The Health Advocacy certificate program educates a diversity of learners interested in health advocacy. Students around the country come to learn critical health advocacy skills while helping patients navigate the complex health care system.
Students have the opportunity to collaborate with the Center for Patient Partnerships, a national resource for strengthening the consumer perspective in health care. We have graduate students from Law, Medicine, Pharmacy, Physician Assistant, Physical Therapy, Public Health, Social Work, Gender and Women's Studies, Engineering, and others participating in our certificate program.
Additional opportunities are available in patient experience research and organizational and legislative policy advocacy through student-led “case to cause” projects.
Click on the Requirements tab on the right side navigation bar for general program requirements. Please email learning@cpp.wisc.edu to talk to an advisor.
Admissions
All currently enrolled graduate and professional students at UW–Madison are eligible to pursue this certificate program. We do not require any health care knowledge/background.
All Graduate School students must utilize the Graduate Student Portal in MyUW to add, change, or discontinue any graduate/professional certificate. To apply to this certificate, log in to MyUW, click on Graduate Student Portal, and then click on Add/Change Programs. Select the information for the certificate for which you are applying. Professional students in the careers of Law, Medicine, Pharmacy, and Veterinary cannot add the certificate in the Graduate Student Portal, and should contact the program for more information.
Requirements
Required Courses
The certificate is a total of 12 credits, including 9 core credits and 3 elective credits.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core | ||
| Students must complete the following courses. | ||
| LAW/NURSING 768 | Health Justice Clinic (Topic: Applied Advocacy Experience Introduction) | 3 |
| LAW/NURSING 768 | Health Justice Clinic (Topic: Applied Advocacy Experience Advanced) | 3 |
| LAW 940 | Law and Contemporary Problems (Topic: Models of System Level Advocacy) | 3 |
| Electives | ||
| Students choose one course from the topics listed below. | 3 | |
| Total Credits | 12 | |
Law, Regulation, and Ethics Electives
Courses in this area address fundamental substantive knowledge and critical thinking relevant to complex legal, regulatory, or ethical matters health advocates will face.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| LAW 744 | Administrative Law | 3 |
| LAW 825 | Insurance Law | 3-4 |
| LAW 913 | Mental Health Law | 2-3 |
| LAW 935 | Health Law | 2-3 |
| LAW 940 | Law and Contemporary Problems (Topic: Food & Drug Law) | 1-3 |
| LAW 940 | Law and Contemporary Problems (Topic: ERISA) | 1-3 |
| LAW 940 | Law and Contemporary Problems (Topic: Health Care Fraud and Abuse) | 1-3 |
| LAW 940 | Law and Contemporary Problems (Topic: Public Health Law) | 1-3 |
| MED HIST 559 | Topics in Ethics and History of Medicine | 3 |
| MED HIST 545 | Ethical and Regulatory Issues in Clinical Investigation | 1 |
| PHILOS/MED HIST 558 | Ethical Issues in Health Care | 3 |
Health Economics Electives
Courses in this elective area address fundamental substantive knowledge and critical thinking regarding health care financing and economics.
Students who choose this elective are required to discuss their course selection with a Certificate Advisor and the chosen course faculty
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| POP HLTH 650 | Special Topics (Topic: Advanced Seminar in Health & Mental Health Economics) | 1-6 |
| PUB AFFR/ECON/POP HLTH 548 | The Economics of Health Care | 3-4 |
| ECON/POP HLTH 848 | Health Economics | 1-3 |
Policy, Management, and Public Health Electives
Courses in this elective area address fundamental substantive knowledge and critical thinking regarding health policy, management, or public health issues.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| NURSING 703 | Health Care and Public Policy | 3 |
| NURSING 761 | Health Program Planning, Evaluation, and Quality Improvement | 3 |
| POP HLTH/ENVIR ST 471 | Introduction to Environmental Health | 3 |
| POP HLTH 650 | Special Topics | 1-6 |
| PUBLHLTH 780 | Evidence-Based Decision-Making | 3 |
| SOC WORK 875 | Health, Aging, and Disability Policy and Services | 2 |
Learning Outcomes
- Develop advocacy capacity that emphasizes patient empowerment.
- Develop critical health advocacy competencies including communication, collaborative decision making, cultural humility, and ethics.
- Experience the discipline of advocacy from a case-based perspective, and explore how various key advocacy roles can be useful in specific situations.
- Gain familiarity with the U. S. health care delivery system and the systemic problems that give rise to the need for advocacy at the individual organizational and policy levels.