cinntsp Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 I'm one of the delegates for the student academy in the HOD this year, so I'm interested in your opinions on a couple of issues. I'm attaching all of the resolutions for anyone that's interested in reading this one or any others. Please do not post your opinion if you are not a PA-S. 1. There is a resolution up for debate this year that would change the election process of the AAPA board of directors by having them elected via the HOD rather than the general membership. It's the first one in the attached doc. My thoughts: - Less than 10% of AAPA members eligible to vote for BOD candidates actually do so - The BOD has been overreaching in the past and this could be a way to keep it in control - The HOD is often just as stagnant as the BOD and is not always in line with the feelings of the general PA population, so this may be a move backwards. - By further internalizing the organization and turning it into a "good ol boys" club, it may be harder to infuse it with new blood. 2. There are two similar resolutions involving delegate numbers. One is being proposed by the student academy that would increase the amount of members in the organization required per allotted delegate slot. Another is being proposed by a state org will also add a hard cap on the number of delegates any one state or constituent org can have. The primary reasoning behind this is that SAAAPA(the student academy) is the largest delegation in the HOD. With the rapid expansion of PA schools, the number of student delegates is growing every year and will explode in the next few. This concerns other delegations in that we may end up controlling too much of the house. My thoughts: - As students become a larger portion of AAPA and its funding, perhaps we should have more control of the house. - Having a younger and more progressive HOD could lead to a better direction for the profession. On the other hand, many students do not really get what this profession needs. - Students are largely naive of the issues discussed and may be easily swayed because of it. - I will graduate soon and as a practicing PA I will likely feel that I should have more say in what my profession needs than students who may not fully grasp these issues. What are your thoughts? Resolutions: https://www.dropbox.com/s/0i2wrv46ro1848d/_2014-Resolutions-All.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LT_Oneal_PAC Posted May 20, 2014 Moderator Share Posted May 20, 2014 1. The profession will definitely go backwards if we become so inbred as to pick our leaders internally. Terrible idea. 2. Conflicted on this. I feel that I have a better grasp on the issues than most PAs I meet. Not surprising considering the number that vote. I also may be an exception compared to other students. I would be in favor of a hard cap. No one person/group should have all the power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andersenpa Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 What is the BODs rationale for limiting HOD elections to them vs the membership? Why should you have more say in voting than another student? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted May 21, 2014 Author Share Posted May 21, 2014 What is the BODs rationale for limiting HOD elections to them vs the membership? This is from the doc in the OP. Ignore all the 3 digit numbers...the line numbers didn't paste over correctly. The primary benefit to electing all Board members by the House of Delegates would be to 284 provide the House of Delegates with a sense of greater participation and balance in the business 285 affairs of the Academy. In 2010 there was a significant change in the governing structure of the 286 Academy necessitated by the discovery that our bylaws were not in compliance with the statutes 287 of the State of North Carolina in which the Academy is incorporated. Since that time, many 288 Delegates have expressed the feeling that there is a lack of balance between the Board of 289 Directors and the House of Delegates. North Carolina statute states: “All corporate powers shall 290 be exercised by or under the authority of, and the affairs of the corporation managed under the 291 direction of, its board of directors, except as otherwise provided in the articles of incorporation.” 292 When the bylaws changes were made the wording reflects that the Board of Directors should 293 take into consideration the recommendations of the House of Delegates concerning the 294 commissions, workgroups, and task forces. It was evident at the 2013 House of Delegates that a 295 significant proportion of the delegates felt that the bylaw had not been honored by the Board of 296 Directors. 297298 Other benefits to electing all Board members by the House of Delegates include: 299 300 1. Eliminating the general elections and saving the direct expense and the staff time 301 associated with conducting the general election. 302 303 2. There is a vastly condensed group of people to lobby. If someone is running for a Board 304 position, they would have a focused group of about 250 to lobby, instead of 35,000 total 305 members. 306 307 3. Elections by the HOD would de-emphasize the need for candidates to try to reach out to 308 the entire Fellow Membership while campaigning. This has been an expensive and time-309 consuming process. Candidates could focus on more meaningful interactions with a 310 much smaller group. 311 312 4. If elections were to occur at the annual HOD meeting, the candidates would have formal 313 and informal opportunities to meet with the Delegates to discuss issues and ideas. Some 314 of these opportunities could, and should be, open to all conference attendees. 315 316 5. May encourage more candidates for the Board of Directors election. 317 318 Requires Board Ratification If Passed 8 2014-A-01-HO 6. Members wishing to have input on the elections will need to be in contact with the 319 Delegates from their organization. This should encourage Delegates to reach out to their 320 constituents and the constituents to reach out to the Delegates. 