Two rising second-year medical students will assist the ISMA Government Relations (GR) team for the summer as part-time, paid health policy fellows. They will research significant health policy issues and learn about Indiana’s legislative, legal and regulatory processes firsthand.

Keerthana Pittala, a student at Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine, is a neuroscience graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and earned a Master of Science in Medical Sciences  from Boston University. Previously, she worked for Covance in Madison, Wisc., as an associate study coordinator for Pharmacokinetics/Toxicokinetics. 

This summer, Pittala hopes to gain a better understanding of the interplay between medicine and public health policy. “In the future, I know that these policies will shape my continued health care education and experience, so I believe that it is important to understand as well as be part of that process,” she said. “I also hope that through this experience, I will be better able to advocate for future physicians, my colleagues, and help amplify the voices of the underserved.”

Kaitlin Wendel, who attends Indiana University School of Medicine, is a Purdue University Honors College graduate in biological engineering. She also worked as a substitute teacher of English as a new language at Columbus (Ind.) East High School and a field intern at Nutrien Ag Solutions in Greensburg.

Wendel applied for the fellowship because she believes it’s paramount that physicians know how to advocate for their patients inside and outside the clinical setting and had heard from other students that working with ISMA was a good way to learn. “I am looking forward to diving into the work ISMA does as well as learning how to construct resolutions for items I am passionate about,” she said. “I find policy work is a sort of 'black box' to most people, and I look forward to being able to demystify the work to other students."