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- Membership
The American Clinical Neurophysiology Society succeeds because of engaged members and volunteers who are dedicated to the mission and vision of the Society. Volunteer members lead ACNS educational, research and practice-related initiatives to ensure ACNS is able to “serve patients and society by empowering members to advance the science, practice and profession of clinical neurophysiology.”
Members work within a robust governance structure that establishes and carries out the strategic work of the Society.
The ACNS Council is the main governing body (synonymous with a Board of Directors), established by the ACNS bylaws, that is responsible for setting the strategic direction, managing the resources, and providing oversight of the activities of the Society. Council is made up of the Executive Committee and several Councilors-at-Large. Members of Council are elected by the voting membership.
The ACNS AMA Officer and Journal Editor-in-Chief are also ex-officio, non-voting members of Council.
With the exception of the AMA Officer, all members of Council must be ACNS Fellows in good standing
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee is responsible for managing the affairs of Council between meetings. The ACNS Executive Committee consists of the President, the 1st Vice President, the 2nd Vice President, Secretary, the Treasurer, and the two most recent Past Presidents.
Council Liaisons
Members of Council are appointed to serve as Council Liaisons to each of the ACNS committees. Council Liaisons act as a conduit between Council and an ACNS committee, serving as an advisor to the committee with regard to Council’s strategy related to the committee’s charges and representing the committee during Council meetings, providing reports and making motions on behalf of the committee.
Committees are responsible for carrying out the strategic work of Council and are the lifeblood of the Society, coordinating the minute detail of ACNS’s programming. The scope of a committee’s work is defined by a set of charges from Council, coordinated by a committee chair or co-chairs, and is the sum of contributions from a number of dedicated members with relevant expertise.
ACNS Task Forces are similar to committees, except that the scope of their charges is quite focused, and often time or task-specific. Task Forces may report to and be under the direction of a Committee or Council directly. Task Forces typically have a clear and specific charge and a deadline for completion of that charge not to exceed approximately 12 months. Once the recommendations of the Task Force have been reviewed and acted upon by either a Committee or Council, the Task Force will be dissolved. If the work of a Task Force is determined to be of a broad and sustained nature, Council may determine reconstitute the Task Force as a Committee to continue its work
A workgroup is a sub-group of a Committee that is appointed by the chair of that entity to work on a specific, time-limited project narrower in focus than a Task Force. Some ACNS Committees, like the Course, Guidelines, MOC/Exam or Quality Improvement Committees utilize workgroups to complete specific functions like developing course agendas, writing guidelines, writing In-Service Exam questions, or developing quality measures.
Chairs, co-chairs and members of committees and taskforces are appointed to serve in these capacities by the ACNS President.
A “Call for Committee Volunteers” goes out to members each fall and the volunteer period ends roughly November 1 each year. Appointments for the coming year are made in November/December, with notifications to members in December/January, prior to the committees’ meetings at the ACNS Annual Meeting in February.
Members may volunteer to serve on a committee at any time during the year using the Volunteer Form on the Members-Only page. Most appointments are made during the November/December appointment period, so if you submit a form early in the year, you may not be placed with a committee until the next appointment cycle.
Please note: Volunteers are not accepted for some committees because the makeup of those committees (i.e., Finance, Rules) is specified in the ACNS Bylaws.
While it is not always possible to meet all the requests to serve during the annual appointment process, ACNS makes every effort to place a volunteering member on at least one committee. The names of those not selected for service in a given year are saved for future appointment cycles.
For a complete list of ACNS committee and their respective responsibilities, CLICK HERE. (Your member login is required.)