321 322 7. May give additional incentive for members to join a constituent organization having a 323 seat in the HOD. 324 325 8. Should improve BOD/HOD communications 326 327 9. Should in the future it be decided that all of the Board of Directors members should be 328 elected by a majority vote rather than a plurality, runoff elections would be much more 329 practical. 330 331 10. Allows for a workable practical method of removing a President-elect, President, 332 Immediate-Past-President, the Secretary-Treasurer, or a Director at Large from office. 333 Currently statute and Bylaws would require a special meeting of the membership to 334 remove an individual from these offices. . Why should you have more say in voting than another student? I meant that once I graduate and am a practicing PA I will feel that I should have more say in the profession than students. In essence, I'm questioning whether those not actually practicing yet should be able to heavily influence where the profession heads by having the largest single delegation by far. SAAAPA already has the largest delegation but without the changes proposed the gap between the next largest will become even wider. I'll edit the OP to be clearer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andersenpa Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 What an insular stance by the BOD. The HOD is already an engaged body and (one would hope!) a group with good voting turnout. Voting by AAPA membership has dwindled, and this should signal the BOD to how disconnected and misrepresented PAs feel about AAPA- not an excuse to further disengage PAs nationally. Sadly it's not surprising. Too bad more students aren't responding to your topic- it's an important one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JMPA Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 students should have no voting priviliges within the aapa. they are not yet PAs and should only be allowed to have influence after completing their program and assuming the title. to use naive students as a majority vote is simply aapa grasp for power with total disregard to the professional. shame on you aapa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted May 22, 2014 Author Share Posted May 22, 2014 to use naive students as a majority vote is simply aapa grasp for power with total disregard to the professional. shame on you aapa Huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planteater Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 So, basically we go from being a democratic AAPA to a representative/republic AAPA. I'm not sure how I feel about this, though I do understand the points they are making about time and cost. I think it is a very bad idea to let students have a majority. I cannot tell you how many times I have read something on this forum and thought it sounded good only to have my opinion changed by another post. I think this happens when you haven't actually practiced yet and don't have that experience to draw from. And if I were a 20 year practicing PA, I certainly wouldn't want a bunch of kids controlling where my profession was heading! I like the hard cap idea to control this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorpsmanUP Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 I am a 37 old year man with over a decade of experience in finance and another 6 years in military medicine. I am by no means a "kid" and have not been for a long time. From observation and conversation with practicing PAs I am more cognizant of macro issues facing the profession than many of the individuals who will be my future colleagues. To lump all students as inexperienced 23 year olds with a bio degree does a disservice to those of us seeking to be actively involved in furthering the profession and who have insight in ways to go about it. So no, I am not inclined to agree to the limiting of student delegates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LT_Oneal_PAC Posted May 26, 2014 Moderator Share Posted May 26, 2014 I would be for a cap that limited every group to no more than 49% of the total, not just students, thus no one group can completely overshadow everyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted May 26, 2014 Moderator Share Posted May 26, 2014 I would be for a cap that limited every group to no more than 49% of the total, not just students, thus no one group can completely overshadow everyone else. except maybe PAFT members...bwa ha ha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LT_Oneal_PAC Posted May 26, 2014 Moderator Share Posted May 26, 2014 except maybe PAFT members...bwa ha ha Hey! Dictatorships work with the right people in charge! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted May 27, 2014 Moderator Share Posted May 27, 2014 Hey! Dictatorships work with the right people in charge! ;) yup, what's so wrong about being president(for life....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planteater Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Sorry corpsman- I wasn't meaning that literally. I am 35 and have a family, so I don't fit the kid category either! But I do think there are a lot of kids in PA school these days (if my class and the PAs I've met on rotations are any indication). I do stand by my opinion that students shouldn't have a majority and it is hard to know the issues when you aren't actually practicing yet, but with your experience, I imagine you'd be ahead of the game! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 Thanks for your thoughts everyone. The resolution that we put forward as the student academy passed, which will increase the number of members needed per delegate seat. The resolution with the cap was defeated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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