II. Get Connected!

Goal: Identify a core group of students, faculty, and administrators who will support curriculum reform in the area of reproductive health.

Actions:

• Recruit students to be involved in the process. Increasing student involvement spreads out the work and can diffuse criticism and increase the chances for success.
• Use your faculty contacts to help identify administrators who will support your efforts to integrate more information on reproductive health into the curriculum.

Goal: Create working relationships with your allies.

Actions:

Create working relationships with allies by networking with individuals and getting involved with organizations and committees that support your efforts.

• Network with fellow students.
• Get involved in organizations that can serve as springboards, such as:
  • American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)
  • American Medical Association (AMA)
  • American Medical Student Association (AMSA)
  • American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA)
  • Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP)
  • Medical Students for Choice^® (MSFC)
  • Student National Medical Association (SNMA) Look for allies among other student leaders from a broad base of organizations.

Identify faculty and administration champions to work with.

• Talk informally with faculty and administrators who may be supportive of integrating reproductive health education in your school’s curriculum. Talk to professors after class, to your advisor during a meeting, or with clinical preceptors during rounds.

• For faculty and administrators who are not easily accessible, set up a meeting to talk about your desire to improve the curriculum.
• Create working relationships with physician members of national organizations who are affiliated with your school and who support your efforts.
• Strategize with supportive faculty on how to approach administrators. Faculty may have valuable insight about whom to approach first and which issues to emphasize.

Tips for Successful Meetings See Appendices 9 and 10 for more information. Schedule appointments. Be patient and persistent when scheduling appointments with hard-to-reach faculty or administrators. Be on time for your appointments; running late will undercut your credibility. Provide attendees with information to review before the meeting, such as the survey you plan to use to evaluate the curriculum (see Appendices 6, 7, and 8). Be prepared. Have written information (e.g., flyers, evaluations, statistics, rationale for implementation, outline of goals and objectives) and give copies of important information to participants. Practice presenting your information beforehand. Emphasize that the common goal is to improve the education of medical students. Be diplomatic. Example: Although the school provides good overall training, many students think we need to cover more topics in the area of reproductive health. What does the school think about this issue? Bring another student from your core group. Take notes during the meeting. Record the date, time, attendees, each person’s point of view, and how you think the meeting went. List conclusions and action items, as well as timeframes for tasks and responsible parties. Send copies of meeting minutes to people in attendance. Take this opportunity to confirm key communication points and thank them for meeting with you.

Goal: Maintain and strengthen the relationships you develop.

Actions:

• Notify student leaders, key faculty, and administrative committees about important meetings, breakthroughs, and challenges related to your activities.
• Update other medical students on your progress. Brief them on current activities, solicit suggestions for other strategies, or ask them to sign a petition supporting your efforts.
• Inform administrators and faculty members about your progress. Be sensitive and ensure that you are not creating a polarized “us versus them” dynamic.
• Assign concrete tasks to keep people involved and committed.
• Show appreciation for support. If a person or a group gives time, money, or other assistance to benefit your cause, write a thank-you note letting the supporter know that the help has made a positive difference. Provide supporters with updates on the progress of your efforts.