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About ACCM: Bylaws
BYLAWS
ASSOCIATION OF CHAIRS AND CHIEFS OF MEDICINE
ARTICLE I - NAME
The name of the organization shall be ASSOCIATION OF CHAIRS AND CHIEFS OF MEDICINE (the “Association”).
ARTICLE II - PURPOSE
The purposes of the Association are:
- To provide support of graduate and post-graduate medical education programs through collaboration with member institutions and through faculty development programs.
- To provide a forum to enhance the educational, managerial, administrative, and leadership skills of members by offering networking opportunities and educational programs.
- To represent the concerns and issues of teaching hospitals wherever necessary and to assume a leadership role in enhancing the quality of medical care through quality improvement projects and participation in national quality initiatives.
- To provide a forum to discuss the external forces and trends that affect departments of internal medicine and to provide benchmark data to members about departments of internal medicine at teaching hospitals.
ARTICLE III - MEMBERS, VOTING, ELIGIBILITY
The members of the Association shall be individuals who:
(A)Are physicians at institutions that sponsor or participate in educational programs accredited by either the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC). (B)Are physician leaders within the department of internal medicine with responsibility for the department’s academic mission. In addition, the physician must receive financial support for carrying out academic and leadership functions or have an academic appointment at an affiliated medical school. Membership will be granted to individuals, rather than departments or programs. All members of the association will have an equal say in all association business. Therefore, each member can vote in all association matters, including leadership elections, policy discussions, and proposed bylaws amendments.
ARTICLE IV - MEETINGS
The Council should consider holding meetings for the membership as needed. The Council of the Association shall set the dates and locations for these meetings.
ARTICLE V - OFFICERS AND COUNCILORS
(A) Governance
The elected officers and councilors shall constitute the Council of the Association, which shall serve in lieu of a Board of Directors for the Association. The elected officers of the Association shall consist of the President, President-Elect, the Immediate Past President, and the Treasurer. In addition, six councilors are elected. These officers and councilors shall be chosen from among physician members of the Association.
During the first year of the Association, the elected officers and councilors shall be chosen by a Steering Committee. There will be no Immediate Past President position. Councilors will serve staggered terms, for one, two, and three years respectively.
The Association, acting through the Council, may hire staff to carry out the operations of the Association. The Association shall maintain a national headquarters, to serve as the permanent repository of all Association records and membership information.
(B) Duties and Terms of Office
The President shall prepare the agenda for and preside at the meetings of the Association and the Council. In addition, the President shall be responsible for managing issues of major concern to the Association throughout the year. The President shall be assisted by the other officers and councilors and may seek aid, as needed, from other members and nonmembers, including persons specifically requested to provide liaison between the Association and other organizations. The President speaks for the Association and may delegate elected officers, councilors, or a staff member to speak on behalf of the Association. The President may invite the Committee Chairs and others to attend Council meetings as necessary.
The role of the President is to insure the overall management of the Association and the implementation of goals and objectives set forth by the Council and its elected officers.
The President-Elect shall serve in the place of the President when necessary and shall otherwise function as a member of the Council of the Association. The President-Elect shall normally succeed to the presidency the year after election. If the President is unable to serve a full term, for any reason, the President-Elect shall assume the presidency through the end of the term of the incumbent and shall then succeed to his or her elected term. In addition, the President-Elect will have served at least one year as a councilor of the Association prior to assuming the role of President-Elect.
The Treasurer shall oversee the finances for the Association, including the collection of dues. The Treasurer shall be authorized to disburse the funds of the Association in accordance with the instructions of the President, who shall act with the advice of the Council.
The Council shall meet as often as necessary, and shall act on behalf of the membership in furthering the purposes of the Association and in conducting its business. Meetings of the Council shall be called by the President. The Council may, if it deems appropriate, solicit opinions from the membership to assist in guiding the judgment of the Council on any issue. An executive summary of council discussions may be obtained by any member upon written request.
