The Journal of the Arkansas Medical Society Issue 10 Vol. 114 | Page 7

Arkansas Medical Society - Report of the
House of Delegates Committee
T
OMAR ATIQ, MD, CHAIRMAN
he committee was charged least the past nine years. From a practical per- believe some sort of annual membership meeting
with studying the governance spective, the board of trustees is, by default, serv- continues to be a worthwhile objective. The con-
ing as the policymaking body. firmation of officers could, for example, become a
structure of AMS to determine
whether or not to continue hav-
ing a house of delegates. The committee met
on November 1, 2017. Other committee mem-
bers attending the meeting were Dr. Alan Wilson,
Dr. Scott Cooper, Dr. Steve Magie and Dr. Gene
Shelby. All committee members are past presi-
dents of AMS.
This trend has been experienced in many
other state medical societies as well as other or- The following recommendations, if adopted
ganizations. Currently, 14 state medical societies by the HOD, will need to be submitted to the
have eliminated their HOD — seven within the Bylaws Committee for drafting the necessary
past five years. The committee reviewed these amendments to be considered at the next meet-
other states and how they made the transition. ing of the HOD.
This review included how they managed elections,
amendments to the bylaws, whether or not they
The HOD is the policymaking body of the
AMS, with the board of trustees serving as the
fiduciary body responsible for the business affairs
part of the President’s Gala event.
continued to have s ome sort of “annual member-
Recommendation #1.
ship meeting,” and more. These examples were Eliminate the AMS House of Delegates and
helpful in constructing our recommendations. transfer its responsibilities to the AMS Board
of Trustees and/or general membership.
of the organization. The HOD is comprised of the The challenge, or goal, remains the same: to past presidents, board of trustees, county society have a robust and nimble policymaking process and specialty society delegates, and any dues- that encourages involvement of membership. The paying member of AMS. Despite this broad array AMS Annual Session was originally designed to of representation, the attendance at the HOD has accomplish that goal, but it is clear that it no lon- Transfer the following responsibilities to the
continued to drop, with less than 50 attendees at ger serves that purpose. The recommendations AMS Board of Trustees:
the 2017 meeting. Of the 46 attendees at the last that follow were unanimously supported by the meeting, 40 were either members of the board of committee and only address the responsibilities a. Legislative and policymaking authority
trustees or past presidents. As the chart below of the HOD. Further discussions need to be made shows, this trend has been fairly steady fordat to revamp the AMS annual meeting itself, and we
Recommendation #2.
b. Amendments to the bylaws. Adopt a pro-
cess where proposed amendments first
go out to general membership for com-
ment prior to being considered by the
Location Total
Attendance BOT/PP
Delegates Other
Delegates* Delegate
Positions 2009 Little Rock 78 46 32 145 c. Changes in membership dues. Utilize the
2010 Rogers 66 45 21 155 same process as amendments to bylaws.
2011 Hot Springs 76 52 24 150 2012 Hot Springs 68 46 22 142 2013 Little Rock 66 48 18 164 2014 Petit Jean 56 46 10 157 2015 Fayetteville 47 40 7 162 2016 Petit Jean 51 46 5 162 2017 Little Rock 46 40 6 158
Board of Trustees.
Recommendation #3.
Transfer the election of AMS officers and
AMA delegates to the general membership
at the same time as district trustee elections.
Continue to utilize a Nominating Committee
for recommending a slate of officers.
Trend in AMS HOD Participation
• Other delegates consist of individual members, representation of county societies, and state
specialty societies.
NUMBER 10
APRIL 2018 • 223