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PDA Bylaws
CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS OF THE PACIFIC DERMATOLOGIC ASSOCIATION
Article I - Name
The name of the organization is "Pacific Dermatologic Association", herein after referred to as the Association.
Article II - Object
The object of the Association shall be exclusively for education, scientific, and charitable purposes, and to provide opportunities for exchange of information and advancement of knowledge of dermatology among physicians within the membership area.
Article III - Membership
Section 1 – Membership Boundaries
The membership shall be drawn from physicians in good standing practicing in the western states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, together with physicians in good standing in Mexico and Alberta and British Columbia, Canada, along with the Pacific Rim countries including but not limited to Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, Malaysia, the Philippines, North and South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam. All applicants for membership as a Fellow, Associate, or Affiliate shall have resided within the geographic area of the PDA for not less than one year. Resident applicants need to reside within the geographic area of the PDA. Upon acceptance as a member in any category, membership is no longer dependent upon practice location.
Section 2 – Classes of Membership
There shall be nine classes of members:
(a) Fellow
(b) Associate
(c) Affiliate
(d) Resident
(e) Special Affiliate
(f) Honorary
(g) Honorary Corresponding
(h) Inactive
(i) Life
Section 3 – Definition of Classes of Membership
The following definitions of membership shall apply to the various categories of membership:
a. Fellow - A Fellow member shall be a physician who resides in an eligible state or country and who has been certified by the American Board of Dermatology; or by equivalent dermatology examination in another eligible country. Fellow members are eligible to vote, hold office and serve on elective/appointed committees.
b. Associate - An Associate member shall be a physician who resides in an eligible state or country, who has had training which qualifies him/her for the examination by the American Board of Dermatology or by an equivalent dermatology examination in another eligible country. Associates are eligible to vote, hold office and serve on elective/appointed committees.
c. Affiliate - An Affiliate member shall be a physician who resides in an eligible state or country, and who qualifies by virtue of being in one of the following categories:
(i) Practicing dermatopathologists who are not eligible to be Fellows or Associates; or
(ii) Osteopathic dermatologists who are certified by the American Osteopathic Board of Dermatology, but whose training does not make them eligible to be Fellow or Associate members; or
(iii) Physicians who devote the major portion of their time to the practice, public health, research or education in the specialty of dermatology.
Affiliate members are ineligible to vote or hold office, but may serve on appointed committees.
d. Resident - A Resident member shall be a physician who is in an accredited dermatologic resident training program. Upon completion of the program, residents can apply for membership as a Fellow or Associate member. Residents are not eligible to vote or hold office, but may serve on committees.
e. Special Affiliate – A Special Affiliate member shall be any person who has performed or is performing outstanding service in dermatology may, and shall, upon recommendation by the Recognitions Committee and approval by the Executive Committee, and a two-thirds vote of the Fellow and Associate members, voting at any annual meeting, be elected a Special Affiliate member of the Pacific Dermatologic Association. Dues of Special Affiliate members shall be the same as those of other members unless specifically waived by the Executive Committee. Special Affiliate members shall not number more than five at any time and are ineligible to vote, hold office, or serve on committees.
f. Honorary - A Fellow or Associate member who has rendered distinguished service to the Association, may, on the recommendation of the Recognitions Committee and approval of the Executive Committee, be elected by the Fellow and Associate members to the status of Honorary member. Honorary members shall retain all privileges of their previous membership classification but shall be exempt from the payment of dues or special assessments. They will be required to pay registration fees to attend the annual meeting.
g. Honorary Corresponding - Any distinguished physician or scientist, particularly one who has rendered some worthy service to the Association, such as acting as guest speaker, or serving on some special committee, and who does not reside within the geographic boundaries of the Association, and is not an active member of the Association, may be proposed for election as an Honorary Corresponding member by the Recognitions Committee, approved by the Executive Committee, and elected by the membership. Honorary Corresponding members shall be exempt from the payment of dues or special assessments. Honorary Corresponding members will be required to pay the registration fees for attendance at any annual meeting after their election to this category. They are ineligible to vote, hold office, or serve on elective committees.
h. Inactive - An Inactive member is one who has discontinued the practice of dermatology because of physical ailment and has requested a change in membership status and has been designated Inactive by the Executive Committee. Inactive members are exempt from paying dues, can be reinstated upon request, and need only pay those dues beginning with the year of reactivation. They are not eligible to vote, hold office or serve on committees during this period.
i. Life - Life members shall be any active member who has reached the age of seventy years, retired from the active practice of medicine, and who has been a Fellow, Associate, or Affiliate for at least ten years. Life members shall retain all privileges of their previous membership classification. Life members are exempt from paying dues, but are be required to pay registration fees to attend annual meetings.
