Physicians who run for elected office say they’re proud to serve patients in ways that go beyond the individual contacts in the examination room. This fall, doctors will appear on the ballot with other political candidates seeking public office. They are a small group relative to the total number of physicians or elected leaders in the nation. However, they said their experiences in medicine are great preparation for serving in office, and they spoke to Medical Economics about the process of campaigning and why more doctors need to get involved in politics.