Federal Advocacy Forum 2017 Recap: A Student's Trip to Capitol Hill

My name is Ryan Gray, and I’m a second year student at CSULB. This last week I was able to

attend the APTA Federal Advocacy Forum in Washington, D.C., thanks to a generous

sponsorship from the Orthopedic Section of the APTA. The Federal Advocacy Forum is an

annual event organized by the APTA and PT-PAC to address policy and advocacy issues at

the federal level.

The two-day event consisted of seminars and presentations on the first day and Capital Hill

visits on the second. Topics of discussion during the first day included payment reform, the

physical therapy outcomes registry, issues regarding Medicare, Medicaid and Tricare, and

other components of PT advocacy. The second day consisted of visits to Capital Hill to

advocate for PT legislation and other issues. This legislation included repealing the

Medicare cap, adding PT to the National Health Service Corps loan repayment program,

clarifying sports medicine licensure issues, and including PT in the development of

treatment guidelines for concussions. We also advocated for the ChoosePT campaign,

educating lawmakers on the benefits of physical therapy in combating the opioid epidemic

and treating chronic pain.

It was really exciting to experience firsthand how many people are involved in advocacy

efforts and are working to improve physical therapy for the entire profession. Even better

than that, was seeing how many students are involved in advocacy as well. Of the 270

attendees, 77 were students, which is the largest student attendance in the history of the

event. I was able to talk with APTA President Sharon Dunn about this fact, and she

emphasized how important student involvement is in the APTA. She said that 30% of the

APTA membership is students; and the more students that get involved with advocacy

events like the Federal Advocacy Forum, the better we can make this profession for all who

practice it.

#Spring2017 #Advocacy #CareerAdvancement #APTA #APTAStudentAssembly