Lessons from serving as court-appointed advocates for children

Many who choose to enter the field of medicine do so with the intent to fulfill a servant’s heart, to care for the sick and vulnerable. Medical schools often seek out applicants with demonstrated evidence of such passion through volunteering. This shows the value and importance placed on altruism as a key defining factor of a physician’s spirit. 

Throughout medical training, this spirit is often challenged by the workload required of trainees. Lecture after lecture, simulation after simulation, students can easily become detached from that spirit, left trying to remember their “why” and keep hold of their motivations. Volunteering can offer a recharge of that spirit that keeps us going on the path to becoming osteopathic physicians.

We would like to offer insight into how we found a way to keep our passion alive through our volunteer work during medical training and in the process discovered a way to bring our lessons from our training to the field of child advocacy and skills from our volunteer work back into our clinical training. Throughout our volunteering, we were given the opportunity to work with children as their advocates in cases of abuse, neglect and dependency. These are court-appointed roles; they provide the child with a neutral third party to advocate for their best interests.

Our stories

We are Jon Peters, OMS IV, and Ethan Galloway, OMS IV, and we currently serve as child advocates through Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)/Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) programs. We initially became friends after serving together on the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine’s (AACOM) Council of Student Government Presidents (COSGP). As our friendship grew, we realized that aside from our desire to make others laugh and mutual love of Dolly Parton, we were both passionate about advocacy and seeking ways to explore these passions further. We soon realized we were both volunteering in the child advocacy field, Peters as a GAL in Ohio and Galloway as a CASA in West Virginia.

The CASA/GAL program is a nationwide network of trained volunteers who advocate in the courtroom for the best interests of children in cases of abuse, neglect and dependency. As CASA/GALs, our focus is solely on the child, ensuring that their needs and perspectives are never overlooked in the legal process. Over the course of each case, which can last anywhere from months to years, we visit with the child monthly in their home or current placement, getting to know them and their circumstances on a personal level.

We also meet with parents, teachers, caregivers and, when relevant, members of the child’s medical team. In addition, we collaborate closely with the child’s caseworker to monitor progress on the case plan, address barriers and ensure services are being delivered.

Ultimately, our role is to gather these insights and present them to the court in the form of detailed, objective reports and recommendations. These recommendations often directly influence decisions about custody, placement, visitation and access to critical resources. At its core, the CASA/GAL program provides children with a consistent advocate during one of the most uncertain times in their lives; an advocate who works to secure outcomes that prioritize their safety, stability and opportunity to thrive.

Our ‘why’

Both of us became involved in this work for different reasons, but we were united in our goals in this work; we wanted to make sure that the children in need in our community had a voice and someone there who was ready to make sure that voice was heard when they needed it most. 

Galloway has valued getting to meet children and families where they are in their lives during his time as a CASA. Volunteer advocates often come into the lives of those they work with at the most stressful, chaotic and disruptive times. Simply allowing space for honest expression of thoughts and frustrations carries value when establishing a relationship. Acknowledging these challenges in the moment empowers children and families to be validated in their struggles, and this is a tool that Galloway has learned to rely on to not only support these families through difficult times but also to cultivate trust and gain clearer insight into their needs.

From his time serving as a GAL, Peters has enjoyed seeing how even the little things can make a huge difference for a family. Peters found that respect was one of the easiest, yet most powerful tools that led to successful relationships in his cases. Families must place immense trust in a complete stranger who enters their home and speaks with their children during one of the most challenging times of their lives. Earning that trust, navigating difficult conversations with sensitivity and witnessing families grow stronger over the course of a case has been the most rewarding aspect of Peters’ work as a GAL.

We have both taken away many profound lessons from our time as child advocates. These lessons will undoubtedly shape our future practice of medicine, with advocacy remaining a cornerstone of our work.

Advocacy connects to OMS life

Our osteopathic teachings have helped us to better understand the need to care for our patients’ health with a multifaceted approach. As osteopathic physicians, we treat our patients’ physical illnesses, but we also address their mental and spiritual well-being.

A crucial factor in making sure we can effectively accomplish this is advocacy—we can advocate for access to care, a safe environment for our patients to share their needs and the ability to attain resources.

Similarly, we work to advocate for the children we represent to have a safe and healthy living environment, a happy childhood and the ability to freely share their wishes and concerns. Additionally, we must understand the importance of collaborative and team-based practice. Just like it takes multiple members of the healthcare team to provide excellent care for our patients, it also takes a great deal of collaboration to ensure the success of the children we represent. 

Our hope is to continue to grow our passions in this field as we progress through our training to become osteopathic physicians. Without a doubt, our “why” will be challenged again throughout residency and further into our careers. Yet we believe the lessons we have learned through child advocacy will serve as a compass to keep us grounded in the servant spirit that first drew us to medicine.

Just as the CASA/GAL program has reminded us that every child deserves to be seen, heard and supported, so too will we carry forward the conviction that every patient deserves care that addresses their body, mind and spirit. In this way, our experiences as advocates will not only shape the physicians we aspire to become but will also ensure that advocacy, in all its forms, remains at the heart of our practice.

We hope that this narrative may also shed light on the National CASA/GAL Association for Children, a fantastic organization that completes much-needed work in the field of child advocacy and has allowed us to grow as future physicians while furthering our passions.

We hope that many more of our osteopathic colleagues and other members of the healthcare team will consider seeking out opportunities for continued advocacy. The need for passionate and effective advocates who are willing to stand up for the needs of the many who are underserved, disadvantaged and/or without a voice is ever-growing. Let us all use our passions for helping others to grow our abilities to speak up for those in need, in practice and beyond. 

Find more information about your local CASA/GAL chapter here.

Related reading:

5 ways to get involved in advocacy as a medical student

How our lives before medicine help us become the doctors we’re meant to be