D.O. Day on the Hill

 

 D.O. Day on the Hill took place last Thursday in Washington, D.C., and Aaron and I were privileged to be able to attend the event. Osteopathic medical students and physicians from across the country gather on Capitol Hill to advocate issues pertinent to the continued success of our profession and healthcare provision.

My eyes are closed in this and nearly every picture - the sun was so bright! It was a beautiful day on Capitol Hill.

Roll call occurred early Thursday morning, and Oklahoma State had one of the largest student groups present, especially considering our geographic location. I was proud to be associated with our school and group. :)

 Two advocates from Oklahoma State met us at the morning meeting and served as our guides throughout the day. We traveled back and forth between the "Senate" side and the "House" side to meet with our elected officials. It was quite a trek in total, but you couldn't beat the scenery! Note to self: new flats are just as painful as high heels.

 Representative John Sullivan and Senator Jim Inhoffe took time out of their busy schedules to personally meet with our group. The effort made us feel as though our issues and opinions are important and heard, and was much appreciated. Both were very personable and made us feel welcome in their offices, which each exhibited items paying homage to our state.

Two fourth year students were selected as our spokespersons, and gave a brief overview of our opinions and requests concerning upcoming legislation, such as possible devastating impending cuts to medical education, and an Act that would increase residency positions and training by 15% over the next 3 years. The latter is direly needed to address the growing physician shortage, particularly in primary care. While approval is taking place for additional medical student slots, the number of residency training programs is static or declining. Every student must complete a residency in order to practice; therefore, more positions are a must!

Senator Inhoffe addressing our group

 Senator Inhoffe was scheduled to speak about Invisible Children, which he created, and invited us to attend. Unfortunately, we had another upcoming meeting and were unable to make it. I wish we would have had the opportunity to see him in action! I was impressed by his honesty and unapologetic, firm stand behind his beliefs. Even if you disagree with him, those traits are still admirable in today's political atmosphere.
The day was an amazing experience, and one I would encourage students to attend if possible in the future. It's important to be able to meet face-to-face with our legislators if we desire change, and D.O. Day on the Hill provided the perfect opportunity to do so.