This summer I interned at Children’s National Hospital in their policy arm, known as the Child Health Advocacy Institute (CHAI). Children’s is one of the few hospitals in the nation that has its own public health advocacy arm, and I was able to learn a lot about how a hospital approaches both creating policy and lobbying for it. I worked in the Community Affairs team which focuses on population health initiatives, and I specifically conducted research on best practices regarding chronic absenteeism and school-based health centers. In addition I was able to shadow my mentor in one of the pediatrics clinics and learn more about the intersection between health and community institutions (the so-called social determinants of health). Since my long-term goal is to become a physician, this internship was really amazing for me because it allowed me to learn about how doctors can incorporate their public health interests into advocacy work as part of their normal careers.