At the 2015 AAPM&R business meeting, Academy members will be asked to vote on a proposed amendment to the AAPM&R bylaws. The amendment would formally dissolve the Public and Professional Awareness Committee (PPAC).
The Board of Governors has evaluated its structure and determined that to more strategically support the Academy’s goals, it should realign current professional awareness activities within the Quality, Practice, Policy, and Research Committee and the Membership Committee. Therefore, there is no longer a need for a separate Public and Professional Awareness Committee with a corresponding position on the Board because the relevant responsibilities of this committee have been integrated into other existing volunteer leadership structures.
AAPM&R Bylaws revisions are proposed as follows:
ARTICLE VI - BOARD OF GOVERNORS
Section B. Composition. The Board shall consist of (i) the Academy’s President, President-Elect, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Immediate Past-President and four Members-at-Large elected in accordance with Section C of this Article VI; (ii) the Chairpersons of the Academy’s Membership Committee, Medical Education Committee, Public and Professional Awareness Committee, and Quality, Practice, Policy and Research Committee, each of whom shall serve as ex-officio Board members with voting rights; and (iii) the Executive Director of the Academy, the Chair of the Academy Delegation to the AMA House of Delegates, the Editor-in-Chief of the Academy’s professional journal, and the chief elected officer of the Council of Resident Physicians , each of whom shall serve as ex-officio Board members with no voting rights. No member may concurrently hold more than one of the Board seats with voting rights identified herein.
Section F. Vacancies. Vacancies occurring in the Board seats filled by the Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Members-at-Large and/or the Immediate Past-President shall be filled by the Board. A Board member appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve for the sooner of 1) the expiration of the term of his or her predecessor or until a successor has been elected. Vacancies occurring in the Board seats filled by the President and President-Elect shall be filled in accordance with Article VII, Section G of these Bylaws. Vacancies occurring in the Board seats filled by the Chairs of the Academy’s Membership Committee, Medical Education Committee, Public and Professional Awareness Committee, and Quality, Practice, Policy and Research Committee shall be filled by the President. Vacancies occurring in the Board seats filled by the Executive Director, the AMA Delegate Chair, the Editor-in-Chief of the Academy’s professional journal, and the chief elected officer of the Council of Resident Physicians shall be filled by the individuals who are hired or appointed into those positions in accordance with these Bylaws and the Academy’s policies and procedures as may be amended from time to time. The term served by an individual appointed to fill a vacancy shall not count toward any term limitations set forth in these Bylaws.
ARTICLE IX – committees and ADVISORY COMMITTEES
Section E. Standing Advisory Committees. The Academy shall have the following standing advisory committees:
5. Public and Professional Awareness Committee. The Public and Professional Awareness Committee shall be appointed by the President as approved by the Board, and shall consist of a Chair and additional members as the President may deem appropriate. The terms of the committee members shall be in accordance with Academy policy. The committee shall plan and coordinate the initiatives to increase understanding and utilization of physiatry, and shall fulfill other related charges as assigned by the Board.
(together with the appropriate renumbering of bylaws)