The Maryland College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (MCOEM) shall be a component society of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

 

Article II- MISSION STATEMENT

The Maryland College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine exists to:
• Foster education in Occupational & Environmental Medicine
• Advocate the interests of our members
• Promote public health and welfare
• Protect and restore the health and safety of workers and the public
• Engender exchange with other professions while, at all times, acknowledging our privilege to practice the healing arts.

 

Article III- MEMBERSHIP

Section 1

Membership in this Association shall consist of 4 classes: Active Physician Member, Student/Resident, Affiliate and Retired.

Section 2- Active Physician Member

Active Physician Members shall be licensed Doctors of Medicine or Osteopathy who practice or have an interest in occupational medicine. See ACOEM By-Laws, Article IV, Section 3 for requirements.

Section 3- Student/Resident

Any medical student, intern or resident with an interest in occupational medicine may apply for Student/Resident membership. Application will be as stipulated in ACOEM By-Laws, Article IV, Section 3.

Section 4 – Affiliate Member

Any non-physician working in a field related to occupational and environmental medicine, who is a Certified Physician Assistant, is a Licensed Nurse Practitioner, is a Certified Occupational Health Nurse, or who has achieved at least a master’s level degree in a related field may apply for Affiliate Membership, in accordance with ACOEM By-Laws, Article IV, Section 3 (f) and (g).

Section 5 - Retired

Retired membership may be conferred upon members who retire from the practice of medicine and have been a member of this Association for at least five (5) years and who are in good standing at the time of their retirement. See ACOEM By-Laws, Article IV, Section 3 for requirements.

Article IV: OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS

Section 1

The Officers of the Association shall be a President, a President-Elect, a Secretary and a Treasurer. The President shall hold no other office.

Section 2

The Board of Directors of the Association shall consist of the Officers, the immediate Past President and two (2) other active members.

Section 3

The Officers of the Association shall constitute the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Association.

Section 4

Only Active Physician Members of the Association shall be eligible to serve as Officers, however the Board of Directors may include one representative from one of the other classes of membership.

Section 5

Any Officer or Director may resign at any time. Such resignation must be in writing to the Secretary. If will be effective upon its receipt by the Association or at the specified time in the letter of resignation. Acceptance of a resignation shall not be required to make it effective.

Section 6

There will be one or more Delegates to ACOEM as determined by ACOEM and an equal number of Alternate Delegates. Terms shall be for two (2) years, commencing on the first day of January following the election. If MCOEM has been unable to identify members willing to accept this role, it may assign ad-hoc delegates to the ACOEM House, with appropriate briefing by the MCOEM Board of Directors on the pertinent issues.

Article V-DUTIES OF OFFICERS, DELEGATES AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Section 1-PRESIDENT

The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Association and, subject to the jurisdiction and direction of the Board of Directors and these by-laws, shall have general administrative control of its affairs. The President shall preside over all meetings of the membership, the Board of Directors, and shall be an ex-officio member of all committees.

Section 2-PRESIDENT-ELECT

The President-Elect shall preside at all meetings when the President is absent and shall assume all other duties of the President in his absence. When the normal term of the President ends, the President-Elect shall become the President for the following term.

Section 3-ABSENCE OF PRESIDENT AND PRESIDENT-ELECT

In the absence of both the President and President-Elect, the duties and responsibilities of the office of President shall be assumed by the Secretary or Treasurer, in that order.

Section 4-SECRETARY

The secretary shall keep accurate records of all transactions of the meetings of the Association and of the Board of Directors. The Secretary shall keep a current, correct listing of all members of the Association and their addresses, including e-mail addresses. The Secretary shall be responsible for sending meeting notices and minutes, preparing correspondence and related administrative tasks.

Section 5-TREASURER

The Treasurer shall be the custodian of all funds of the Association and shall pay all bills incurred by the Association subject to the approval of the Board of Directors. The Treasurer shall report the financial status of the Association at each meeting of the membership. The Treasurer shall transmit to the successor in office all funds and property of the Association.

Section 6-BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board of Directors shall be responsible for direction and administration of the affairs of the Association.

Section 7-EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The Executive Committee shall be responsible to the Board of Directors for the administration of the affairs of the Association between meetings of the Board of Directors.

Section 8-DELEGATES

The Delegates shall attend the ACOEM House of Delegates meetings as representatives of the Association. Alternate Delegates shall assume the duties of Delegates unable to attend House of Delegates meetings.

Article VI-MEETINGS OF MEMBERS

Section 1

Regular meetings of members will be held at times and places as determined by the Board of Directors. There shall be at least two (2) meetings of the Association each calendar year, consisting of a combination of CME approved lecture(s) and one hour of business each meeting.

