Chicago, IL, October 2, 2018 – The American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM) is seeking nominations for one new member of its Board of Directors (Board) in the specialty of Public Health and General Preventive Medicine. The deadline for nominations is December 18, 2018. ABPM will select one new Public Health and General Preventive Medicine Director at its January 2019 meeting.
Nominations must be emailed to ABPM Executive Director Christopher J. Ondrula, JD at [email protected]. Nominations should include (1) CV and (2) a personal statement from the nominee (maximum of 250 words) addressing the question: “Why do I want to be a Director of the ABPM?”.
The following criteria should be considered in nomination(s):
1. Nominees must be physicians holding a currently active, valid and unrestricted license to practice medicine in all states, US territories or Canadian Provinces in which the physician is licensed to practice medicine.
2. Nominees must be certified by the ABPM in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine.
3. Nominees must be in substantially full-time practice, teaching, or research in their preventive medicine specialty in the United States. Nominees should have demonstrated achievement and the potential for continuing contributions to the field. The ideal nominee will have had experience serving on a residency review and/or ABPM test writing committee.
4. Nominees will, as Board members, be expected to continue to be active in preventive medicine practice, teaching or research for the duration of their service on the Board. Board members serve an initial three (3) year term and may, subject to meeting certain objective criteria, be reelected twice for a total tenure not to exceed nine (9) years.
5. The Nominees must be an individual who is able to participate constructively and productively in group settings, have appropriate academic and educational experience, have worked on or be able to participate in Board examination question preparation activities, have demonstrated leadership capabilities in preventive medicine, and be willing to serve and accept work responsibilities as may be designed from time to time by the Board.
6. The Board meets at in-person least twice annually, usually for a total of 6-8 days and throughout the year routinely conducts other business through electronic means. Accordingly, nominees must have sufficient flexibility to enable them to actively participate and engage with the Board and the ABPM staff as may be required during the individual’s tenure on the Board.
Please reference the FAQs on the following page for additional information.
Service on the Board is a great honor and is accorded to very few preventive medicine physicians. Here are the answers to many of the questions nominees frequently ask.
1. Who appoints members to the Board? Directors are elected by the then-current Board.
2. How many Directors serve on the Board? ABPM currently has eleven (11) Directors but is expected to increase that number to fourteen (14) over the next three (3) years.
3. What are the eligibility requirements of the Board? Nominees must be physicians holding a currently active, valid and unrestricted license to practice medicine in all states, US territories or Canadian Provinces in which the physician is licensed to practice medicine; be certified by the ABPM and; in substantially full- time practice, teaching, or research in their preventive medicine specialty.
4. What are the areas of responsibility of the ABPM Board Members (i.e. the Directors)? Directors provide the overall direction for the ABPM and, among other things, direct and oversee the ABPM’s initial board certification and maintenance of certification processes.
5. What about possible conflicts of interest? Directors have a duty to disclose any actual or possible conflicts of interest, including any transaction in which a Director has a material financial interest, loyalty or duality conflict of interest. The Director shall disclose the conflict prior to the Board taking action on the matter and the Director shall abstain from deliberating on and voting in any action which causes the conflict. Directors are also required to comply with the ABPM’s conflict of interest policy. If the Board has reasonable cause to believe a Director has failed to disclose actual or possible conflicts of interest it shall take appropriate disciplinary and corrective action.
6. How does the Board accomplish this work? Working committees are an integral aspect of ABPM service. Each Director serves on one of the board examination writing subcommittees, with at least two meetings each year. Other committee meetings (e.g., Finance, Certification, Nominating, MOC) are contiguous with the full ABPM Board meetings but, remote work on each committee continues throughout the year via conference calls and email with ABPM staff.
7. How frequently does the Board meet? The Board meets at least twice a year in varying locations; once in early August in Chicago and once in late January. The meetings range from 3 to 4 days in length, which includes the committee and travel time. The Directors meet periodically via conference calls as well.
8. Is attendance at the meetings required? Given that the majority of ABPM actions and decisions take place during these meetings, attendance at the biannual meetings is a principal expectation.
9. Are my ABPM travel-related expenses reimbursable? Yes. Director travel, meals and lodging expenses for Board and committee related travel is reimbursable as provided for in the ABPM’s Travel Policy.
10. How long do Directors serve on the Board? Directors are elected for an initial term of three (3) years and, subject to meeting certain criteria, may be re‐elected for up to two additional three (3) year terms. While a Director may resign at any time or may not be re‐elected, it is the expectation that once elected, a Board member will serve for a total of nine (9) years.
11. Are Directors paid for their service? No. Directors are volunteers and receive no pay for their service. Directors do, however, receive certain MOC credit for service on the examination subcommittees.
12. Are non-time limited Directors expected to participate in MOC? Yes. Every Director, including those Directors with non-time limited certificates must fully participate in the ABPM’s MOC program during their tenure on the Board.
13. Will I be expected to immediately take on responsibilities upon joining the Board? Responsibilities will progressively increase as one becomes familiar with the organization and function of the Board. All Directors can expect to assume additional leadership roles such as chairing a committee or task force, becoming Vice Chair of one of the specialty areas, or holding other officer positions (i.e., Secretary, Treasurer, or Chair).
14. Are there other leadership opportunities available to Directors? A Director may be asked to represent the ABPM to other organizations such as the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) or the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education’s (ACGME) Residency Review Committee (RRC) for Preventive Medicine. Such service is important to the ABPM and these leadership opportunities are greatly encouraged so as to facilitate a Director’s continued career and professional development.
We encourage you to contact any of the Board’s officers or ABPM Staff with any additional questions as you fully explore the expectations and opportunities of Board service.
