Why we are advocating for residency unions and access to opioid reversal drugs

In July 2024, we had the opportunity to attend our first AOA House of Delegates (HOD) meeting in Chicago. It was an honor to be a part of the Michigan delegation and see advocacy and health policy engagement take place right before our eyes. It was a collaborative and inclusive event where residents, medical students and attendings alike advocated for advancement of the osteopathic profession. 

As residents and medical students, we advocated for resolutions affecting those at all levels of their medical training. We helped pass house resolutions that support the rights of residents to unionize and encourage expansion of Naloxone/opioid reversal drug availability and accessibility to promote emergency use of these overdose reversal drugs in communities.

Supporting the rights of residents to unionize

The resolution on resident unionization was written because residents often face challenges related to long work hours, inadequate compensation, lack of adequate supervision and limited control over their work environments. These challenges can contribute to burnout, decreased quality of patient care and adverse effects on the well-being and mental health of residents. Unionization has been shown to provide residents with a collective voice to negotiate for fair wages, reasonable working conditions and improved patient safety standards.

The resolution’s goal was to express full support for the right of residents to form and join labor unions, encourage all residency programs to engage in constructive dialogue with residents regarding their concerns, respect the rights of residents to organize and collectively bargain, pledge active advocacy for policies at the state and national level that support the rights of residents to unionize and to promote fair and equitable working conditions in medical training programs.

Expanding naloxone and other opioid reversal agent or antagonist availability and accessibility: Promoting emergency use in communities

Resolution H-347, regarding supporting implementation of naloxone and drug testing kit access for emergency use, was written because mortality rates from opioid overdoses are decreasing but still high. While many pharmacies participate in the Naloxone Standing Order, there is a significant financial barrier to obtaining naloxone.

Additionally, while a prescription is not needed to obtain naloxone, many pharmacies require the patient to be evaluated by a health care professional before selling naloxone, thereby introducing another financial and logistical burden. The passed resolution states that the AOA advocates for funding to support the implementation of community programs to increase the accessibility of naloxone and drug testing kits through federal, state and local channels.

Our HOD experience

We were thrilled that both resolutions passed at the AOA HOD after a robust discussion on the floor. Participating in AOA House policymaking is important because health policy directly impacts public health. It can shape the availability, quality and affordability of health care services. It also helps address social determinants of health and serve underresourced and underrepresented communities. It can promote innovation and research in the medical field. Ultimately, and most importantly, it ensures that health care is patient-centered, which is fundamental to osteopathic medicine.

Other resident and medical student members of the Michigan delegation had strong representation. Brie Howerton, DO, was elected to the AOA Board of Trustees as its resident representative and Syed Rizvi, OMS III, won the 2024 OPAC James M. Lally, DO, Student Scholarship. Medical students and residents truly are the future of the AOA and the future of osteopathic medicine. Our work at HOD definitely demonstrated that.

For those of you reading this article who have not participated in either your statewide or national House of Delegates, we highly encourage you to do so! You will learn about resolution creation, Robert’s Rules, advocacy and more. To encourage others to learn more about the advocacy process, Powers and other osteopathic medical students are currently brainstorming ways to practice resolution creation, as well as to create committee meetings for resolution discussion, debate and wordsmithing.

MSUCOM students are very excited for what is being planned in the coming years. For other COMs looking to get their medical students involved in advocacy, there are many things you can do! You can develop a mock HOD, have state delegates come to your COM and speak about their experiences at the House of Delegates or have state lobbyists speak about their advocacy work. For us, hearing from our state lobbyist, Kevin McKinney, and participating in our state osteopathic HOD were the most inspiring experiences. They led to our participation in the AOA’s HOD.

What we have learned during the 2024 AOA House of Delegates will serve both of us going forward. We both have goals of serving in advocacy roles in the future. We plan to advocate on Capitol Hill for health care equity, serve in board positions where health care decisions are being made and inspire other health care professionals across the nation to do the same. We are looking forward to returning to the AOA House of Delegates in 2025 and bringing more resolutions, passion and enthusiasm for osteopathic medicine with us. We hope to see even more medical students, residents and fellows in Chicago with us next year!

Related reading:

The TIPS experience: A Q&A with DOs who put advocacy into action

The burden of medical debt: How the government is trying to defray it