17, allocating $2,500 each year for the fellowships in order to make them competitive with other summer opportunities for medical students.

To learn more about the Health Policy Fellowship Initiative, visit healthpolicyfellowship.org.