Regional Delegate Update

by Lauren Bode

With a new year and a new semester, there’s a lot to be excited about. New classes, new rotation sites, and new opportunities to learn and lead. I’m going to add one more: a new legislative session in each of our states. With the beginning of the year, most state senators and representatives start heading back to Capitol Hill, whether it is Columbia, Atlanta, or Nashville. (Sorry, Florida, your legislative session starts in March, but that means you can catch legislators in their home districts now.) Pharmacy is primarily regulated in our states’ capitals, so as future pharmacists we must advocate on a state level.

Do you know what your state's legislative building looks like?

First up, get together with your State Association Liaison in your chapter, and think about what issues are most important for your state right now.  If you don’t know, then ask your state association. As future pharmacists, anything that the state association does affects us, so build a relationship with them now.  Ask a staff member to present at a Pizza and Policy event, offer to help set up a health fair at the capitol, or provide manpower for a letter-writing campaign, whatever you think will benefit both your chapter members and the goals you share with your association.

When you are planning your events this semester, I challenge you to be bold.  Set up a face-to-face meeting with your legislators. Offer to give them a flu shot or invite them to visit campus or your pharmacy. It may seem daunting to talk to policy makers, but they are public servants, and like pharmacists, they want to help people. We call them “patients” and they call them “constituents,” but we both have the public welfare at the heart of what we do. So when you are preparing for these conversations, start there. Put patient care front and center when talking about the role of pharmacists in the healthcare system, the training required for a PharmD., or desire for provider status. When pharmacists are integrated into a patient’s healthcare team, the patient has better outcomes, greater satisfaction, and reduced costs. In this way, while advocating for patient-centered care, we are also advocating for our profession. For more information on conducting letter-writing campaigns, hill visits, and more see section 3 at the link below:

http://www.pharmacist.com/node/55322

Policy on!