Event Planning Materials

What to Expect at Leadership Day 2024

Published: March 26, 2024

Welcome to Leadership Day 2024, the American College of Physicians’ (ACP) annual two-day advocacy event held in Washington, D.C. that enables ACP to increase its presence on Capitol Hill and strengthen the voice of the internal medicine community in discussing issues of interest and concern with U.S. lawmakers. We have an exciting program and experience in store for you including educational briefings from ACP staff on the key policies you will be discussing with lawmakers as well as advocacy tips on how to present ACP’s Leadership Day issues to your members of Congress, an awards program, and briefings from lawmakers. The second day of the event is dedicated to meetings with your lawmakers. See agenda details here and some FAQs regarding event logistics. The event will be held at the Westin Washington, DC Downtown Hotel which is a short metro or taxi ride to Congressional offices.

ACP National will schedule ALL congressional meetings for attendees and chapters. Our scheduler, Soapbox Consulting, will make every effort to choregraph meeting schedules so attendees will have enough time to get from one meeting to the next without feeling rushed.

ACP’s Advocacy Agenda/Expectations

With the November elections right around the corner, members of Congress will be looking to recess early this year to campaign, so we have limited time to get our priority issues passed this year. It is important that ACP members meet with their members of Congress during Leadership Day and at home to stress the importance of them prioritizing issues that affect physicians and their patients.

Key Priority Issues for Leadership Day:

This year Leadership Day priorities will focus on advocating for legislation to reduce administrative burden on physicians, support physician payment, improve access to care for patients, strengthen the physician workforce and reduce the burden of student debt.

The Role of Chapters and ACP Members

The involvement of our chapters and our ACP advocates is vital to the effectiveness of our advocacy efforts, and that includes your participation in Leadership Day. This event is our most critical advocacy event of the year, providing you the opportunity to learn about and advocate for legislation that directly impacts internal medicine physicians and their patients, have valuable meetings with lawmakers, and most importantly provide your real-world perspective as a physician on how policies being contemplated by Congress impact your patients. Your voice and your involvement, as constituents, in the legislative process can make all the difference in your lawmakers’ decision whether to support or oppose a given policy proposal. As always, we appreciate the time that you take away from your practice, your patients, and your family to be here in Washington advocating with us for the greater good.

For other information or questions about Leadership Day, please contact Shuan Tomlinson, Associate, State Health Policy & Grassroots at 1-800-338-2746, Ext. 4547 or by email at stomlinson@acponline.org.

Chapter participation in Leadership Day and the Advocates for Internal Medicine Network (AIMn) program are the bedrocks of ACP’s advocacy program. Thank you for your chapter's support and we look forward to seeing you at Leadership Day!