Bylaws of the DMC Resident Council

Last Revised – January 12, 2017

I. Purpose

The purpose of the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) Resident Council is to serve as advocate and voice for interns, residents, and fellows throughout their training. In doing so, specific, though not all inclusive, objectives include:

  1. Promoting house officer well-being
  2. Educating house officers of issues affecting them
  3. Promoting improvements of house officer employment conditions
  4. To minimize impediments of the house officer in their medical, surgical and ethicaltraining
  5. To be an advocate for patient care and forbid work stoppages as a negotiating tool
  6. Represent the interest of its members in deliberations with affiliated hospitals onissues regarding working conditions and benefits
  7. To encourage active membership and participation in constituent societies oforganized medicine

II. Membership

The membership shall be comprised of all physicians holding an internship, residency, chief residency, or fellowship appointment within DMC academic programs.

Section 1. Good Standing:

A member shall be considered to be in good standing and currently an intern, resident, chief resident, or a fellow within DMC academic programs and is not on probation or serving any disciplinary sanctions.

Section 2. Privileges of Good Standing:

A member in good standing shall have the right to attend and participate in all meetings, and is eligible for election as departmental representative, to vote, hold office and serve on committees within the DMC Resident Council.

Section 3. Termination of Membership:

Membership shall be terminated upon written resignation, completion of training, transfer or dismissal from training, death, or by majority vote by DMC Resident Council that an individual is working against the best interest of the purpose of the organization. A majority vote is defined as a minimum of 6/10 votes with participation of ten resident representatives at the Council meeting.

Section 4. Departmental Representatives:

Each of the Residencies will peer select a full time representative and alternate who will attend the Resident Council each month. It is mandatory that each department with five (5) or more trainees has representation.

Section 5. Representation reporting at GMEC:

The individual and program attendance reports will be made available monthly to the GME and all program directors at the GMEC meetings.

Section 6: Recognition of outstanding attendance:

  1. a)  Individual representatives who attend at least 33% of the yearly meetings (i.e., at least 4 meetings) in person, or by phone, will be recognized at the end of the year by the executive committee and GME with a diploma-style, participation award, or an alternative award voted upon and approved with a simply majority by the full resident council plus one member of the GME.
  2. b)  Any training program with representation at 66% or more of the yearly meetings (i.e., at least 8 meetings) in person, or by phone, will be recognized at the end of the year by an award to be determined yearly by the executive committee and GME leadership.
  3. c)  These awards will be presented at the annual awards banquet.

Section 7: Recognition of outstanding participation

a) Each year, the executive committee will choose one general member of the Resident Council who has had outstanding participation resulting in meaningful benefit to their training program or the greater institution to receive the Dr. Suzanne White award. This will be presented at the annual awards banquet.

III. Meetings

Section 1. Residency Council Meetings:

Meetings will be held monthly, from August to June of each academic year, on the second Thursday of the month at 5pm. Each meeting will attempt to provide confirmation and notification of the time, date and location of the next meeting. Any change in the meeting date shall be provided two weeks in advance, unless unforeseen circumstances mandate shorter notice.

  1. Agenda: The Executive Committee, with input from house staff and faculty liaisons, will determine the agenda of each board meeting.
  2. House officer Attendance: Meetings are intended to include at least one house officer representative from each clinical department or division, as well as faculty liaisons from the Office of Graduate Medical Education. Resident Council meetings are also open to other house officer members in good standing. The secretary, or appointed designate, shall keep attendance and perform a roll call at each meeting.
  3. Non-House officer Attendance: Either a member of the Executive Board or one of the officers must invite any person other than a Residency Council member who wishes to participate in discussions of an agenda item pertinent to their responsibility.

Section 2. Special General Meetings:

Special general Residency Council meetings may be called at any time by the President or upon request of a majority of the association’s voting members.

