MGH Mclean
The Resident Advocacy Committee (RAC) was founded in May 2015 by second-year psychiatry residents who witnessed the effect of systemic failures and inequities on the lives of patients and decided to join forces to advocate for justice.
RAC Vision The RAC envisions a world in which people with mental illness are ensured the best possible treatment and are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community. We see advocacy as an integral part of our vocation as psychiatrists.
RAC Mission By inspiring and engaging psychiatric trainees and the communities in which we work and live, the RAC strives to pursue the highest quality of healthcare for persons with mental illness. Our goal is to achieve fundamental fairness and equality for our patients by creating a forum for advocacy, identifying and challenging systemic disparities in our hospitals and communities, promoting activism and service, and creating a curriculum to support and sustain this movement for future generations of residents.
Resident Education – In 2015, the RAC partnered with the MGH Division of Public and Community Psychiatry to create and deliver an evidence-based, formal didactic curriculum which introduces psychiatry residents to the basic principles of advocacy and community engagement.
The RAC sponsors quarterly meetings bringing residents together with physician leaders who share their experiences in advocacy and healthcare policy.
The RAC has collaborated with local and national advocacy groups to bring change in the areas of substance use disorder treatment and emergency mental health care. An annual trip to Washington, DC is being planned for future collaboration with congressional policy leaders.
