Board Member Resources

• Attend the Leadership and Advocacy Conference held every year in Washington, DC
• Mentorship by former leaders in your chapter or national board member mentors
• Institute a Chapter Leadership Development Program in your chapter (find out more about existing chapter programs)

• Mentoring by former chapter board members
• Talking to other chapter leaders (similar size chapter)
• Contact Chapter Services (Maude S. Hancock) or if it’s a legislative issue, contact Adam Krushinskie at national (Chapter and State Relations at National)

• Have a weekly or bi-weekly phone call with your executive committee (large/medium chapters)
• Small chapters have a monthly call with executive committee/board
• Strategic Planning
• Identify future chapter leaders
• Find out the interests of your members and get them involved in the chapter

• Observe colleagues and chapter members—identify who has potential as a leader and recruit them
• Get young physicians/residents involved in the chapter
• Offer a stipend and/or promote the Leadership and Advocacy Conference in DC to young physicians
• Start a leadership program in your chapter. Several chapter grants were given for leadership programs and are here.

• Chapters and national ACEP are partners in meeting the needs of emergency physicians.
• National ACEP strives to provide chapters with the information and support they need to be effective
• The College also seeks chapter feedback regularly on member needs

Chapter and State Relations staff

• Orientation for new chapter Board members (on-demand video and slides)
• Chapter E-Newsletter (free service)
• Online Communities for Chapter Members (free service)
• Website development and maintenance (free service)
• Leader Visit Program (virtual in 2023-24 or at the chapter's expense)
• Virtual town halls for Chapter Presidents & Executive Directors (led by ACEP President and President-Elect)
• Fundamentals of Chapter Management (everything you need to know about running a chapter)
• Legislative tracking Service (free service)
• Public Policy Grant
• ACEP Physicians’ Guide to State Legislation

• Chapter Executive Director
• Chapter Services at national
• Former Chapter Presidents
• Networking—attend Leadership and Advocacy Conference and Scientific Assembly
  • Talk to other chapter leaders

• You can find job descriptions in The Fundamentals of Chapter Management
• The Nonprofit Center – Robert C. Harris, CAE. This website offers a lot of valuable information on Boards and leadership
• General Officers and Directors Job Descriptions + Code of Conduct at Meetings (PDF version)

It contains everything you need to know about running an ACEP chapter

• Section 1: The Relationship Between Chapters and National
• Section 2: Chapter Structure
• Section 3: Chapter Finances
• Section 4: Membership Involvement
• Section 5: Chapter Communication
• Section 6: Membership Development
• Section 7: Chapter Programs and Meetings

• Some chapters have a one-year term as president, others two. Officers in many chapters follow a succession plan. An officer starts out as secretary/treasurer, becomes President-Elect, then President.
• In a small chapter, the time commitment can be more critical. You need to build a team from the active members in the chapter.
• Find members willing to commit time.
• Depends on how often the chapter meets. The chapter bylaws state how often the chapter meets.
• Key point is to have members willing to be officers and board members. The time commitment can be greater if you don’t have members willing to step up.

• Email members with important information
• Via engagED. ACEP's online member community is more than an e-list to disseminate information. It's a peer to peer communication tool, a discussion forum where members can ask questions, share information and resources, connect to each other, etc. engagED communities can also be set up for your chapter Board, committees, etc.
• Chapter website
• Distributing a regular e-newsletter is another way to disseminate information to chapter members
• Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, etc.
• Hold a virtual town hall

• The president needs to know everything about the chapter finances.
  • Review the Financial Management Resources for Chapter Officers and Treasurers.
• All chapter officers have a fiduciary responsibility to the chapters to know how much money the chapter has and how money is being spent.
• Chapter treasurer should always have a report available at meetings.
• President or treasurer can always call national with any questions regarding chapter finances.

• Depends on the size of the chapter and how close the state legislature is to the chapter
• In a smaller state, it might be easier because the distance is close for members
• Larger chapters can schedule a Legislative Day or schedule regular visits, also visit when an issue comes up
• Another idea would be to have your local legislator tour your Emergency Department

• Mentorship is one way. Has to be on a personal basis
  • You need to identify who can be future leaders in the chapter—mentor these members or have someone else in the chapter help you
  • You need to engage young physicians because they are the future of the chapter
• Professional development program
• Find out your members interests and their issues. Create micro-volunteer opportunities. Get them engaged in the chapter

• Your Executive Director has access (via the Chapter Portal) to a list of emergency physicians in your state who are eligible to become ACEP members.
• If there are emergency residency programs in your state, build a relationship with the Residency Program Director(s). In collaboration with National ACEP, schedule a residency visit(s) to meet with the residents and show them the importance of organized medicine and the value of belonging to ACEP and to your Chapter. National ACEP can help with this.
• Visit emegency departments in your state. Several chapters do this well and can be a resource to you. Contact National ACEP to be connected with those chapters.