ACP American College of Physicians - Internal Medicine - Doctors for Adults

Mission and Goals

To enhance the quality of internal medicine postgraduate training through Associate advocacy and promotion of excellence in the practice of medicine.

Goals:

1. To establish and promote the highest clinical standards and ethical ideals;

2. To serve the academic and professional needs of the Associate membership and to advance internal medicine as a career;

3. To unify the fields of internal medicine, which include general internal medicine and its specialties;

4. To recognize individual excellence and distinguished contributions of Associates to internal medicine;

5. To promote continuing excellence in the standards of medical education;

6. To act as an advocate of the Associate membership to the leadership of the American College of Physicians;

7. To advocate humanism and dedication to patient care and ethical behavior in the delivery of health care in a training environment;

8. To promote the humane and equitable treatment of Associate members; and

9. To promote diversity within the field of medicine.

Operating Rules

Council of Associates
American College of Physicians

Article I: Name

The name of the organization shall be the Council of Associates of the American College of Physicians

Article II: Purpose

The Board of Regents established the Council of Associates in June 1989 to identify, define, and address issues of concern to Associate members of the American College of Physicians. Additionally, the Council will work to ensure that the views of Associates are reflected in all College deliberations and discussions. The Council's charge shall reflect the defined mission and goals of the College. The Council's purview shall be sufficiently broad in scope to effectively represent this very important constituency within the College. In addition, the Council shall attempt to accomplish the further purposes of:

Section 1. Developing a forum to discuss problems of Associates, enabling the College to focus more appropriately and realistically on the personal and career development of internists in training.

Section 2. Promoting equitable gender and minority representation on the Council and in the College.

Section 3. Establishing and maintaining efficient lines of communication between and among the Council and the Board of Regents, the Board of Governors, local Associate committees and councils, and the Colleges staff.

Section 4. Promoting recruitment of internists in training to join the College as Associates and ultimately to proceed to full Membership and Fellowship.

Section 5. Initiating and promoting ACP activities by and for Associates at the College's Annual Session.

Section 6. Promoting quality graduate medical education.

Article III: Election and Roles of Officers

Section 1. Chair-elect

The Chair -elect must be an Associate member at the time of his/her election. During the term of office, however, the Chair-elect may be in a membership category other than Associate membership.

The Chair-elect shall preside at all meetings in the absence of the Chair. The Chair-elect shall generally assist the Chair in performance of his/her duties and assume other responsibilities and tasks assigned by the Chair. The Chair-elect shall represent the Council of Associates as an ex-officio member of the Board of Governors and will brief the Council on a periodic basis on the discussions and deliberations of that body.

Section 2. The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Council. The Chair shall represent the Council of Associates as an ex-officio member of the Board of Regents and will brief the Council on a periodic basis on the discussions and deliberations of that body. In the event of a tie vote in the Council, the Chair may cast a vote. During the term of office the Chair may be in a membership category other than Associate membership.

Section 3. Both the Chair and Chair-elect shall serve a one-year term of office.

Section 4. In the event of the Chair's resignation and/or inability to serve, the Chair-elect shall assume the Chair and a new Chair-elect will be elected from among the Associate members of the Council. Vacancies filled in this manner shall be for the balance of the term.

Article IV: Composition and Election of Members

The Council of Associates shall be composed of fourteen members. These members shall represent the North Eastern, Southern, Midwest, and Western, Zones of the United States. The other three members of the Council shall represent Canada, Latin America and the Uniformed Services.

• New members of the COA will be elected on a yearly basis with staggered two-year terms. (Ideally, seven new Council representatives will be elected one year, and six the following year.). If circumstances occur where more than seven seats are open, then the Council may extend the terms of existing council representatives to three years. This must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Council. The COA will take into consideration its particular needs and the expertise of members whose terms may be extended. Council representatives asked to serve an additional year cannot run for Chair-elect.
• Nominations for a seat on the COA shall be open to Associate members of the College who are currently serving in an accredited internal medicine training program or subspecialty training program.
• Terms of office begin and end at the College's Annual Session.

Article V: Vacancies

Section 1. Should vacancies arise due to resignation or inability to serve, the remaining members of the Council shall elect from those nominations received during the prior nomination period. The term of the new member shall be for the balance of the term.

Section 2. Council members who had been absent several times without advance notice or follow-up, or two consecutive meetings will be asked to resign and a new member elected for a two-year term. Members being asked to resign will be notified by mail and have a ten day grace period to respond.

Article VI: Meetings

Section 1. The Council shall meet at least two times per year on dates and times established by the Chair in consultation with the College's staff. Also, Council members will be requesred to serve on other ACP committees.

Section 2. The presence of a majority (50% plus 1) of the members of the Council shall constitute a quorum.

Article VII: Amendments

These Rules of Order may be amended, in whole or in part, by a two-thirds vote of the members of the Council.

Council of Associates Members

Christine W. Yeh, Houston, TX

Note: To obtain a list of council members please contact respective staff.

Staff Liaison
Rebecca Moore
Director, Membership Development

Page updated: 4-10-06

Related Links

• Board of Governors
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• College Mission and Goals
• Core Values
• Strategic Priorities
• ACP Leadership
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