The terms of office of the President, the President-Elect, and the Immediate Past President shall be one year. The terms of office of the Treasurer and the Councilors shall normally be three years. The cycle for the terms of office will normally run from July 1 to June 30 of each year.
In the event that a Councilor, the President-Elect, or the Treasurer, is unable to complete his or her term of office, it shall be the option of the Executive Committee to select a replacement. The replacement shall serve only until the next scheduled election, and the vacancy shall be treated in the same fashion as any other position on the Council as identified in Section C of this article.
(C) Nominations for Officers and Councilors
Nominations for officers and councilors occur through the Nominating Committee as defined through Article VI, Section B, or by nomination of the membership. Any member of the association may nominate a candidate for Council. The nominating committee will include nominations on a ballot to be officially issued to the membership. The ballot will also include space for write-in candidates.
ARTICLE VI - COMMITTEES
(A) Standing Committees
(1) The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, the Immediate Past President, President-Elect, and the Treasurer. The President shall serve as the chair and will call meetings as needed. The Executive Committee shall be empowered to act for the Council in all matters requiring action before the next Council meeting. The Executive Committee will be responsible for the financial and operational functions of the association, and for monitoring all ethical issues that have implications for association members. Periodically, the President shall appoint a member of Council to review the bylaws and recommend revisions to the Council as necessary.
(2) The President, with advice and consent of the Council, may appoint a series of standing and ad hoc committees to address issues important to academic internal medicine and related to the operations of the association.
(B) Nominating Committee
The President shall appoint a nominating committee consisting of no less than three members of the association. The committee shall be chaired by the Immediate Past President.
In a timely manner, the nominating committee shall publicize well in advance of its deliberations the positions to be filled and shall invite suggestions from the membership. The nominating committee shall propose candidates for each available Council position and one candidate for the position of President-Elect.
The nominating committee shall strive to field a slate of candidates which maintains a Council that is representative of the membership. The nominating committee shall consider each candidate’s participation in association activities as well as in other internal medicine organizations.
The slate of candidates proposed by the nominating committee shall be distributed to the membership. The candidates who receive the greatest number of votes are selected as new councilors. In the event of a tie, the officers and councilors shall make the final decision. The newly elected officers and councilors take office July 1.
The number of terms a member may serve on the Council is not restricted as long as his or her eligibility and election are done in accordance to the described procedures within these bylaws.
(C) Committee Terms and Responsibilities
The President, with the advice of the Councilors, will also appoint the chairs of the committees. The Executive Committee will determine the terms for committee chairs and members. The President and Council have the option to renew membership on a committee following the completion of a term.
Each committee has advisory and operational responsibilities to the Council and to the membership. These shall constitute a part of the regular Council agenda. The President and President-Elect shall be ex officio members of all committees, without vote, unless either or both are designated members of that committee.
ARTICLE VII - QUORUM AND VOTING
With respect to any general, announced meeting of the members, the members present at such meeting shall constitute a quorum. If a vote is taken on any matter at a meeting, except as otherwise provided herein, the matter shall be acted upon affirmatively on a favorable vote of a majority of the members present and voting.
ARTICLE VIII - ANNUAL DUES
The annual dues shall be such as the Council may set from time to time.
ARTICLE IX - FISCAL YEAR
The fiscal year of the Association shall begin on July 1 and end of June 30.
ARTICLE X - AMENDMENTS TO THE BYLAWS
An amendment to the bylaws may be made in accordance with the following procedures:
- The proposed amendment shall be distributed to the members of the Association 30 days prior to the date on which the proposed amendment will be voted upon.
- The proposed amendment shall be voted on by the membership. Ballots will be circulated with the proposed amendment to all members of the Association. The ballots will be returned to the national headquarters of the Association, and the results certified by the Treasurer. To approve an amendment using this procedure, two-thirds of the returned ballots must be affirmative votes.
Approved 4/21/06.
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