Advocacy By Pediatricians

• Can advocate for our patients on many different levels
• Can personally choose the level we feel most comfortable and effective at
• Can advocate for our patients within our time constraints
• Can help create the changes we believe are needed in the field of pediatrics

Advocacy at the Individual Patient Level

• Develop a method of screening your families for psychosocial needs that you (and they) are comfortable with and that will let you more fully understand your patients and their situations
• Learn about the resources available in your community and make appropriate referrals for your patient families

Advocacy at the Community Level

• Spread the word about community resources that you work with to your fellow residents
• Contact the community resources to build a better relationship with your clinic
• Write op-ed pieces to your own city/town newspapers about child health care issues in your community

Advocacy at the State Level

• Contact the Virginia Chapter of the AAP at 804-643-6631 or the government relations site to find out about current child health legislation being discussed in Virginia
• Find out how you can become more involved with your AAP chapter’s legislative efforts
• Identify your state representatives at “Who’s My Legislator” at the Virginia General Assembly
• Use the AAP Division of State Government Affairs as a resource as you work with your chapter on state advocacy issues

Advocacy at the Federal Level

• Identify your Legislators in the U.S. House and Senate
• Become familiar with current federal issues at the AAP Department of Federal Affairs
• Respond to AAP Federal Advocacy Action Alerts (FAAN), communicating with your federal legislators about the pending bills and how they may impact child health
• Sign up to be a Key Contact for the AAP’s Federal Advocacy Action Network (FAAN) and respond to requests for action and a resource to federal legislators