Section 3. Executive Committee Meetings:

Members of the Executive Committee will meet at their discretion, but typically on a monthly basis, with or without faculty liaison presence, to discuss items pertinent to the DMC Resident Council and determine a working agenda. Items of the Residency Council

Meeting agenda may be called into executive session restricted to the Executive Committee, with or without faculty liaisons, upon majority vote of the Resident Council members present at a Resident Council meeting.

Section 4. Committee Meetings:

There will be standing committees, which will include Social and Facilities/IT. The elected department representatives and any other member in good standing will populate the committees. The committee chairman will be elected by a majority vote of the members of that committee.

Section 5. Graduate Medical Education Committee Meetings (GMEC):

There will be at least two members of the Resident Council in attendance at each GMEC meeting. One of the two members must be a Member of the Executive Council. A Member of the Executive Council is required to be in attendance at each GMEC meeting.

Section 6. Definition of Quorum:

  1. The minimal number of voting members to conduct business is ten members in good standing including one member of the executive committee. In order to get measures approved, a simple majority of 51% is required (i.e., if ten representatives in attendance, then 6/10 votes are needed for a measure to get approved).
  2. If the Quorum is not present in two consecutive meetings, a measure can get approved by vote of the Executive Officers .

Section 7. Conduct.

All meetings of the DMC Resident Council shall be conducted following the guidelines of Robert’s Rules of Order, 11th ed.

IV. Officers of the Executive Committee

Section 1. President. The President shall:

  1. Preside over all meetings of the Resident Council
  2. Preside over all meetings of the Executive Council
  3. Fulfill the responsibilities of any offices left vacant or appoint replacementpersonnel until the next election.
  4. Appoint all committee chairpersons
  5. Serve as an ex-officio member of all committees
  6. Supervise operations of the association
  7. Serve as a house office representative to the Graduate Medical EducationCommittee with at least 75% of monthly GMEC meetings in person or by phone
  8. Be eligible for a stipend as determined by the Office of Graduate MedicalEducation

Section 2. Vice-President. The Vice President shall:

  1. Preside over all board, special general, or executive meetings where thePresident is not in attendance
  2. Work directly with the president to supervise the operations of the association
  3. Facilitate communication between committees and departments
  4. Serve as a house officer representative to the Graduate Medical EducationCommittee with at least 75% of monthly GMEC meetings in person or by phone
  5. Take the place of the President if s/he cannot fill the needed responsibilities.
  6. Be eligible for a stipend as determined by the Office of Graduate MedicalEducation

Section 3. Secretary. The Secretary shall:

  1. Maintain a current roster of membership and Board members
  2. Be responsible for construction, distribution, and approval of meeting minutes.
  3. Facilitate membership in the association
  4. Serve as a house officer representative to the Graduate Medical EducationCommittee with at least 75% of monthly GMEC meetings in person or by phone
  5. Be eligible for a stipend as determined by the Department of Graduate MedicalEducation

Section 4. Communications Officer. The Communications Officer shall:

  1. Maintain the Resident Council Website
  2. Be responsible for preparing the meeting agendas
  3. Maintain communication between the Council and the GME
  4. Maintain communication between the Executive Council and the Representatives
  5. Serve as a house officer representative to the Graduate Medical EducationCommittee with at least 75% of monthly GMEC meetings in person or by phone
  6. Be eligible for a stipend as determined by the Department of Graduate MedicalEducation

Section 5. Athletics and Wellness Director. The Athletics and Wellness Director shall:

  1. Maintain, promote and organize DMC Resident Athletics and Wellness activities
  2. Maintain communication between the council and GME, regarding all activitiesand related financial expenditures Serve as a house officer representative to theGME and preside over ‘DMC Athletics & Wellness meetings’
  3. Be responsible to effectively engage with community partners, facilities andorganizations to promote DMC Athletics & Wellness
  4. Serve as a house officer representative to the Graduate Medical EducationCommittee with at least 75% of monthly GMEC meetings in person or by phone
  5. Be eligible for a stipend as determined by the Department of Graduate MedicalEducation

