Graduate Archer Fellowship Program Alumni Profiles
Rylee Trotter
Summer 2021 Graduate Archer Fellow
Internship: National Committee for Quality Assurance
Education
The University of Texas at Dallas
Bachelor of Business Administration - Management Information Systems, May 2020
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston - McGovern Medical School
Doctor of Medicine, May 2024
Career
Medical Student
Summer 2021 Graduate Archer Fellow
Internship: National Committee for Quality Assurance
Education
The University of Texas at Dallas
Bachelor of Business Administration - Management Information Systems, May 2020
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston - McGovern Medical School
Doctor of Medicine, May 2024
Career
Medical Student
"Medicine is a career of service and continuous growth, and I feel the Graduate Archer Fellowship Program allowed me to prioritize this aspect of my future career while expanding my perspective on our country, our government, and my ability to contribute to both."
Q & A with Rylee
Please tell us more about your current position.
I am currently in medical school and on my clinical rotations this year.
Please tell us more about your Archer Fellowship Program internship.
I worked as health policy intern in the Federal Affairs department at the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). My main role was to research current events and legislation concerning healthcare and quality measurement and find opportunities for NCQA to contribute through products and services. The Federal Affairs department had been specifically focused on how they can expand NCQA's Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) to address health equity and the maternal health crisis, so many of my projects revolved around these topics.
In the first month of my internship, my roles included: writing a weekly newsletter, Taste of PPER (public policy and external relations), which summarized current health policy news articles; stakeholder mapping and finding relevant contacts for several Senate committees; contributing to an RFI response from CMS; and attending various conferences and internal meetings to learn about the health policy landscape and NCQA's position in it. In my second month, I conducted my two major projects of my internship, synthesizing interviews from community-based organizations (CBOs) into an organized spreadsheet and drafting a position statement for NCQA on their intended maternal health initiatives, while continuing to participate in meetings and write content for NCQA's blog.
I learned so much about healthcare through the perspective of policy that I would never have gotten through my traditional medical school curriculum. I believe that every healthcare worker should be involved in health policy and advocate for the needs of their patients, and I now understand the stakeholders and pertinent decision-makers involved with Medicaid/Medicare, HHS funding, and public health initiatives. I have also learned the benefits of remaining nonpartisan, as NCQA does, when approaching policymakers from an outside perspective. As a future physician, I would like to use my medical expertise to influence as many people as possible, and I do not want my patients' needs to be seen as a partisan issue. Knowing this, I feel much more prepared to approach advocacy and policy creation throughout my career.
What has been your general career path?
I graduated with my undergraduate degree and went straight to medical school.
How has your experience as an Archer Fellow influenced your career path and goals?
My summer in Washington, D.C., gave me a greater understanding of how I can advocate for the health and well-being of my patients as a future physician. As an aspiring OB/GYN, my advocacy interests moving forward include access to and quality of care, patient education, and reproductive freedom. In my Graduate Archer Fellowship classes and internship at NCQA, I learned how to take these broad interests and translate them into concrete action items in the form of quality metrics or policy proposals. I also learned how to work with politicians and advocates from different careers (businesspeople, lawyers, etc.) in a nonpartisan manner, which I believe will be the best way for me to create change for my patients. Medicine is a career of service and continuous growth, and I feel the Graduate Archer Fellowship Program allowed me to prioritize this aspect of my future career while expanding my perspective on our country, our government, and my ability to contribute to both.
What did you value the most about your Archer Fellowship Program experience?
The friends I made! My roommates and I made a bond that will last far beyond our summer Fellowship experience.
What do you value the most about being an alumnae?
I am extremely grateful for the continuous support and closeness of the Archer Center community.
What is your favorite memory as an Archer Fellow?
My favorite memory was spending the Fourth of July in our nation's capital and watching fireworks at the Washington Monument!
Please tell us more about your current position.
I am currently in medical school and on my clinical rotations this year.
Please tell us more about your Archer Fellowship Program internship.
I worked as health policy intern in the Federal Affairs department at the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). My main role was to research current events and legislation concerning healthcare and quality measurement and find opportunities for NCQA to contribute through products and services. The Federal Affairs department had been specifically focused on how they can expand NCQA's Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) to address health equity and the maternal health crisis, so many of my projects revolved around these topics.
In the first month of my internship, my roles included: writing a weekly newsletter, Taste of PPER (public policy and external relations), which summarized current health policy news articles; stakeholder mapping and finding relevant contacts for several Senate committees; contributing to an RFI response from CMS; and attending various conferences and internal meetings to learn about the health policy landscape and NCQA's position in it. In my second month, I conducted my two major projects of my internship, synthesizing interviews from community-based organizations (CBOs) into an organized spreadsheet and drafting a position statement for NCQA on their intended maternal health initiatives, while continuing to participate in meetings and write content for NCQA's blog.
I learned so much about healthcare through the perspective of policy that I would never have gotten through my traditional medical school curriculum. I believe that every healthcare worker should be involved in health policy and advocate for the needs of their patients, and I now understand the stakeholders and pertinent decision-makers involved with Medicaid/Medicare, HHS funding, and public health initiatives. I have also learned the benefits of remaining nonpartisan, as NCQA does, when approaching policymakers from an outside perspective. As a future physician, I would like to use my medical expertise to influence as many people as possible, and I do not want my patients' needs to be seen as a partisan issue. Knowing this, I feel much more prepared to approach advocacy and policy creation throughout my career.
What has been your general career path?
I graduated with my undergraduate degree and went straight to medical school.
How has your experience as an Archer Fellow influenced your career path and goals?
My summer in Washington, D.C., gave me a greater understanding of how I can advocate for the health and well-being of my patients as a future physician. As an aspiring OB/GYN, my advocacy interests moving forward include access to and quality of care, patient education, and reproductive freedom. In my Graduate Archer Fellowship classes and internship at NCQA, I learned how to take these broad interests and translate them into concrete action items in the form of quality metrics or policy proposals. I also learned how to work with politicians and advocates from different careers (businesspeople, lawyers, etc.) in a nonpartisan manner, which I believe will be the best way for me to create change for my patients. Medicine is a career of service and continuous growth, and I feel the Graduate Archer Fellowship Program allowed me to prioritize this aspect of my future career while expanding my perspective on our country, our government, and my ability to contribute to both.
What did you value the most about your Archer Fellowship Program experience?
The friends I made! My roommates and I made a bond that will last far beyond our summer Fellowship experience.
What do you value the most about being an alumnae?
I am extremely grateful for the continuous support and closeness of the Archer Center community.
What is your favorite memory as an Archer Fellow?
My favorite memory was spending the Fourth of July in our nation's capital and watching fireworks at the Washington Monument!
