Emergency medicine health advocacy: foundations for training and practice.

Emergency physicians (EPs) are uniquely positioned to act as health advocates for individual patients, emergency department (ED) patient populations and the Canadian public. However, most ED practice environments do not encourage health advocacy, and staff EPs often do not feel adequately prepared to address many health-determinant issues. The mandate to provide health advocacy training to emergency medicine residents must be addressed in light of these challenges. This report defines the role of EPs as health advocates and summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of the ED as a forum for advocacy. At the University of Toronto, we have developed a new curriculum using evidence-based ED initiatives, examples of Canadian EP advocacy, and a description of organizations involved in advocacy, and we have incorporated several principles of adult learning to increase learner investment, maximize relevancy for EPs and optimize retention into practice. Residents believe the curriculum is highly relevant, allowing them to recognize advocacy opportunities in their own practices.