Hill Experience Makes Resident Want to Do More

Psychiatry resident Brooke Parish, M.D., has been able to put her budding interest in disaster psychiatry to work in a way that most residents only dream of.

Parish has spent the past six months on Capitol Hill sharing her medical and mental health experience with senators and Senate staff as they work to develop mental health legislation and get it passed.

Her work on the Hill was made possible by the American Psychiatric Foundation’s Daniel X. Freedman Congressional Fellowship. Now in its eighth year, the fellowship pays living and relocation expenses for senior residents while they work in the office of a House or Senate member or on the staff of a health-related committee of Congress. Fellows typically receive a $20,000 stipend, and the funds are provided through the American Psychiatric Foundation and Eli Lilly and Company.

Parish, who is a fourth-year resident at Tulane University, has been working closely with Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), who is a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and the ranking member of the Employment, Safety, and Training Subcommittee.

“I’ve been treated well on Capitol Hill,” she told Psychiatric News, “and I only wish I could stay longer.”

For the most part, Parish has lent her expertise in public health to politicians working on the conference report for the Bioterrorism Preparedness Act of 2001. In addition, she has advised politicians about the mental health aspects of bills relating to Native Americans.

One such bill, she said, “will allow Indian tribes to set their own priorities in preventative and primary health care, and streamline their health care delivery service system.” Parish also conducted research for more than 20 bills related to women’s health while on the Hill. The bills, still in committee, included components on breast cancer and domestic violence, for instance.

Parish also attended a number of conferences with Senate staff members and interest groups in which she helped to review the wording of these bills. She said that meeting with different interest groups provided her with a multitude of perspectives about these bills.

Parish said that her prior experience in public health and disaster psychiatry had prepared her well for her work on Capitol Hill. For instance, she is chair of the Louisiana State Medical Society’s Subcommittee of Disaster and Mass Casualty Preparedness and a member of that organization’s Subcommittee on Hazardous Materials and Terrorism Response.

She advised future Freedman fellowship awardees to “be enthusiastic, for this is a great opportunity to see how this country is run.”

Parish plans to embark on another fellowship in the fall—this time in forensic psychiatry at Tulane University. She said she also hopes to finish her master’s degree in public health by December.

“After my fellowship, I hope to return to Washington to work in health policy—in particular, I hope to work on public and international health care issues,” Parish said.

“I have been honored to spend six months learning more about the political system, and I hope to be able to help other doctors understand what I learned. I feel it is important for doctors to be involved. The health of America depends on it.” ▪