Chapter Constitution

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION/OHIO STATE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION MEDICAL STUDENT SECTION

Article I: Name and Affiliation

  1. The name of the organization shall be: University of Cincinnati College of Medicine American Medical Association/Ohio State Medical Association – Medical Student Section (the Chapter).
  2. The Chapter shall be an affiliate of:
    1. American Medical Association
    2. Ohio State Medical Association
    3. Cincinnati Academy of Medicine
    4. American Medical Association-Medical Student Section
    5. Ohio State Medical Association-Medical Student Section

Article II: Purpose

The purpose of the Chapter is to inform medical students about important issues in healthcare and the practice of medicine, to encourage and support the active participation of medical students at all levels of organized medicine, to develop local and national leaders in organized medicine, to represent medical student interests and opinions via organized medicine, and to support the purposes of the American Medical Association and Ohio State Medical Association as stated in their constitutions.

Article III: Membership

  1. Membership in the Chapter shall include all UCCOM students who are members of the American Medical Association in good standing.
  2. Only Chapter members shall have the right to attend and vote in Chapter elections and hold Chapter office.
  3. Chapter members may be removed by a ¾ + 1 vote of all Executive Officers if it is determined that the member in question has failed to uphold the values or reputation of the Chapter.

Article IV: Executive Officers

  1. Executive Officers of the Chapter shall be: Co-President, Treasurer, Advocacy Chair, Fundraising Chair, Public Relations Chair, Membership Chair, and Co-President Elect.
  2. Duties of the Executive Offices:
    1. Co-President: The Co-President shall preside over all meetings and other Executive Officers in order to uphold the purpose of the Chapter as defined in Article II.
    2. Treasurer: The Treasurer shall manage all aspects of finances for the Chapter, including overseeing the budget and submitting grant applications and reimbursement requests on behalf of the Chapter. The Treasurer shall also work with the Co-Presidents as necessary to coordinate logistics for state and national meetings attended by Chapter members.
    3. Advocacy Chair: The Advocacy Chair shall work with the Co-Presidents to generate advocacy programming and assist students in authoring AMA and OSMA resolutions.
    4. Fundraising Chair: The Fundraising Chair shall plan Chapter fundraisers and events that promote the Chapter.
    5. Public Relations Chair: The Public Relations Chair shall be responsible for maintaining the Chapter’s public presence, including public communications and digital outlets.
    6. Membership Chair: The Membership Chair shall be responsible for coordinating membership recruitment initiatives and be the liaison(s) to the AMA Medical Student Section Outreach Program staff. The Membership Chair shall also take minutes for all Chapter meetings and oversee Chapter elections.
    7. Co-President Elect: The Co-President Elect shall aid the Co-Presidents and Executive Officers in the selection of incoming Executive Officers, after which the Co-President Elect shall assume the office of Co-President.
  3. Selection of Executive Officers
    1. The Co-President Elect shall be chosen through a Chapter Election as described in Article V.
    2. The selection of Executive Officers other than Co-President Elect and Co-President shall be by application and interview during the Spring of each year. Candidates for Executive Officer shall fill out an application designed by the Co-Presidents and Co-Presidents Elect during an application period lasting no less than fourteen (14) days.
    3. Applicants shall be interviewed by at least one Co-President, at least one Co-President Elect, and at least one Executive Officer currently holding a position for which the applicant is applying.
    4. The interviewing Executive Officers in consultation with any other appropriate Executive Officers shall decide who of these applicants shall hold the positions. In the case of disagreement as to the appointment of applicants to any given position, selection shall be determined by a vote of the interviewers.
    5. If selection is not able to be determined by a vote among the interviewers, there shall be a vote of the Executive Officers based on application review and testimony of the interviewers for each applicant in question.
  4. Should vacancies occur in any office, the Co-Presidents may, at their discretion, fill the vacancy using the process outlined in Article IV, Section 3.
  5. Any Executive Officer may be removed from office by a ¾ + 1 vote of the Executive Officers if it is determined that the member in question has failed to uphold the values or reputation of the organization or fails to meet the requirements of their office.
  6. For any matter on which a vote of the Executive Officers is necessary, notification must be given to all Executive Officers no less than seven (7) days in advance of the vote.

