Getting political: The role of politics in physician advocacy

Authors

  • Ashley Jackson University of Ottawa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18192/uojm.v16iS1.7806

Keywords:

Political, Advocacy

Abstract

While medicine has often encouraged physicians and trainees to remain politically neutral to preserve the patient-physician relationship, this is becoming an increasingly difficult task as the world grows more divided. This commentary outlines the effects of the spill-over of politics into medicine and explores the role of political advocacy in medicine, including the conflicting role of physicians to foster a safe and trusting physician-patient relationship while also acting as advocates for system-level change. 

References

1. Huddle TS. Perspective: Medical professionalism and medical education should not involve commitments to political advocacy. Acad Med. 2011;86(3):378-83.

2. KB OR. Patients and politics: What the AMA Code of Medical Ethics Says. American Medical Association; 2018.

3. O'Brian N, Kent T. Partisanship and Trust in Personal Doctors: Causes and Consequences. British Journal of Political Science. 2025;55.

4. Canada RCoPaSo. Understanding the CanMEDS Roles: Health Advocate [cited 2026 January 12]. Available from: https://www.royalcollege.ca/en/standards-and-accreditation/canmeds/health-advocate-role.

5. Canada P. PHM Canada Letter In Support Of Unist’ot’en Resistance To Coastal Gaslink Pipeline 2023 [Available from: https://phm-na.org/2023/06/phm-canada-letter-in-support-of-unistoten-resistance-to-coastal-gaslink-pipeline/?utm.

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Published

2026-04-30

How to Cite

Jackson, A. (2026). Getting political: The role of politics in physician advocacy. University of Ottawa Journal of Medicine, 16(S1), 11–12. https://doi.org/10.18192/uojm.v16iS1.7806

Issue

Vol. 16 No. S1 (2026): UOJM Commentaries Contest 2025

Section

Commentary (Contest)

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Ashley Jackson

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