Application for Membership in UF Premed AMSA

Instructions: Please read the following information before continuing.

AMSA Policies and Regulations

Member Responsibilities

Revision 13 (8/05/08)

Edited by 2008-2009 Executive Board

I. Communication:

1. It is the member’s responsibility to read all information in full and to its entirety.  We are not responsible for problems caused by members not reading all information presented. We WILL cite this document should a member contest a situation stated in here.
2. AMSA members must have the minimum computer requirement as stated by the University of Florida.  Such requirements include use of an e-mail account, internet access, and Adobe Acrobat Reader.
3. It is the responsibility of the member to check his/her e-mail account at regular intervals. Members must check e-mail at least once every three days.
4. A subscription to the UF Premed AMSA listserv is a mandatory requirement for all members.  The listserv provides critical information about events and reminders.  The listserv is Announce-Only, controlled by the Executive Board.  Members do not have the ability to post any messages.  All information on the listserv will be posted in a timely manner to the best of our ability.  At least a three day notice will be given for changes in general events unless an emergency occurs.
5. It is the member’s responsibility to maintain the e-mail account to which they subscribed.  We are not responsible for any missed messages as a result of a member not checking his/her e-mail for Listserv posts.  A Gatorlink UFL e-mail address is required.  The listserv will automatically terminate a subscription should any message is unsuccessfully sent to the member’s e-mail account.  Should a subscription be terminated, the member must subscribe once again and should take measures to prevent a future termination.
6. The listserv subscriber list will be purged immediately before Fall semester applications become available.  Since the application is required for all members in the fall, all members will be automatically re-subscribed to the listserv upon completion of the application.  Members who do not wish to receive posts during the summer semester should unsubscribe upon termination of their local membership at the end of Spring semester.
7. Members must ensure that they are receiving e-mails from committee directors to which they belong.  It is the member’s responsibility to notify directors of such problems.  E-mail is the primary form of communication for committee announcements.  It is the member’s responsibility to find out information missed due to a missed meeting.  Directors may choose to send “follow-up” e-mail to members describing the meeting. 
8. To complement the listserv and committee e-mails, the UF Premed AMSA website http://www.ufpremed.org is available to members.  The website is constantly updated for members’ benefit.  Under the “Events” section of the webpage, information about ALL meeting dates, times, and locations may be found.  Should a member miss a general meeting, (s)he should visit the AMSA office to pick up a copy of the Lifelines Newsletter for a summary of announcements and information.  It is the member’s responsibility to visit the website at regular intervals to stay updated on AMSA activities. 
9. Due to imposed listserv restrictions, members may not post to the listserv.  The online forum located at http://www.ufpremed.freeforums.org/forum is provided as a location where members may freely voice opinions and communicate with other members.  The forum allows for members to discuss any topic of their choosing.  Forums are moderated by directors and some Executive Board members.  Any non-offensive topic of discussion is welcome.  Neither profanity nor illegal activities will be tolerated.
10. The e-mail account questions@ufpremed.org has been set up for member inquiries, comments, or complaints.  If a committee issue is involved, please attempt to contact the corresponding director first.  Members may use this e-mail account for feedback on any aspect of our organization.  This account is to be used for inquiries including membership status, listserv status/problems, general meeting attendance issues, and other questions of this nature.  If a response has not been received within 48 hours of the initial e-mail attempt, the member’s inquiry was NOT received.  (S)he should re-send the e-mail.  All e-mails successfully received will be guaranteed a reply within the allotted 48 hours.
11. ANY and ALL information stated ANYWHERE at any point is subject to change.  In such a case, notification will be sent through the listserv, website, and other various means with as much prior notice as possible.  A minimum three day notice will be given for critical changes affecting all members.  Directors may possibly notify members as well through e-mail.