Section 6. DMC Site Representative. Each of Five DMC Site Representatives shall:

  1. Be available to hear concerns of the residents and fellows at the assignedcampus.
  2. Coordinate quarterly site meetings with the trainees at your campus for ResidentCouncil updates, Q&A, and to hear any concerns; at least one executive memberof the Council and one GME Representative must be present.
  3. Attend and report monthly at every Resident Council meeting; Identify and sendan alternative to the monthly meeting if unable to attend.
  4. Facilitate membership and participation in the Council for assigned site .
  5. Four site Representatives shall be assigned to each of the following sites: HVSH,SGH, CHM, Downtown Adult Hospitals (DRH, HUH, HWH), and RIM
  6. The site must be considered the “home institution” for the representative to beeligible for nomination for that site.
  7. Be eligible to receive a stipend as determined by the Department of GraduateMedical Education.

V. Elections and Terms

Section 1. Departmental/Divisional Elections:

Each clinical Department or Division with house officer representation will hold its own election for one primary delegate, and at least one alternate delegate, who will be eligible to vote, hold office and serve on committees within the DMC Resident Council. These elections should be held in the month of July with the Departmental Representative elected by August 1st. In absence of a majority vote, primary delegate may be appointed from the pool of nominees at the discretion of the program director.

Section 2. Executive Committee Elections:

  1. Eligibility for Nomination. Any house officer may run for any position on theExecutive Committee provided they are a member in good standing. The Board must approve exceptions. Nominations will be called for at the March Resident Council meeting. Each nominee will provide a CV and 1 page personal statement by April 1st to the GME office liaison. Nominees may campaign between the April meeting and the May meeting. Candidates for any executive position must have at least 33% attendance at Resident Councilmeetings throughout the academic year in which the elections take place.Nominees should be familiar with the resident council by-laws.
  2. Timing of elections. Call for nominations will occur in April. Elections will occur between the April and May meetings. Results of the elections will be announcedat the May Resident Council Meeting, permitting a change of leadership by theJune meeting.
  3. Election process. Elections of officers shall occur via electronic voting withinNew Innovations. All trainees will be eligible to vote. A majority vote is required to attain office. Run-off elections will be held if no candidate receives a majority vote. In the event that there are no nominations for an elected position, a special meeting of the Executive Board shall be called and the position filled via appointment

Section 3. Terms. Terms of office shall be one year long, beginning June 1st of each year.

Section 4. Vacancies. An office will be considered vacant when an officer ceases to perform their duties secondary to death, resignation, removal and/or disqualification. A vacancy of any elected office shall be filled by a member nominated by the President and confirmed by simple majority vote of the Executive Committee at any Executive Committee meeting. The Vice-President shall fill a vacancy in the office of President.

Section 5. Due Process. A motion may be submitted to remove any officer by majority vote from office at any meeting of the Resident Council. The officer shall be given notice of the intent to remove one week prior to the meeting. The officer shall have the right to speak on his/her behalf to the general assembly prior to any removal vote. Any officer who disqualifies from membership immediately ceases to be an officer.

VI. Constitution

Section 1. Review:

  1. The constitution will be review on a yearly basis by the ACGME/By-laws committee. This review will take place during the first committee meeting of the academic year. Any changes that are made to the constitution will be brought to the next Resident Council meeting and voted upon for approval. A majority votes is needed to approve changes.
  2. Any change to the by-law once approved by the council will be effective dated the date of approval and shared with the GME office.

Section 2. Amendments:

A member in good standing may propose an amendment at anytime. During the next Resident Council meeting the amendment will be voted on and must attain majority of votes for approval.

VII. Distribution

The contents of this constitution will be available to all interns, residents and fellows of DMC programs. This document will be placed on the Resident Council web site and included in the Residency handbook, which is distributed to all incoming House Officers during orientation.