Regardless of how you feel about the outcome of this year’s presidential election, I’m sure most people will agree that it’s a stressful time to live in the United States. That single day in November feels like it will set the tone for the next four years of our lives and we all have our own ideas about what’s best for ourselves, our family, and our country.

As student optometrists I’m sure you are already aware, or soon will be, that our future profession is heavily intertwined with the legislative process. But when we advance the optometric profession’s scope of practice, it often has nothing to do with what’s going on at the federal level. For example, the American Optometric Association’s major breakthrough in Arkansas, allowing optometrists to continue doing procedures like a selective laser trabeculoplasty and injections, was all done at the state level. The implications for this outstanding result will have ripple effects on the national level, however, as the precedent has been set.

Change starts at the local level and spreads. Continue to pay attention to focus on the big picture, but engage with what you can actually have an impact on. The future of the profession is decided by state and local politics. Some states, like Arkansas and Louisiana, are permitting optometrists to perform laser procedures, while Massachusetts just recently allowed optometrists to pharmaceutically treat glaucoma.

This means we have to pay attention to far more than who is currently sitting in the oval office. Get involved in your school’s AOSA, enroll in the AOA when you graduate, pay attention to local politics, and be sure to fill out your entire ballot the next time you vote!