Health Advocacy Fieldwork

Students and faculty advisers select three field placements, based on students' specific interests and career goals. The Fieldwork Pro Seminar course prepares students for the fieldwork experience. Through on-site supervised training, students learn to apply classroom theory to practice and to develop their capacities as advocates. Students meet individually or in small groups with fieldwork advisers to learn how their individual experience relates to the larger arena of advocacy in which they are working The Capstone Project, in the final year of study, may build upon the third fieldwork placement and relate to the student's chosen area of advocacy specialization.

Sarah Lawrence's location in Westchester County - just north of New York City and adjacent to New Jersey and Connecticut - provides students with a broad range of settings from which to choose fieldwork placements during the academic year. Students may also arrange summer placements in geographic areas where they intend to work after graduation. Students select placement sites from a large database of previous internships or may develop new internship experiences.

Health Advocacy Fieldwork Placement Sites

"I gained a great deal of practical knowledge ininterpersonal relations and communication. It gave me an opportunity to lean about the functioning of a hospital, particularly the Emergency Department. The job involved interacting with people of all ages, races and ethnicities."

African Services Committee
Alison Gertz Foundation
American Public Health Association
Arnold P. Gold Foundation
Bedford Hills Prison
Bergen County Dep. of Health Services
Betances Health Center
Beth Israel Medical Center
Boston University School of Public Health
Bronx Lebanon Palliative Care Service
Burke Rehabilitation Hospital
Campaign for Health Security
Center for Biomedical Ethics
Center for Medicare Advocacy
Center for Patient Advocacy
Center for Women's Health
Century Foundation
Chai Lifeline
Children's Defense Fund
Children's Village
Choice in Dying
Citizens for Disabilities
Cleveland Clinic Foundation

“I was eager to get experience in health policy in the unique setting of a private entity working as a consulting firm to individual clients and as an advocacy group representing coalitions or private and public organizations. It was an excellent opportunity to see this type of multi-disciplinary advocacy on the ground.”

Commissioner’s Task Force on Willowbrook
Community Catalyst
Community Health Care Plan
Community Hospice of Maryland
Community Research Initiative of New England
Connecticut Department of Public Health
Connecticut Mental Health Association
Connecticut Nurses Association
Court Appointed Special Advocates
Covenant House Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
Department of Health & Human Services
Department of Veteran Affairs
Discovery Communications
Families USA
FEGS
Food PATCH
FRIA
GMHC
Golda's Club
Hackensack University Medical Center
Haven House
Health Care for All Campaign--Metro New York
Health Care for All--Massachusetts
Health Insurance Plan of Greater NY
Home Hospice Bereavement Program of VNA
Hospital for Special Surgery

“The staff are well informed, committed, hard working and passionate about bringing patient voice and experience to the forefront of the minds of our elected officials, both on a grass roots, state-by-state volunteer level as well as positioning the organizations in direct conversation with prominent congressional leaders and regulatory agencies.  I have never seen a group more passionate about advocating on behalf of the rights of others.  This experience shaped my future.”

Indiana Children's Health Insurance Program
Island Peer Review Organization
Jewish Community Relations Council
Jewish Home & Hospital
John F Kennedy Medical Center
Julia Dyckman Andrus Memorial
Kaiser Permanente
Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation
LEND
Lenox Hill Hospital
Long Island College Hospital
Long Island Jewish Medical Center
Long term Care Ombudsman Program
Maine Medical Center
Manatt Health Solutions
March of Dimes
Medicare Rights Center
Massachusetts General Hospital
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Mental Health Association in NY State
MergerWatch
Midwest Bioethics Center
Montefiore Medical Center
Mt. Sinai Medical Center
Mossville Environmental Action Now
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of NYC
National Association of People with AIDS
National Center for Ethics in Health Care
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
National Organization for Women
National Partnership for Women and Families
National Patient Advocate Foundation
New Jersey State Advocate for the Mentally Ill
New Jersey State Nurses’ Association
New York Academy of Medicine
New York City Department for the Aging
New York State Department of Health
New York City Office of the Public Advocate
New York Lawyers for Public Interest
New York League for the Hard of Hearing
New York Organ Donor Network
New York Presbyterian
New York Regional Transplant Program
New York State Assembly
New York State Attorney General's Office
New York State Department of Health

“I learned the fundamental workings of a local government agency, which allowed me to understand how an advocate could work with or within such an agency to effect change in health care from a variety of levels.  I also learned how to research available grants, how the grant application works, how to research current legislation and how to access the wealth of information and resources that are offered by the government.”

New York State Office for the Aging
New York University School of Medicine
Nursing Home Community Coalition of NYS
Open Door
Oxford Health Plans
Partners Breast Cancer Project
Payne Whitney
PBS Health and Science Programs
Pfizer
Picker Institute
Planned Parenthood
Rhode Island Breast Cancer Coalition
Riverdale Mental Health Center
Riverdale Neighborhood House Senior Program
Rockland County Mental Health Association
Rockland County Office for the Aging
Royal Victoria Hospital
Rutgers Community Health Plan
SLE Foundation
Saint Luke’s/Roosevelt Hospital
Saint Rita's Center: Immigrant Refugee Services
St. Peter’s Hospital
Saint Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center
SAGE: Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders
Stamford Hospital
Sanctuary for the Dying
Stanford University Medical Center
Staying Put in New Canaan
Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation

“I obtained an understanding of the scope of organizations working to improve women’s health, along with the specific positive movements being put into place by each of these organizations.  This allowed me to see the range of professional opportunities available in the women’s health field.  I also improved my knowledge of evaluation and assessment throughout my research on abortion clinics in New York State.”

Transcendent Language Mate
Ultimate Senior Care Living Management
UNICEF
United Hospital Fund
US Dept of State
VA Medical Center
Westchester Children's Association
Westchester County Department of Health
Westchester County Dept of Mental Health
Westchester County Office of the Aging
Westchester Jewish Community Services
Westchester Medical Center
Women's Healthcare Network
Women's Prison Association
Yale Cancer Center
YM-YWCAs
Yonkers Early Childhood Initiative