What is the Power of the Constituent (POTC) Campaign?
Formerly National Day at Your State Capitol, the POTC Campaign is a national Student Academy of Audiology (SAA) advocacy campaign geared towards spreading awareness of audiology and legislation changes that affect the profession. It encourages audiology students to go to their state capitol and talk to legislators about federal and state legislation that impacts It encourages students to visit their state capitol and talk to legislators about federal and state legislation impacting audiology and patient-care.
Getting Started
Preparation is key! If you plan on coordinating a visit to your state capitol, you will first need to identify your state legislators. Click the button below to visit the Academy’s Legislative Action Center. There you can locate your state legislators, their contact information, and websites to schedule/request a meeting. You can also sign-up for legislative alerts.
Once you have a meeting scheduled with your legislators, it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with who your legislators are and how best to speak to them. Set an agenda for your visit that outlines key pieces of legislation you want to discuss, then prepare handouts or leave behinds for your legislator to refer to after your meeting. When speaking to your legislator, it is important to include a personal connection or anecdote to increase the impact of what you are advocating for or what piece(s) of legislation you are supporting.
Role-playing is a great way to practice before a presentation or meeting. The national SAA has created several role-playing scenarios for meeting with your legislator to help you prepare.
Planning an Advocacy Trip
Several SAA chapters from Texas planned and executed a highly successful advocacy trip to Washington, D.C. They generously provided a copy of their 2018 trip schedule and a financial breakdown for other interested chapters to reference. These documents can be used as templates and/or examples from which your SAA chapter can build your own unique advocacy trip suited to your interests and resources.
Contact your national SAA State Ambassador to connect with other SAA chapters in your state for a possible collaboration.