Article V: Chapter Elections and Votes

  1. Determination of Co-President Elect
    1. Candidates for the office of Co-President Elect shall, during a designated application period lasting no less than fourteen (14) days, fill out an application designed by the Co-Presidents. All candidates’ applications shall be made available to all Chapter members simultaneously no less than seven (7) days prior to election.
    2. If there are two (2) or fewer eligible candidates for the office of Co-President Elect by the end of the application period, each candidate shall become Co-President Elect.
    3. If there are more than two (2) eligible candidates for the office of Co-President Elect by the end of the application period, the office shall be filled by a Chapter election.
    4. Elections for the office of Co-President Elect shall consist of speeches by eligible candidates lasting no more than five (5) minutes, followed by no more than two (2) minutes of testimony on behalf of each candidate, given by any Chapter member(s).
    5. Creation and distribution of any and all voting materials (e.g. pins, flyers, signs, online materials, etc.) aside from the official application for office shall not be permitted.
    6. Each Chapter member may vote for up to two (2) candidates for Co-President Elect.
    7. The two (2) candidates receiving the most votes shall assume the office of Co-President Elect.
    8. In the case of a tie unable to be resolved by the two (2) candidates receiving the most votes assuming the office of Co-President Elect, the tie shall be broken by a runoff vote among all tied candidates, with the winner assuming the office of Co-President Elect. This process may be repeated as needed.
  2. Determination of Delegate and Alternate Delegate
    1. A Chapter Delegate and Alternate Delegate shall be determined prior to each OSMA and AMA meeting attended by at least one Chapter member and for which a chapter must name a Delegate and Alternate Delegate.
    2. To be eligible for the position of Delegate/Alternate Delegate, candidates must attend the OSMA or AMA meeting for which delegates are being chosen.
    3. Candidates for the position of Delegate/Alternate Delegate shall, during a designated application period lasting no less than seven (7) days, fill out an application designed by the Co-Presidents. All candidates’ applications shall be made available to all Chapter members simultaneously no less than one (1) day prior to election.
    4. If there is only one (1) eligible candidate for the position of Delegate/Alternate Delegate by the end of the application period, the candidate shall assume the position of Delegate.
    5. If there are two (2) or more eligible candidates for the position of Delegate/Alternate Delegate by the end of the application period, the office shall be filled by a Chapter election.
    6. Elections for the position of Delegate/Alternate Delegate shall consist of speeches by eligible candidates lasting no more than two (2) minutes.
    7. Creation and distribution of any and all voting materials (e.g. pins, flyers, signs, online materials, etc.) aside from the official application for office shall not be permitted.
    8. Each Chapter member may vote for up to two (2) candidates for Delegate/Alternate Delegate.
    9. The candidate receiving the most votes shall assume the position of Delegate, and the candidate receiving the second-most number of votes shall assume the position of Alternate Delegate.
    10. In the case of a tie for either position, the tie shall be broken by a runoff vote among all tied candidates, with the winner assuming the position in question. This process may be repeated as needed.
  3. Determination of Chapter Position on Resolutions
    1. In the case that the Chapter’s position on AMA or OSMA resolutions must be determined, that position will be established by a Chapter vote overseen by the Chapter Delegate and Alternate Delegate elected to serve at the conference at which the resolutions will appear.
    2. The Chapter’s position on AMA or OSMA resolutions during any given conference of the AMA or OSMA shall be determined by the Delegate to the conference in question, with the Alternate Delegate making such determinations in Delegate’s absence in accordance with the bylaws of the conference.

Article VI: Non-Discrimination Policy

The Chapter shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, handicap, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or veteran status. In incidents of potential discrimination, the Chapter shall use good sense and default toward the most inclusive interpretation of this policy, including non-discrimination of statuses not necessarily enumerated in the preceding list.

Article VII: Funding

All funding requests shall be approved in advance of the outlay of funds by both Co-Presidents in consultation with the Treasurer. If all parties do not approve of the funding request, the issue shall be resolved by a vote of the Executive Officers.

Article VIII: Amendments

All amendments to the constitution must be presented in writing and approved by a ⅔ + 1 vote of the Executive Officers.

Last updated: 11/29/2018