Research Development Committee

Advocacy Efforts, Educating Congress

It is imperative that we as a community educate our members of Congress about the need for increased musculoskeletal research funding in order to improve the quality of life for patients with musculoskeletal diseases and disorders.

We are asking you, as members of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and the musculoskeletal specialty societies, to consider your desired level of involvement in educating our members of Congress. There are a variety of activities geared toward educating our Congressional representatives:

• Annually, the AAOS sponsors an annual visit to Capitol Hill in which representatives from each organization travel to Washington, DC, to visit their representatives to discuss the need for increased funding of musculoskeletal research.
• In the future, the AAOS plans on organizing letter-writing campaigns at crucial times in the appropriations process.
• In addition, the AAOS will need to enlist your help in identifying potential patients who may wish to give patient testimony regarding their experiences with orthopaedic treatments and procedures.

If you are interested and willing to participate in any of the aforementioned future activities to educate members of Congress, please indicate that below.

For the purposes of determining the congressional district in which you reside, it will be necessary for you to provide us with the zip code of your home address. Members of Congress tend to be especially receptive to messages brought to them by their constituents. The leadership of the AAOS assure you that this information will be used solely for the purpose of ascertaining your congressional district.

Please know that your participation in future activities to educate members of Congress is crucial to continuing our efforts to attain increased funding for musculoskeletal research.

If you are interested in participating in future activities to educate members of Congress about the need for increased funding for musculoskeletal research, please send us an email with: your name, how you would like to participate, your congressional district/zip code, and whether you are an AAOS member to Research Development Committee.