Grant Recipient: Vignatha Reddy, Class of 2011
Major: Psychology, Neuroscience
Organization: March of Dimes, Office of Government Affairs
Location: Washington, DC
Presently, I am interning for the March of Dimes, a non-profit organization devoted to the cause of healthy pregnancies and healthy babies. Working in the Office of Government Affairs (OGA), much of my time is devoted to supporting the organization’s advocacy efforts though the researching of background information on topics pertaining to maternal and child health. To date, I have researched and written reports or advocacy resource documents on issues such as the effects of maternal smoking on birth outcomes, best practices in preterm birth intervention programs, and the effectiveness of point of sale health warning signs in deterring health risk behavior. I have also closely followed legislation on child (and maternal) nutrition programs, edited reports pertaining to healthcare access for pregnant women, and spearheaded a project that would enable to the organization to recruit volunteers interested in supporting its advocacy efforts into an internal database.
Overall, this has been an exciting experience that has afforded me a unique political perspective on the workings of our healthcare system. Given the recent passage of major health reform legislation, it has been an exciting time to be in DC working for an organization keenly interested in health-related issues. Having listened in to various conference calls and attended the organization’s annual public policy advisory council meeting, where I heard from legislators and directors of agencies closely involved with this topic, I have been able to learn much about the actual components of the healthcare reform bill, the changes it will bring, and the challenges in implementation ahead.
As a premedical science major used to working in research labs and in clinical settings, working in an office has been a major but refreshing change. I have learnt much about healthcare issues on a public policy and social justice perspective, which I normally would not have been exposed to in a traditional premedical trajectory.
Overall, this has been a great experience which I would strongly recommend for both those interested in politics and/or the health professions.
