Event Planning Materials

What to Expect at Leadership Day 2025

Published: February 19, 2025

Welcome to Leadership Day 2025, 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

This year’s Leadership Day is taking place at a critical time for physicians and the broader health care community. With a new Congress and a change in leadership, there are opportunities and challenges. Perhaps most importantly, there is an urgent need to build and strengthen relationships with members of Congress and their staff, educate them about the role of internal medicine in the U.S. health care system, and ask for their support for legislation that will help physicians care for their patients.

Key Priority Issues for Leadership Day:

Potential Leadership Day priority issues include 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. As constituents,  your involvement 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!