House
of Delegates (HOD)
What
is the House of Delegates?
The
House of Delegates (HOD) is the American Academy of Physician Assistant's
(AAPA) policy making body and defines all the bylaws, policies, and
procedures of AAPA.
Currently,
students are represented in the HOD by 11 delegates, meaning students
have an opportunity to vote and be a strong voice in the legislative
process. The 11 student delegates include the Chief Delegate, a member
of the SAAAPA Board of Directors and then 11 students from various registered
student societies. In addition to the student delegates, other representatives
consists of delegates from the state organizations, specialty organizations,
medical and surgical congresses, the caucus congress, PAEA and SAAAPA.
Although
there are only 11 student delegates on the house floor at once, the
10 seats are rotated through all of the HOD representatives who attend
AAPA's annual conference. Therefore, even if a HOD is not elected as
the representative, but as an alternate, he/she will have a chance to
be a representative during the meeting. Each
PA school is encouraged to choose their class HOD representative by
November 1st and it is also encouraged to ensure that the student either
have served in the SAAAPA Assembly of Representatives (AOR) or observed
the proceedings at either the HOD or the AOR if at all possible.
Prior
to and during the national conference, resolutions can be proposed by
any constituent chapter or group to either amend current policy or propose
new policy. These resolutions are broken down into reference committees
and are discussed in various hearings prior to voting. After the hearings,
the House votes to pass, reject, or refer the resolution.
If
you have any questions or thoughts about any aspect of the student HOD
please feel free to contact
Kim
Boylan , Chief Delegate at saaapacd@yahoo.com.
