Alleviating Your Politicophobia

by Elizabeth Laswell, 2015 Pharm.D. candidate

The older I get (at the ripe old age of 27), the more I realize how small the world really is. The degrees of separation between people are shrinking, and it is much easier to discover connections in this age of social media. I find this to be advantageous in fostering good communication. Being able to make a personal connection with someone through a mutual friend, family member or even alma mater is a crucial step in communicating with others. After making this connection, I go from talking at someone to engaging in a meaningful back-and-forth conversation with them. It is also necessary to use the resources around you to help establish these connections even before meeting with someone.

For example, a good friend of your Uncle Bob has a sister who works for your local Senator. First, call your Uncle Bob; he will love to hear from you. You then find out that he is having lunch with his good friend tomorrow, so you ask your Uncle to have his friend pass along your contact information (preferably a business card) to his sister. When the sister contacts you, she is excited to reach out to one of their constituents, and eagerly sets up a time for you to meet with the Senator. Ok, so you might not have an Uncle Bob, but I hope you can think of at least one connection similar to this. If you cannot, the staffers that work for your local congressmen or women’s office are just as passionate about their job as you are about pharmacy, so a phone call to them will likely get you the same result.

I will now step down off of my soap-box, and tell you a little bit about my experience of contacting and meeting with Rep. Jim Stamas of the 98^th District. But first, I have a bone to pick. I hear from so many pharmacists and student pharmacists that they don’t like “politics.” I am still not exactly sure what this means, because when asked to comment on a certain “political” topic I am fairly certain they would openly argue their position (I use Facebook posts as my reference for this). If you have ever asserted your disdain for politics or all things political, the only questions I have for you are:

Why do you like pharmacy?

OR

What does pharmacy or a job as a pharmacist mean to you?

OR

What does quality patient care mean to you?

Being politically involved as a pharmacist, a student pharmacist, or even a technician doesn’t mean you have to have an economics major or be a political science professor. It is just a way to show our legislators how passionate we are about our profession and the patients we serve. If you can answer the three questions above, you are an ADVOCATE, and can talk to a legislator!

Wow, I jumped back on that soap-box really quickly! I guess you’ll have to stay tuned for my post next week to hear about the meeting with Rep. Stamas, or subscribe to The Advocate via e-mail by providing your address under “Follow the Advocate by E-mail.” You’ll receive new posts right to your inbox!

I want you to sleep on this concept, and come back to this post tomorrow and share YOUR answers to these questions, or comment NOW if you can’t hold in your excitement!