February 2026 Advocacy Champion

Lindsey Yock, MD

Hospital Medicine, Pediatric Hospital Medicine Children’s Minnesota

1. Why is being an advocate so important to you?
Being an advocate aligns naturally with our work as physicians. When we advocate, we act in concert with our values to improve the lives of others who need our help.

2. What health-care related issue(s) have you advocated for over the past year?
During the past year, the MMA’s Ethics & Medical-Legal Affairs Committee worked on issues that dovetail with MMA’s efforts to make Minnesota the healthiest state and the best place to practice. For example, we reviewed medical standards for the determination of brain death and how those determinations differ by state against the backdrop of language in the Uniform Determination of Death Act; processed medical liability reform initiatives beyond our state and heard from Minnesota stakeholders about upcoming draft legislation; and took up resident and fellows’ voices through policy proposals from their section.

3. What advice would you offer to others who are interested in advocacy?
In the current moment, it feels as if advocacy is needed almost everywhere – and that scope can feel demoralizing and demotivating. I think it helps to think of a very granular concept of advocacy alongside more sweeping examples. I love this quote by Maya Angelou – “I’m convinced of this: Good done anywhere is good done everywhere.” Some of the most helpful actions can be quiet, small in scope, proximate, and mundane. “Doing good involves all the things of daily life,” said Dietrich Bonhoeffer. As we are able, we can pair that with more structural advocacy and strategic advocacy, such as working with organizations like the MMA to force multiply our individual capacity.