Section 4 – Censure, Suspension, or Expulsion
All complaints regarding members of the Association must be presented in writing to the Executive Committee, which shall investigate such complaints. Complaints which may be investigated include violation of the Constitution or Bylaws provisions of the Association or displaying conduct which brings or threatens to bring discredit to the Association or to the medical profession. Grounds for disciplinary action shall include but not be limited to the following:
(a) Conviction of a felony, or of any crime relating to or arising out of the practice of medicine or involving moral turpitude.
(b) Voluntary or involuntary limitation or termination of any right associated with the practice of medicine.
(c) Grossly immoral, dishonorable or unprofessional conduct.
(d) Failure or refusal to cooperate reasonably with an investigation by the Association of a disciplinary matter.
(e) Participating in communications to the public which convey false, untrue, deceptive or misleading information through statements, photographs, graphics or other means, or which omit material information without which the communication is deceptive.
Upon written complaint by a member of the Association in good standing of violation of the Constitution and Bylaws by another member, the Executive Committee shall have the matter investigated. If it appears that there is reasonable cause to proceed, the Executive Committee may appoint an impartial hearing committee to consider the matter and to make a recommendation to the Executive Committee. The hearing committee may request the member concerned to be present at a meeting called for the purpose of such investigation. No members shall be censured, suspended, or expelled without such opportunity of a hearing and without written notice of the charges mailed at least one month in advance of the hearing. The hearing committee will forward its recommendation in writing to the Executive Committee no later than 10 days after the hearing. After review of hearing committee recommendation, the Executive Committee will notify the member within 30 days of the decision.
The member will have 30 days after notice of a recommendation by the Executive Committee for disciplinary action to submit a written appeal to the Executive Committee. The appeal may be heard by the Executive Committee or by an appeal committee appointed by the President. At such appeal the member may be represented by counsel or any other person. The member shall receive a written decision of the Board of Directors, including a statement of the basis for its decision. The decision on the appeal shall be final.
Should the recommendation include expulsion, the matter will be put before the Association members at the next business meeting. No member shall be expelled except by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the Fellows and Associates members present and voting at a business meeting of the Association.
Article IV - Election of Members
Section 1 - Founders
All members of the Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Pacific Northwest, and Rocky Mountain Dermatologic Societies who were present at the founding meeting or who indicated their wishes by submitting to the Secretary of the Association a properly completed application prior to January 1, 1951, constitute the Founders Group of members of the Association.
Section 2 – Application for Membership
Candidates for Fellow, Associate, or Affiliate membership shall submit to the Secretary-Treasurer the properly completed application, at least three months prior to the next annual meeting. A letter of endorsement for each applicant must be sent by two Fellows directly to the Secretary-Treasurer. The Secretary-Treasurer shall submit such applications and all data pertinent to the applicant to the Membership Committee. After due investigation the Membership Committee shall refer each approved application to the Executive Committee and the Association for action at its next business meeting. Applications so referred shall require for acceptance an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Fellow and Associate members present and voting at a business meeting of the Association. A rejected candidate may not reapply for membership for two years.
Residents shall submit to the Secretary-Treasurer the properly completed application provided by the Association and a letter from the Residency Director or Program Chair verifying the resident’s participation in a formal dermatology residency program.
Section 3 – Advancement in Membership Category Status
(a) An Associate or Affiliate who becomes certified by the American Board of Dermatology shall be registered as a Fellow upon receipt of proper notice from the American Board of Dermatology by the Secretary-Treasurer of the Association.
(b) An Associate or Affiliate who is not certified by the American Board of Dermatology but attains equivalent standing may apply to the Executive Committee for membership status as a Fellow. Notification to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Association and approval by the Executive Committee shall constitute election as a Fellow.
