5 ways to get the most out of Queen's Park Day

The OMA’s annual Queen’s Park Day is a great opportunity to build relationships and put forward solutions to address issues in health care. If you’re joining us on Oct. 20, here are a few tips to help you get the most out of the experience: 

1. Be prepared. You’ll get a briefing package from us, which includes plenty of information to help you speak easily about our advocacy goals. When you’re given the chance to talk about the issue that matters to you, be prepared with answers to questions that will help illustrate your point concisely. Remember that most MPPs are not experts on health care, but you are. Be confident in your stance and if you can’t answer, it’s always OK to offer to followup post-meeting
2. Make a personal connection. Tell the MPPs, political staff and bureaucrats you meet about your lived experience as a physician and use anecdotes or examples to convey what patients and health-care workers are seeing in your area of practice
3. Make it local. Political figures have varied backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. Knowing who they are may help you make a personal connection. Localize what you speak about to the community they represent so they understand decisions have local impacts. We will provide background information on the MPPs you’ll be meeting with, so be sure to read through the package before your meeting
4. Stay positive. Don’t take any feedback personally. Acknowledge any difficult situation raised during your meeting and use it as an opportunity to talk about solutions. It’s a good idea to recognize MPPs for any positive political action they’ve taken and offer solutions that they can help doctors work toward 
5. Be focused. Remember, your main objective is to deliver key messages and build relationships. Try to steer the conversation toward solutions where possible