Connecting Family Docs with the Legislature

NCAFP's Legislative Key Contact Program serves to create and maintain an open dialogue with both state and federal legislators across North Carolina. Participating is simple: just agree to serve and the NCAFP provides you with all the tools necessary to interact and communicate with your local legislator. This pro-active, grassroots approach, is key to promoting family medicine's interests in NC.

Connecting NC Family Doctors to Congress

The cornerstone of the NCAFP Key Contact Program is having a network of family physicians who are willing to contact, educate, and inform federal representatives at the local level. As a NCAFP Key Contact, your job description would involve:

NCAFP member physicians may submit an application to become part of the program. Register now to become an NCAFP Key Contact!

• Becoming informed on the issues confronting family physicians and the specialty - The NCAFP provides you with routine information, briefings, printed materials, issue briefs, and talking points.
• Establish relationships with the State and Federal Officials - These can be your local elected officials, state representatives and members of the Congressional delegation.
• Interact with contacts by providing information and viewpoints - The NCAFP will help you emphasize the importance of key issues being discussed. You simply act as resource on anything that may be health-related.
• Participate in fax or email alerts with legislators - The NCAFP provides all the tools that help get the message out.
• Help the Academy in Organizing - Key contacts assist the NCAFP in mobilizing other local family physicians when issues warrant.
• Work with your local media - You'll be called upon to give pespectives of the specialty with the news media. Other activities include submitting editorials, op eds, and other items on topics relevant to family medicine and their patients.
• Educate the patients in your community - You provide information to patients on topics that may be important to family medicine. The NCAFP creates it - you help distribute.
• Participate in periodic conference calls, and advocacy meetings - These are typically held alongside major association meetings and monthly in tandem with the NCAFP Leglislative Affairs Council.

Who Should Volunteer -

All family physicians interested in effecting change should consider participating. The program has a low time commitment - probably be less than 5 hours per year - and doesn't require you to advocate for issues you don't believe in professionally. In short, you'll be helping your legislator, your patients and your practice by being proactive. Doing so will help you gain a greater understanding of the issues and help you make a greater impact on your community.

• Click Here to sign up!