Unlike many Congressional staffers who are hired as recent college grads, RWJF fellows bring a wealth of experience into their roles that puts them in a unique position to contribute to the development of health policy and extrapolate potential ramifications of proposals under consideration.

“It was like my medical internship: I would work around the clock on things I barely understood, supervised by super smart people who had very little time to supervise me.”

— Eugene Rich, 2006-07 fellow

Continue scrolling or use the buttons below to navigate between the many aspects of fellows’ life in their placement office — what they learned, what surprised them, what their days looked like, and so much more.

The transition from a mid-career professional to a brand-new staffer in a bustling office was a startling shift for many fellows. The first days were often overwhelming, humbling, daunting, exciting, or any combination of emotions. In some cases, fulfilling assigned tasks meant a complete mindset shift from politically neutral, heavily sources research to ultra concise, on brand messaging for the breakneck pace of the Hill environment.

While there was no average day in their placements, fellows could always count on a packed day, touching on dozens of issues. Fellows worked on tasks big and small — from drafting legislation and organizing hearings to printing nameplates and making copies — they did whatever tasks their offices needed accomplished.

“My legislative work [for Representative James Florio (D-NJ)] covered the entire range of typical activity, including writing sections of bills, working on amendments, working with lobbyists, developing issue papers, briefing the Congressman for markups and hearings, writing questions for witnesses, and following Committee activities which the Congressman was unable to attend.…

I wrote a number of speeches, assisted with several press releases, worked with witnesses from New Jersey who would be testifying before the subcommittee and did some constituency work (primarily with institutions, large professional organizations, and state, county, and local public officials).”

– John Hershey, 1975-76 fellow

Whether on the Hill or in the White House, one memorable aspect of life as a fellow was the long days and late nights leading up to important deadlines.

Amid the bombardment of once in a lifetime opportunities, many fellows can recall specific moments that stood out. Whether a meeting with a particular constituency, a policy that would go on to become legislation, or an unanticipated opportunity to present information to an important recipient, these memories made each fellow’s experience one of a kind.

While senators, representatives, and executive branch leaders are the recognizable faces in the political world, staffers are the backbone of the Hill and the White House, providing elected officials with the information necessary to make an informed decision on bills. RWJF fellows worked alongside career staffers to support the office agendas, in some cases being completely integrated into the team despite their brief tenure.

“I think the biggest insight I got from working on the Hill was to watch how smart the people were in the bureaucracy, a word that everyone kind of sneers at our hard working. They were, how committed they were, and more importantly, how difficult the questions were that they were addressing.

 

I settled down there as this young Harvard professor, figuring I could fix everything that I came across, and I found myself almost paralyzed by the really the intellectual challenges and the difficulties of the issues we were facing.

 

And I think that was a very important insight for me that I tried to send on to my students in the future. This is a very tough job. They’re extraordinarily committed, wonderful people working on it. And the answers are by no means easy.”

– Thomas Delbanco, 1977-78 fellow

“One of my preconceived notions about Washington was that most people in government work a short day, take 2 hours for lunch, and have 3-day weekends. In fact, Washington is a workaholic’s dream. People stay late, take their work home., and are constantly up against deadlines. They are dedicated, low paid, loyal to their bosses, and intelligent. Congressional staff, especially those who work for committees, have considerable latitude and discretion in writing legislation.“

– Allen Hyman, 1987-88 fellow

Fellows have had a unique view to the inner workings of the Hill over the past 50 years. Media has often focused on the partisan nature of politics, but fellows’ experiences reveal a much more nuanced story. While it’s true the political climate has become increasingly partisan in the last half century, fellows over the years have seen numerous examples of staffers and elected officials reach across the aisle in pursuit of compromise to improve the health of the nation.

“The kinds of legislation which I had an opportunity to study at close range were the health planning bill, an HMO bill, and the manpower bill.… This process was important to me, not only for the substantive content which it revealed, but for the process itself. It was here that I learned the procedure of compromises practiced and became poignantly aware of the centrality of staff and the decision-making process.”

– Andrew Nichols, 1977-78 fellow