Materials to Include in Application

• Applicant letter: Provide in your introduction your complete contact information, current affiliation and earned degrees, and summarize your postgraduate experiences if appropriate.
• Candidate biosketch: Provide a biographical sketch of no more than 500 words that highlights your life experiences.
• Candidate statements: Provide brief statements in no more than 500 words that address each of the following points:
  • Rationale: Reasons for applying to the Congressional Healthcare Policy Fellow Program. Include a discussion of your major strengths and qualifications for the program.
  • Areas of interest: Outline the policy areas or issues that you are particularly interested in.
  • Role as a fellow: Describe how you imagine you might apply your pharmacy experiences in the fellow program.
  • Career goals: State your goals following the completion of the fellow program.
  • Community involvement: Describe your most significant community-related activity that utilized your professional expertise and explain why you consider it to be significant.
• Professional communication: Provide a sample advocacy letter to a congressional representative, including a specific policy recommendation - for example, why they should co-sponsor the, "Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act," which has been introduced in Congress several times over the past few Congressional terms.
• Extracurricular activities: Provide a brief statement of the activities you enjoy that extend beyond the patient care arena, lab, classroom or office.
• Curriculum vitae: Provide an up-to-date curriculum vitae. Use your CV to highlight your education, expertise, achievements and honors, and your publications. The CV should not repeat information included in the extracurricular section.
• Conflict of interest disclosure: A completed conflict of interest disclosure form must be submitted with the application materials. Email [email protected] for a copy of the form.
• Recommendation letters: Guidance for letters is provided under the Letters tab.

Incomplete or incorrectly completed applications — including those not completed in the requested format and those that are longer than specified in the instructions — will not be considered. DO NOT send additional documents.

Application materials should be sent to Kristin Zimmerman, program director, at [email protected] by January 31. Receipt of applications and letters of recommendation will be acknowledged when received.

Review and Selection Process

Applications will continue to be accepted until the position is filled. Finalists will be interviewed in Washington, D.C., in early spring, and the successful candidate will be announced soon thereafter.

An ad hoc selection committee composed of representatives from the VCU School of Pharmacy, ASHP and ACCP serve as the screening/selection entity. The selection process is competitive, with professional excellence and suitability for the fellow program being the primary consideration.

Contact

If you have any questions concerning the application or selection process, please contact the program director, Kristin Zimmerman, at the VCU School of Pharmacy, directly via email at [email protected].

Guidance for Recommendation Letters

For Applicants

Three recommendation letters are required. These letters of recommendation must be from individuals who can comment on your professional competence and other qualities and interests that make you especially qualified to serve as a fellow. Individuals writing letters of recommendation must review the For Letter Writers section below.

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that the letters are submitted to the program director at Virginia Commonwealth University by the application deadline (January 31). Applications with fewer than three letters of recommendation will not be considered.

Letters of recommendation are a critical component of the application. They must be from individuals who can comment on your professional competence and other qualities and interests that make you especially qualified to serve as a fellow. Select your references carefully. Please assure that they have ample notice to write a solid recommendation on your behalf.

For Letter Writers

It will be helpful for letter writers to review the criteria and information on the fellow program below in order to enhance the relevance of their comments.

The overarching goals of the Congressional Healthcare Policy Fellow Program is to increase the capacity of pharmacists to inform the discussions and influence the decisions of individuals and institutions that determine health care policies, and to provide scientific  knowledge and analysis to support decision-makers who are confronting increasingly complex health care and technological issues. The fellow program aims to:

• educate pharmacists on the intricacies of federal policymaking
• foster positive exchange between pharmacists and policymakers
• empower pharmacists to conduct policy-relevant research that addresses challenges facing society
• increase the involvement and visibility of pharmacists in the public policy realm

The fellow program is extremely competitive; thus it is to the applicant’s advantage if you provide the information outlined below in a clearly identifiable fashion in your letter of recommendation.

1. How long and in what capacity you have known the candidate
2. Reference statements that comment on:
   • The applicant’s technical and professional accomplishments and relative standing of the applicant among their peers (300 words)
   • The applicant’s ability to communicate, both orally and in writing, and to interact productively with individuals and groups, especially non-scientific audiences (300 words)
   • The applicant’s maturity and judgment
   • The applicant’s interest and experience in applying their expertise to the resolution of societal issues (300 words)
   • The applicant’s professional future, including possible impacts as the result of their participation in the fellow program (250-500 words)
   • Any other comments that may be relevant to the Congressional Healthcare Policy Fellow Program application

Submission

Recommendation letters are confidential and should be submitted to the Congressional Healthcare Policy Fellow program director, Kristin Zimmerman, via email at [email protected]. Emailed submissions must indicate in the subject line the name of the applicant and the person providing the reference.