Dr. Joseph Sakran selected as 2019–2020 RWJF Health Policy Fellow

Joseph V. Sakran, MD, MPA, MPH, FACS, director, emergency general surgery; associate chief, division of acute care surgery; and assistant professor of surgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD, recently was selected as a 2019–2020 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Health Policy Fellow by the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) and RWJF. Beginning this month, Dr. Sakran and five other health professionals will spend a year in Washington, DC, working on health care-related legislative and regulatory issues with members of Congress and the executive branch.

According to the NAM press release, the fellows were chosen in a national competition for accomplished health and behavioral/social science professionals who have an interest in health policy. Their experiences in Washington will enrich their understanding of federal policy formation and how federal and state governments relate to the mission of their home institutions and local communities. The fellowship program will commence with an intensive three-month orientation, followed by a nine-month assignment in a congressional office or the executive branch, where the fellows will be involved in formulating health care legislation and policy. After their Washington assignment, the fellows will continue to receive support to sustain their development as health policy leaders.

“We live at a time where it is mission critical for our clinicians to be part of the solution in reforming our health care system,” Dr. Sakran said. “This unique opportunity will provide me with both a theoretical and practical understanding of how the numerous pieces of our system function to provide care for Americans, while learning how policy is implemented at a federal level.”

Visit the fellowship website for more information, and read more about the NAM on the National Academy of Medicine website and the RWJF on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation website.