Section 2

Notice for all regular meetings shall be sent by the Secretary to the membership of the Association as soon as possible, but no later than 3 weeks before the meeting.

Section 3

A quorum for the purpose of transacting business at any regular meeting shall be ten percent

(10%) of the voting membership. A majority vote will decide any issue.

Article VII-MEETINGS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Section 1

The Board of Directors will meet at least once a year, prior to March 31. Other meetings may be called by the President or at the request of any three (3) Directors. Time and place will be determined by those requesting the meeting.

Section 2

A quorum of four (4) Directors will be required to transact any business.

Section 3

The President is empowered to appoint an active member to temporarily perform the duties of a Director in order to assure a quorum.

Article VIII-ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS

Section 1

Every two (2) years, nominations for each vacant Officers, Directors, and Delegate positions shall be solicited from the membership by e-mail, and recommendations made by the Nominating committee before the end of September of election year. Elections will be carried out by mail ballot, before the end of November. In the event of competitive nominations for any office, majority of all votes cast shall be required to elect.

Section 2

At each election, two (2) of the non-officer Directors will be elected. Terms for these individuals will be for four (4) years. This assures that there will never be a complete turnover of the Board of Directors.

Section 3

Election of the President-Elect will be for a term of two (2) years in that position followed by two (2) years as President.

Section 4

(a) All Officers and Directors of the Association shall hold office until their successors are elected.

 

(b) Terms and duties of all Officers and Directors will begin on January 1 following their election.

Article IX-VACANCIES

Section 1

In the event of a vacancy in the Office of President, the President-Elect shall immediately become the new President. Term will be for a minimum of two (2) and a maximum of three (3) years.

Section 2

To fill the vacancy created by the promotion of President-Elect to President, a special election for President-elect shall take place at a meeting of the membership within six (6) months. The Board of Directors is responsible for nominations of one or more candidates for the office. Nominations will be accepted from the floor.

Section 3

Should vacancies occur simultaneously in the offices of President and President-Elect, the Board of Directors shall select candidates to present to a vote of the membership at the next meeting, to be held within six (6) months. From the list of candidates, the ballots shall first be cast to elect the new President and next they shall be cast to elect the new President-Elect. A majority of all votes cast shall be required to elect in each case. If after two (2) ballots there shall be no election, all but the two (2) candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be dropped from the ballot and the voting confined to the two (2) so designated.

Section 4

The Board of Directors shall have the power to fill vacancies among the rest of the Officers and Directors to serve until the next election meeting of the Association or until an appropriate successor is elected.

Article X-COMMITTEES

Section 1-MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE

The Membership Committee shall consist of one (1) or more members who shall be appointed by the President and whose duty it shall be to promote new and ongoing membership in ACOEM.

Section 2-FELLOWSHIP COMMITTEE

The President, with the approval of the officers, shall appoint a Fellowship Committee consisting of one or more members whose duty it will be to review the roll of active members at least once a year and to recommend to active members who qualify that they apply for Fellowship or Mastership and be available to support them in the application process.

Section 3-NOMINATING COMMITTEE

The Nominating Committee shall consist of at least two (2) members appointed by the President. It shall be appointed by at least August prior to a scheduled election and shall make nominations for each impending vacancy for the September meeting prior to the elections.

Section 4-OTHER COMMITTEES

The President shall appoint such other committees as may, from time to time, be designated by the Board of Directors.

Section 5-TERMS

Each standing committee membership shall hold office for no more than two (2) years.

Article XI-DUES

Section 1

The annual dues of all Members shall be the sum of the ACOEM dues and the MCOEM dues. The amount of the MCOEM dues will be determined by the President and the officers. Honorary Members shall pay no dues.

Section 2

Any member whose dues for a current year are unpaid by April 30 will be considered delinquent and will be automatically dropped from the membership rolls.

Section 3

Any member dropped from the membership rolls for non-payment of dues may be reinstated for that year provided that the dues in arrears are paid.

Article XII-ORDER OF BUSINESS

Section 1

The order of business at the Election Meeting (November) and all business meetings shall be:

Call to Order
Reading of the Minutes of the previous meeting
Report of the Secretary
Report of the Treasurer
Reports of the Committees
Old and/or unfinished business
New business
Nomination of new Officers
Election of new Officers
Scientific presentations

Section 2

The order of Business may be changed at the discretion of the President. All meetings will be held in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order.

Article XIII-AMENDMENTS

Section 1

These By-laws may be amended by a majority vote of voting Members provided that notice of proposed amendments be given at least thirty (30) days before the date set for voting on the amendments. The method of voting may be determined by the Board of Directors.

Section 2

Any Member may submit a recommended change to these By-Laws, in writing to the Board of Directors or at a regular meeting of the members.

Submitted and Approved February 20, 2006