Last year, ASH News Daily spoke with Jerome Seid, MD, the 2020 ASH Congressional Fellow, regarding his hopes for the fellowship, his thoughts on the importance of advocacy, and how his experience was or would be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, we caught up with him to hear about how it went and whether his expectations had been met, as well as any new thoughts on the legislative process and how ASH members advocating on behalf of the hematology community have a direct impact in legislation.
“I was not sure what to expect starting the fellowship,” shared Dr. Seid, explaining that he had to conduct his work mostly through virtual platforms except for a short week in July when he was able to travel to Washington. “The breadth of opportunities presented to me was beyond what I anticipated, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on so many areas in which the Senator was engaged,” he added. Dr. Seid, a medical hematologist/oncologist at Great Lakes Cancer Management Specialists in Michigan, worked in Senator Jackie Rosen’s (D-NV) office, providing his expertise as a hematologist. Dr. Seid was surprised by the enjoyment he found in conducting constituent meetings and found it particularly gratifying to research, prepare, and hear questions asked in Senate hearings. “However, my most satisfying experience was the day I walked to the cloakroom with two bills in hand to introduce, one of which was self-initiated aimed at expanding transfusion services for Medicare hospice beneficiaries to improve access to care,” he reminisced. “Truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me!”
Last year, Dr. Seid shared that he indeed had prior experience advocating at the state level, testifying before several legislative committees on prior authorization and oral chemotherapy parity as well as participating in the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s advocacy days on Capitol Hill. He had hosted state legislators in his office to advocate for his patients and he wrote a column for the state hematology/oncology society regularly where he extolled the importance of advocacy. “My views on advocacy have not changed since starting the fellowship. In fact, watching how the office handled communication from constituents was reassuring and reinforced my position that advocacy is an essential part of practicing medicine,” Dr. Seid explained. He added that he believes the importance and benefits of advocacy should be emphasized during residency and fellowship training and highlighted that, at least in Sen. Rosen’s office, it was nice seeing letters, emails, and calls being tallied and reported out to the Senator, many even receiving responses, which he hopes is common practice for other House, Senate, and state legislative offices.
Dr. Seid admitted that COVID really changed his experience. “I tend to be a person who tries to create a work environment that is light and fun for my employees even in a setting of a hematology and oncology practice,” he said. But the virtual office world created by the COVID-19 pandemic sort of eliminated the potential for that type of light and spontaneous environment which Dr. Seid believes is conducive to an easier, more productive exchange of ideas and building of working relationships. However, he is pleased that despite the virtual work environment, he was able to work effectively and ultimately accomplish his pre-fellowship goals. And accomplish he did — introducing (as mentioned previously) not one but two pieces of legislation. “The coming year will be a return to my practice and continued engagement on matters pertaining to hematology and oncology to be addressed in the Michigan state legislature,” he commented, stressing that his advocacy work isn’t over after this fellowship ends.
To anyone unaware of the ASH Congressional Fellowship or on the fence about applying, Dr. Seid says, “There is no downside to the fellowship… the benefits outweigh any perceived risks.” He further clarified that the fellowship can be valuable anywhere along the career spectrum for both clinical and non-clinical hematologists and that having a clearly defined pre-fellowship legislative goal is not necessary, although useful, since there are countless opportunities within Congress to engage in multiple areas of health policy, even those not directly related to hematology. “As physicians, we are in a unique position to speak for others and the fellowship provides a means to do just that,” he added. For him, the immersion into Congress ended up being a much-needed and enjoyable respite from the rigors of private practice as he believes could happen for other applicants. “I truly think that a fellow can make a difference though a healthy dose of realism is needed as the process can be excruciatingly slow, and success may feel elusive,” advised Dr. Seid.
Through it all, the positives outweighed any negatives. Dr. Seid stressed how grateful he is for having this unique opportunity to spend a whole yar in Congress, “And it was a hell of a year — COVID-19, election, insurrection, impeachment, and inauguration!” he exclaimed. Yet, he is appreciative of the extraordinarily bright, energetic, and passionate people he met whom he found both inspired and inspiring. “Observing the work of the staff in a Congressional office reaffirmed the importance of becoming and remaining engaged and vocal at all levels — local, regional, and federal,” he concluded.
To learn more about the fellowship and to apply, visit www.hematology.org/advocacy/congressional-fellowship and to learn about the Society’s advocacy efforts, access resources to be an advocate, and sing up to receive relevant alerts, visit www.hematology.org/advocacy.