II. General Meetings:

1. General meetings are always held on Wednesdays at 7:30PM at the MSB Auditorium unless otherwise stated.  To be counted as “present” at a general meeting, members must remain at the meeting for its entire duration.  Attendance will not be taken until the end of the meeting.  The ONLY valid exceptions for leaving early or not attending are for a mandatory class/class activity, exam, or medical school interview that is held at the same time as the meeting.  Test preparation courses that can be rescheduled are NOT valid excuses.
2. Should any member have extenuating circumstances, including but not limited to: emergencies, family deaths, school business (outside of foreseeable scheduling conflicts), and so forth, then it is the responsibility of the member to fill out an excused absence form located at: http://ufpremed.org/excused.html. This form will request that an excused absence receive consideration for that member’s Good Standing requirements. The final excused absence verification is per discretion of the attending Secretaries, followed by the current Executive Board.
3. Members should arrive to the meetings at least ten minutes early, allowing time to be seated or participate in any activities occurring before the meeting.  Important announcements and information will be presented 15-20 minutes prior to each general meeting in the form of a slide show.  To ensure the respect and courtesy for the guest speaker and other members of this pre-professional organization, we ask that members arrive in a timely fashion and terminate use of all cell phones and pagers.
4. It is the member’s responsibility to sign-in at general meetings.  The secretaries will not count you as present if you have not signed in by the end of the night.  Each member is to sign in at ONE location only, that of his/her primary committee.  If a name is not found on a roster of a member's committee, the member must contact a secretary to resolve the discrepancy. 
5. Except for the first Fall semester meeting, sign-in sheets are arranged by committee.  Each committee attendance sheet has a default permanent location where it will be found if the committee has no planned meeting afterwards.  Should a committee hold a meeting immediately following the general meeting, the sign-in sheet for that committee will be at the set location of the committee meeting.  If a member cannot attend the committee meeting which follows the general meeting, (s)he must still sign in at the said location to be counted present at the general meeting.  

III. Good Standing:

1. The levels of Good Standing are defined as the following:
   • Bronze
     • Attend 3 of 5 general meetings in each semester.
     • Earn 2 social points through various activities held by UF Premed AMSA.
     • Earn 2 financial points through various activities held by UF Premed AMSA.
     • Be in good standing in the member’s primary committee as defined by the committee directors.
   • Silver
     • Attend 4 of 5 general meetings in each semester.
     • Earn at least 3 social points through various activities held by UF Premed AMSA.
     • Earn at least 3 financial points through various activities held by UF Premed AMSA.
     • Be in good standing in the member’s primary committee as defined by the committee directors.
   • Gold
     • Attend 5 of 5 general meetings in each semester.
     • Earn 4 or more social points through various activities held by UF Premed AMSA.
     • Earn 4 or more financial points through various activities held by UF Premed AMSA.
     • Be in good standing in the member’s primary committee as defined by the committee directors.
2. In the semester which a member joins or renews membership (Spring or Fall), he/she will be automatically given credit for the first general meeting of that semester.
• A joining/renewing fall member will automatically receive an attendance point for the first fall general meeting, but not the first spring general meeting. He/she is accountable for attending the first spring general meeting.
• A joining/renewing spring member will automatically receive an attendance point for the first spring general meeting, but not the first fall general meeting. He/she is accountable for attending the first fall general meeting.
3. Good standing is computed separately for both Fall and Spring semesters. It is not computed in the summer semester. 
4. Good standing serves as a minimum participation guideline to which a local AMSA member should follow in order to experience AMSA.
5. Good standing is not a requirement to remain a member of UF Premed AMSA.   It is used to evaluate members who wish to run for any leadership position in UF Premed AMSA including Executive Board, Director, or Associate Director.
6. A member must be in good standing for one semester to be considered for the Equal Access Support Committee.
7. Tentative member good standing records are available at any time at http://www.ufpremed.org/viewstanding.php .
8. Standing records will be posted at the end of each semester and are subject to correction by members. Should a member have a dispute, this is the final opportunity for him/her to dispute the standings. All corrections are subject to verification.

IV. Membership Parameters:

1. National membership is required to be officially recognized as a member of the national entity known as the American Medical Student Association.
2. Local members may freely participate in local activities without becoming national members.
3. National AMSA leadership positions are separate from local AMSA leadership positions. These national positions have no direct positional influence on local UF Premed AMSA. National positions may be obtained at the annual spring convention.
4. For graduating members, the local UF Premed AMSA membership grace period will last through the entire summer C semester. All local privileges and benefits, such as Equal Access Clinic, shall be granted until the summer semester ends. After the grace period, the student may only continue local membership, and all privileges/benefits, should he/she continue as a UF student not enrolled in any Medical School.
5. UF Premed AMSA reserves the right to terminate a student’s local membership should he/she no longer qualify for local membership under the terms of the local chapter organization’s constitution.
6. UF Premed AMSA reserves the right to halt a student’s potential local membership should he/she not fulfill any terms or requirements set forth by the local chapter organization’s constitution.

This document is available at any time online through a section by section breakdown at: http://ufpremed.org/policies.html