Title: The name of this organization shall be the Surgical Caucus of the American Medical Association.


Purpose: The purpose of the organization shall be to provide a forum at each session of the House of Delegates for discussion and recommendations concerning professional and socioeconomic issues of particular interest to surgeons.


Membership: Membership shall be open to all physicians who are designated by the AMA as practicing surgery or any of its subspecialties and who, from time to time, shall be serving as delegates or alternate delegates in the AMA House of Delegates, the Organized Medical Staff Section, the Medical Student Section, or the Young Physicians Section, or as officers of the American Medical Association, or as state medical society presidents, and to residents in surgery or the surgical subspecialties who are delegates or alternate delegates in the Resident and Fellow Section.

Physicians who are not surgeons but who practice in specialties with significant clinical interactions with surgeons may also become members of the Surgical Caucus. Examples of such specialties include but are not limited to: anesthesiology, critical care, emergency medicine, interventional cardiology and interventional radiology. 


Organization:


Officers: The officers of the Caucus shall be Chair, Chair-Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer.


Executive Committee: There shall be an Executive Committee empowered to act on behalf of the Caucus in the intervals between meetings. The Executive Committee shall consist of the elected officers; three elected members-at-large; the delegate from the American College of Surgeons; and a surgical or surgical subspecialty delegate representing the Resident Physicians Section, and a surgical or surgical subspecialty delegate representing the Young Physicians Section.


Nominating Committee: There shall be a nominating committee appointed by the chair at each meeting of the Caucus coinciding with the annual meeting of the House of Delegates. The committee shall include a chair chosen from among the three elected members-at-large of the Executive Committee, and two additional members appointed from the membership-at-large. The Nominating Committee shall recommend a slate to the Caucus with nominees for: Chair; Chair-Elect; Secretary; Treasurer; Members-at-Large (one per year); and vacancies.
Elections: Elections shall be held at each meeting of the Caucus coinciding with the interim meeting of the House of Delegates. Additional nominations from the floor shall be sought and voting shall be by written ballot.


Terms of Office: Terms of office for the Chair, Chair-Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be one (1) year and no person shall be eligible to hold the same office for more than three (3) years. Terms of office for Members-at-Large shall be three (3) years. 


Vacancies: Vacancies in any elected position may be filled by appointment of the Executive Committee until elections are held at the next regularly scheduled annual meeting. A member filling an unexpired term shall be eligible to hold the same position upon election.


Dues: Dues shall be assessed of the members to annually defray the administrative costs of operating the Caucus. Dues shall be set on a yearly basis by the Executive Committee. Resident members are not required to pay dues.


Meetings: Notice of the time and place of the meetings shall be mailed to each member by the Secretary at least two (2) weeks in advance of the meeting date and shall include the minutes of the prior meeting as well as a preliminary agenda. Insofar as possible, the agenda shall indicate items of proposed business before the current House session that are of particular interest to surgeons.


Governance: The Surgical Caucus shall conduct its business according to the governance procedures used by the House of Delegates.


Conduct of Meetings: The Chair, or in his absence, the Chair-Elect, shall preside at all meetings.


Amendments: These Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members present at a scheduled meeting.

Online January 5, 2006

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