It’s not too late to join us on Tuesday, Jan. 28, at Physician Advocacy Day! ISMA and Indiana medical specialty societies are working to create a sea of white coats at the Statehouse as we talk with legislators about this session’s most important bills impacting health care and medical practice. As one Indiana specialty society president says, lawmakers WANT to hear from us.

Physician Advocacy Day will begin at 10 am with brief advocacy training at the Indiana State Library. We’ll walk over to the Statehouse for lunch, followed by meetings with legislators or watching legislative activities. Don’t forget to wear your white coat!

Tony GiaQuinta, MD, of Fort Wayne, president of the Indiana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), makes a good case for setting aside Jan. 28 to visit the Statehouse on Advocacy Day.

“Every year, ‘Forbes’ publishes a Gallup poll ranking the top trusted professions,” GiaQuinta says. “No surprise here, but medical doctors are consistently ranked second on that list (to nurses, of course!). Wondering who is at the bottom? Lawyers, car salespeople, members of Congress, and…lobbyists!

“Truth is, lobbyists are super important. But as you can see, for a lawmaker, discussing an important issue with a physician vs. a lobbyist is going to be an entirely different encounter. Lawmakers don’t just need to hear from us, they WANT to hear from us, to sort fact from fiction, anecdote from reality.”

Don’t miss your chance to make an impact on laws that affect our profession! Learn more about Physician Advocacy Day and sign up here.