ASME Constitution

Name

The Association shall be called “The Association for the Study of Medical Education” (ASME).

Mission Statement

“The Association seeks to improve the quality of medical education by bringing together individuals and organisations with interests and responsibilities in medical and healthcare education”.

Values

ASME’s values are:

• Education and learning are central to the delivery of high quality healthcare
• Education must be an important component in the strategies of governmental
• and other health care organisations
• Good healthcare educators are central in planning, delivering and evaluating high
• quality healthcare
• Individual members of ASME should be supported and developed
• High quality research is necessary for the development of healthcare education
• Vision, innovation and leadership in healthcare education are to be fostered

Goals

ASME seeks to

• Promote high quality research into medical education
• Provide opportunities for developing medical educators
• Disseminate good evidence based educational practice
• Inform and advise Governmental and other organisations on medical education matters
• Develop relationships with other organisations and groupings in health care education

Membership

Individual Membership shall be open to individuals who are interested in and wish to further the work of the Association.

Institutional Membership shall be open to Universities, Medical Schools, Licensing and other Bodies interested in medical education, which Council may from time to time approve.

Student Individual Membership shall be open to students and doctors who have been qualified for less than two years.

Honorary Membership shall be available for normally not more than ten people, to be elected by Council.

Subscriptions

Annual subscriptions shall be as recommended by the Council and rise annually in line with the UK rate of inflation.

Organisation

Senior Officers and their roles

The Officers of the Association shall be a President, a Chair of Council, a Treasurer, a Vice Chair, a Chief Executive Officer, a Director of Strategic Development and such others as the Council may from time to time elect. The Chair of Council and the Treasurer shall be elected by the Council and be ex-officio members of Council. The Officers of the Association shall in general be part-time and unpaid; with the exception of the Chief Executive Officer and the  Editors of Medical Education and The Clinical Teacher, that shall be remunerated positions, appointed after advertisement by a panel representative of Council.

The President will chair the Annual General Meeting and have the standing to act as an ambassador for the Association.

The Chair of Council will chair the Executive Committee and Council. S/he shall need to carry the confidence of the members and Council in ensuring that their interests are served and the values of the Association sustained.

The Treasurer will work with the Chief Executive Officer, the Director of Strategic Development, the Administrative team and the Accountants to ensure a sound financial strategy is pursued that is directed to the Association achieving its goals within its charitable status. 

The Chief Executive Officer will lead the translation of ideas and policies formulated by Council and Executive into practical services and initiatives. S/he shall manage the Administrative team and be responsible for formulating strategic and business plans to enable the Association to reach its goals.

Election of Officers

Officers shall normally be elected or appointed for the following periods:

The President will be elected by the whole membership for three years, with the possibility of re-election for a further three years. The President will act as a public ambassador for the Association, having the personal stature and professional networking opportunities to keep the Association at the forefront of developments in medical education. The President will chair the Annual General Meeting and take on roles and responsibilities within ASME as deemed feasible and appropriate by Council and the individual.

Chair of Council, elected for three years, with the possibility of re-election for a further three years. Nominations for Chair of Council shall be sought from the membership. Nominations will be voted on by Council.

Treasurer, elected for three years by Council, with possibility of re-election for a further three years.

Director of Strategic Development, appointed for three years, with possibility of re-appointment for a further three years (subject to annual review).

The Chief Executive Officer will be employed by the Association.

Other Office Bearers, elected for three years, with possibility of re-election for a further three years.

Council

It is the intention of the Association that the individual members represent both the different seniority and interests of members of the Association, and their geographical distribution on Council.

Council shall comprise:

• The Officers of the Association
• A representative from all Institutional Members
• The Chairperson of The Junior Association for the Study of Medical Education
• (JASME)
• Two other Junior members nominated by JASME
• Eighteen individual members.

Council Members will serve for a period of three years and one third will fall due to be re-elected each year. 

Members may be co-opted by the Council, either additional or to fill vacancies, should Council see fit at any time to do so.

The Council shall have power to appoint special committees and individuals.

The Editors of Medical Education and The Clinical Teacher, serve on behalf of Council for five years and three years respectively, renewable as determined by Council. The editorial independence of the Editors is guaranteed by this Constitution. The Editors are accountable to the Treasurer of ASME as Chair of the Board of Management. The Board of Management comprises the Chair, Chief Executive Officer and Treasurer of ASME, representatives of Wiley-Blackwell Publishing and the Editors of Medical Education and The Clinical Teacher. The Board of Management, advised by the Editorial Boards of Medical Education and The Clinical Teacher, is responsible for overseeing the business and managerial aspects of the journals and for resolving any issues of probity, quality and standards that may arise.

Council may appoint a Finance Committee: of which the Treasurer shall be Chair.

As and when the Association establishes Special Interest Groups which will concentrate upon particular aspects of its work, the Council may appoint a Group Lead and a Committee for each Section.  These committees shall report through to the Executive Committee through the Group Lead.

The Executive Committee

There shall also be an Executive Committee consisting of the Chair of Council, the Treasurer, the Chief Executive Officer, The Director of Strategic Development, the editors of Medical Education and The Clinical Teacher, the Lead of each Special Interest Group, and such other persons as the Council may appoint. The Executive Committee shall meet regularly, not less than three times yearly. It shall be responsible to Council, and shall deal with such matters as the Council entrusts to it.

It shall be within the discretion of the Council to attach an honorarium to any Office, and to employ paid Administrative, Secretarial, Research, Information and clerical staff.

The Officers of The Executive Committee of the Association are its Trustees, with the exception of the Chief Executive Officer and the Journal Editors, as these are remunerated posts.

Meetings

General Meetings

The Association shall meet at least once in every year to receive the Annual Report from the Council, to discuss the Report and any other business, and to elect the Council for the ensuing year. The Chief Executive Officer shall give not less than six weeks notice of the Annual General Meeting.

Any items for the Agenda of a General Meeting shall reach the Chief Executive Officer not less than twenty-eight days before the date of the meeting, and an Agenda shall be issued to all members not less than seven days before the meeting. The Agenda shall include the nominations for election to Council in respect of the ensuing three years. Matters of which due notice has not been given in the Agenda shall not be considered unless urgency is voted by two-thirds of those present.

The Association may also hold such additional meetings during the year for business or other purposes as it or the Council may decide.

The Association may also organise meetings to which members of the Association and other interested bodies or individuals may be invited to discuss matters pertaining to education.

The Council shall have the power to summon an Emergency General Meeting of the Association if it so decides. Not less than fourteen days’ notice must be given. An Emergency General Meeting shall also be called by the Chief Executive at the request of not less than 20 members.

At Annual General Meetings and Emergency General Meetings a quorum shall consist of 20.

At Executive Committee Meetings a quorum shall exist if at least 6 members of the committee are present, one of whom must be the Chair or nominated deputy.

Alterations of Constitution

No alteration of this Constitution shall be made unless such alteration has been approved by at least two-thirds of responding Members (Institutional and Individual) after consultation, or having been previously circulated to all Members, is approved by two-thirds of those present at an Annual General Meeting or an Emergency General Meeting of the Association.

Assets/Dissolution Clause

Assets Clause: None of the Association’s assets may be distributed or otherwise applied (on being wound up or at any other time) except to further its charitable purposes.

Dissolution Clause: If on the winding-up of the Association any property remains after satisfaction of all the Association debts and liabilities, such property shall not be paid to or distributed among the members of the Association; that property shall instead be transferred to some other charity or charities (whether incorporated or unincorporated) whose objects are similar (wholly or in part) to the objects of the company.