A celebration lunch was held at Antoine’s Restaurant in New Orleans to honor the 11 students graduating with an MD and distinction of Honors in Health Policy. The Health Policy Honors Program at LSU Health Sciences Center-NO provides medical students the opportunity to spend 8 weeks as a policy fellow in Washington D.C. followed by their last 3 years of medical school conducting policy research. Through a set of elective courses, the Program introduces the medical students to the foundations and basics of health policy analysis and research. Goals of the program are to give students the practical and theoretical knowledge to recognize and actively participate as physicians in the role that policy plays in improving the health of populations and to understand how policy influences the context in which healthcare is practiced. Three of the students are also graduating with the combined MD/MPH degree. LSU Health Sciences Center-NO is the only medical school offering this opportunity to medical students.
Click here for a list of the students and the title of their manuscripts documenting their policy research and submitted for publication as a requirement for the honors recognition. The Health Policy Honors Program is funded through the generous support of AmeriHealth Caritas Louisiana.