What is the House of Delegates?
Aimee Larson, Chief Delegate 2009-2010
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 14 delegates, meaning students have an opportunity to vote and be a strong voice in the legislative process. The 14 student delegates include the Chief Delegate, a member of the Student Academy Board of Directors, and then 13 students from various registered student societies. In addition to the student delegates, other representatives consist of delegates from the state organizations, specialty organizations, medical and surgical congresses, the caucus congress, PAEA and the Student Academy.
Although there are only 14 student delegates on the house floor at once (and one is always the Chief Delegate) other students will also have a chance to participate on the floor of the HOD. The other 13 seats are rotated through the HOD representatives who attend AAPA's annual conference and other HOD student representatives will rotate on the floor as Tellers. 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 Student Academy 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 Aimee Larson, Chief Delegate at
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.
House of Delegates Teller Information:
Teller Description:
1. Maintain security of the House of Delegates seating area - serve as ushers, collect delegate passes, permit access to the House of Delegates seating area.
2. Assist delegates in the HOD seating area - pass out written materials, deliver messages to (and from) floor members, deliver completed motion forms to the House Officers, work the computers that make electronic copies of motions and amendments, and complete other duties that arise.
3. Insure the integrity of the voting/balloting process - help count votes done by a “show of hands” or by a “head count;” tabulate ballots after voting for the House of Delegates officers and Nominating Committee members.
Orientation and lunch tickets are provided. More details about the responsibilities will be posted on the House of Delegates Web page in early February.
House of Delegates Student Delegate Duties:
1) Become informed on the issues that will be discussed and debated during the HOD session during AAPA's Annual Conference.
2) Regularly discuss the issues from above with others from your Student Society. This gives delegates an opportunity to inform their Student Society about what is going on within the profession. Furthermore, these discussions will help delegates be more aware of their class's opinions on the issues, which will allow them to better represent their class when it comes time to debate and vote on issues.
3) Familiarize yourself with the parliamentary procedures used during House proceedings. Then, when it comes time to get involved, delegates will be more comfortable with their ability to do so.
4) Regularly check the e-mail account given to the Student Academy on your society registration. This will facilitate the distribution of any essential information that delegates need to be made aware of throughout the year. Additionally, leading up to the national conference, e-mail will be the primary method used by the Student Academy's Chief Delegate to inform delegates of the HOD schedule of events, as well as any changes to that schedule.
5) Prepare to introduce any resolutions that your Student Society would like to present to the HOD for consideration. This should also be coordinated with the Chief Delegate to ensure that the resolution is technically sound, not already currently in the HOD bylaws, and to allow time for gathering any additional information that may helpful in passing the resolution.
6) After the National Conference, return to your Student Society and give a summary of the resolutions discussed and what actions were taken on these resolutions.
The following is a short list of resources available to HOD Student Delegates that can be used in their efforts to accomplish their duties.
1. The Delegate News the monthly publication of the HOD (e-mailed to every HOD student delegate).
2. The HOD section of the AAPA main site.
If you have any questions or concerns, please e-mail me, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