Section 4 – Nominations for Honorary and Honorary Corresponding Membership
Nominations for Honorary membership and Honorary Corresponding membership in the Association shall be proposed to the Executive Committee at its regular meeting preceding the annual meeting. An approved nomination shall require for acceptance an affirmative vote by ballot of two-thirds of the Fellows and Associate members present and voting at the annual business meeting of the Association.
Article V – Officers of the Association
Section 1 – Elected Officers
The officers of the Association shall be a President, President-Elect, Vice-President, and an Assistant Secretary, each of whom shall serve one year, and a Secretary-Treasurer who shall serve for four years, the first as Secretary-Treasurer-Elect, and the following three as Secretary-Treasurer.
Section 2 – Duties of the President
The President shall perform the duties pertinent to the office and report at the annual meeting upon the status and activities of the Association.
Section 3 – Duties of the President-Elect
The President-Elect shall serve as a member of the Executive Committee and become President the following year.
Section 4 – Duties of the Vice-President
The Vice-President shall perform the duties pertinent to the office and, in the absence of the President, shall perform the duties of that office.
Section 5 – Duties of the Secretary-Treasurer
(a) The Secretary-Treasurer shall keep permanent and adequate records, and shall with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee, be in charge of the arrangements for meetings and routine of sessions, perform the duties pertinent to those of a Treasurer and dispense such amounts as the Executive Committee shall from time to time approve, and shall report to the Association at each annual meeting.
(b) The Secretary-Treasurer shall: have the care and custody of all moneys and funds and securities of the Association in and with such depositories as the Executive Committee shall from time to time direct; have the power to endorse for deposit or collection all checks, drafts, notes, bills of exchange or other commercial paper payable to the Association and to give proper receipts of discharge therefor; keep all books of account relating to the business of the Association and shall render a statement of the Association's financial condition at each annual meeting of the members and whenever required to do so by the Executive Committee or the President.
Section 6 – Duties of the Assistant Secretary
The Assistant Secretary shall perform the duties pertinent to the office, and shall assist the Secretary-Treasurer in those duties as required by the Secretary-Treasurer or the Executive Committee.
Section 7 – Nominations
Candidates for each office and elective committee members shall be made by the Nominating Committee at the annual meeting. Nominations from the floor may be made by members at the annual meeting. Elections shall be by ballot at each annual meeting, a majority vote being necessary for election.
Section 8 – Terms of Office
The officers of the Association shall begin their duties at the close of the annual meeting at which they were elected.
Article VI - Executive Committee
Section 1 – Members of the Executive Committee
There shall be an Executive Committee composed of the current officers (except the Historian), the immediate past president, and three other qualified members, one of the latter to be elected at each annual meeting for a term of three years, and Article V, Section 8 of the bylaws shall apply in this election.
Section 2 – Duties and Responsibilities
The Executive Committee shall: administer and control the affairs of the Association in accordance with the votes of the Association and the constitution and the bylaws; have the power to determine the character and composition of the programs; accept or reject, without appeal, any contribution offered thereto; choose the meeting place; supervise and control the finances and the disbursement of moneys; have the right to request any member to contribute to the clinical or scientific sessions of any meeting; report to the Association those applicants who meet with its approval; fill by appointment, for the unexpired term, any vacancies in elective offices; act on complaints specified in Article III, Section 11 (eleven); perform all other matters and things which may be necessary for the well-ordering and advancement of the Association.
Section 3 – Powers and Authorities
The Executive Committee may exercise all powers conferred by the laws of the state of Washington, including, but not limited to the holding of real and personal property, and the receipt and holding in trust, or otherwise, of funds received by gift or bequest to be devoted by it to its corporate powers.
Section 4 - Meetings
The Executive Committee shall meet at the call of the President.
Article VII - Committees
Section 1 – Types of Committees
(a) There shall be a Nomination Committee, a Budgetary Review, a Recognitions Committee, a Membership Committee, and such other committees as may from time to time be appointed by the Association, the President, or the Executive Committee.
(b) No committee members, either appointive or elective, nor any officers, shall be allowed to succeed themselves for a period of three years, except the Historian.
Section 2 – Nomination Committee
(a) The Nomination Committee shall be composed of three qualified members, one of whom shall be elected each year at the annual meeting for a term of three years.
