What follows is the procedure for nominating and electing membership candidates, as presented in the New England Surgical Society Constitution and By-Laws, adopted in 1961 and amended through October 2005. Please note that only Active and Senior members may propose nominations for membership. Application forms are provided only to members for proposal of names for membership, and are to be completed and submitted only by the nominee’s Sponsor. You may download Proposal for Membership forms after logging into the Members Only section.
ARTICLE II - MEMBERSHIP
Section a. There shall be four types of membership: active, senior, honorary and associate.
Section b. Active membership shall be limited to 300 members. No more than 35 new Active members shall be elected in any single year. Honorary membership shall be limited to 5 members. There shall be no limitation for senior or associate members.
Section c. Qualifications for active membership: Candidates for Active Membership shall be residents of the New England States. Fellowship in the American College of Surgeons or certification by an ABMS surgical specialty board and an unrestricted license (or an inactive license due to retirement) to practice medicine and surgery in the state in which the member resides are prerequisites for membership.
Section d. Nominations for membership in the Society may be submitted by any Active or Senior member. On request to the Secretary of the Society, an appropriate application form and a statement for prospective applicants shall be made available to any Active or Senior member of the Society who wishes to serve as the primary sponsor of an applicant. It shall be the responsibility of the primary sponsor to review with the applicant the statement adopted by the Executive Committee and to insure that the applicant understands the purpose of the Society and intends to support them. It shall be the responsibility of the primary sponsor to complete the application form, and it shall be the responsibility of the co-sponsors to write letters of support, which shall be submitted with the application form to the Secretary of the Society prior to January 1st of the calendar year in which the application is to be considered. It shall be the responsibility of each state representative to review the application forms of applicants from his or her state, to seek advice from other members of the state about the proposed applicant, and to present the composite recommendations from members of that state for consideration by the Executive Committee at its first meeting after January 1st.
Section e. Procedure for nomination: The Secretary will furnish each member of the Society with copies of the master list. Election of candidates whose names have been selected from the master list by the Executive Committee shall be by vote of the entire Society. The Secretary will distribute voting ballots to all members via U.S. mail. Completed ballots must be returned to the Society by April 15th to be considered eligible. The Executive Committee shall review the ballots received by April 15th and elect those candidates selected by the membership ballot vote. Twenty negative votes shall exclude an applicant from membership.
Section f. A candidate’s name will remain on the master list and will automatically come up for consideration by the Executive Committee each year for a period of three years after which time if the candidate has not been selected for presentation for vote, his name will be deleted. The names of candidates deleted from the master list may be proposed a second time after an interval of one year. No candidate shall be proposed more than twice.
Section g. Honorary members shall be distinguished individuals in the field of surgery or the related sciences and shall be proposed by the Executive Committee. Election shall be by the usual method of ballots at the annual meeting, and twenty negative votes shall exclude a candidate from membership. Honorary members shall not pay dues, nor shall they have the right to vote or hold office.
Section h. Senior membership will be automatic for all active members who reach the age of 60 prior to September 1 of a given year. Senior members shall be exempt from dues, but shall have all other rights and privileges of the Society including the right to vote and hold office.
Section i. Associate membership shall be accorded to active members upon change of residence to regions outside of the New England States. Associate members are exempt from dues and may not vote or hold office. Upon again taking up residence in the New England States, however, associate members shall ipso facto revert to active membership.
Section j. Any active member who fails to actively participate in the Society for three years shall be automatically dropped from the membership. Active participation can be met by: 1) attendance at an annual meeting; 2) inclusion as an author of an abstract submitted for consideration for presentation at the annual meeting; 3) attendance at a Spring Resident research forum; or 4) participation in committees and/or performance of official business sanctioned by the Executive Committee.
Section k. Application blanks may be sent only to members for proposal of names for membership.