(b) The Nomination Committee shall present the name of at least one candidate for each office, at least one for the Executive Committee, and at least one for a new member of the Nominations Committee, at the first business session of each annual meeting.
Article VIII - Dues
Section 1 – Dues Structure
The amount of annual dues payable by Fellow, Associate, and Affiliate members shall be established at an annual membership meeting by a majority vote of the members, provided that any proposed change in the amount of annual dues shall be first approved by the Executive Committee. Any physician who joins within three (3) years of completing their dermatology residency may participate in a tiered dues plan, which brings their dues up to the full amount paid by other members by their fourth year after training. The structure of the plan is to be reviewed and revised as needed by the Executive Committee. Any Active member in good standing who is a Life Member shall be exempt from the payment of dues and assessments.
Section 2 - Amount
The amount of dues payable by Resident members shall be established by the Executive Committee.
Section 3 – Exemption of Dues Payment
Active Life members, Honorary members and Honorary Corresponding members shall be exempt from payment of dues and assessments.
Section 4 – Special Assessments
The Executive Committee may make assessments, not to exceed the equivalent of the annual dues, as the need arises, for such sums and under such conditions, as it may consider proper.
Section 5 – Payment of Dues in Arrears
The Secretary-Treasurer shall report to the Executive Committee any member one year in arrears in the payment of dues or of assessments. Thereupon said delinquent member shall be automatically suspended from the Association and so notified in writing by the Secretary-Treasurer. A member so suspended shall not be reinstated except by the vote of the Executive Committee and upon payment of all arrears.
Article IX - Meetings
Section 1 – Frequency
The Association shall meet annually.
Section 2 – Meeting Dates
The Executive Committee may change the date of any meeting and may arrange for additional meetings.
Section 3 - Location
The Association and its committees shall hold meetings only in places where all members are welcomed on an equal basis.
Section 4 - Quorum
Twenty-five members (Fellows, Associates, Affiliates, Life, and Honorary) shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Once established, a quorum shall remain in effect until recess or adjournment.
Article X - Guests
Section 1 – Registration Fee
(a) Fellows, Associates, and Honorary members in good standing may invite other physicians outside the geographic area of the Association to be their guests at the annual meeting. The sponsoring member shall so inform the Secretary-Treasurer in writing. The registration and the full registration fee, as established by the Executive Committee, shall be sent to the Secretary-Treasurer at least two weeks prior to the meeting.
(b) The Executive Committee may limit the number of total guests and the number of guests invited by each member. If the number of guests is limited, invited dermatologists are to be given preference over other physicians.
Section 2 – Meeting Participation
Physicians and certain non-physicians, as established from time to time by executive policy, may be admitted to individual non-clinical lectures or sessions, if sponsored by a member in good standing. Member-sponsored physicians only, except as specified below, may attend clinical sessions.
Section 3 – Academic Guests
Academic guests, those in training in dermatology or closely related fields may, if sponsored by a member in good standing, attend any or all non-clinical sessions and certain clinical sessions specifically authorized by the Executive Committee.
Section 4 – Registration Fees
Registration fees or charges, if any, may be waived or reduced for individual lectures or sessions by the Executive Committee.
Section 5 – Presidential Invitations
Notwithstanding the above provisions, other persons, whether qualified or not, may from time to time be invited by the President or their representative to attend any or all of the meetings of the Association.
Article XI - Amendments
The bylaws may be amended either by mail ballot or at an annual meeting at the written request of five members, either Fellows or Associates, and approved of by the Executive Committee. If the vote will take place at the annual meeting, such amendments shall have been submitted in writing to all members of the Association at least two weeks prior to said meeting. A two-thirds vote of all Fellows and Associates present and voting shall be necessary for adoption. If the vote is taken by mail ballot, a two-thirds vote of all Fellows and Associates voting shall be necessary for adoption.
Article XII – Miscellaneous
Section 1 – Parliamentary Procedure
All questions of parliamentary procedure or practice regarding the affairs of the Association, including the conduct of meetings of members, of the Executive Committee, or of any committee, shall be governed by the current edition of Sturgis Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure, except as otherwise specifically provided by law or these Bylaws.
Section 2 – Fiscal Year
The fiscal year of the Association shall be January 1 – December 31.
Last revisions/amendments: August 2003
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