| Thank you to the testers and to all members who voted on these bylaws amendments. |
The first amendment relates to the Professional Conduct Committee. This amendment establishes three members as the quorum for meetings of the Professional Conduct Committee. The change will facilitate committee business when members must recuse themselves from specific hearings.
The second amendment, which also relates to the Professional Conduct Committee, allows the AANS to sanction suspended members for an indefinite length of time. Previously, suspensions were applied for a specific time frame such as six months or one year. In most cases, suspensions will continue to be time-specific. However, in cases wherein the sanction relates to a specific situation, such as the loss of certification or licensure, the member would be suspended until that situation is remedied, that is, until recertification or license renewal.
The third amendment adds the requirement that nominees for the positions of AANS president and president-elect must have previous experience as voting members of the AANS Board of Directors. The change will ensure that all nominated individuals have some familiarity with the management and operation of the AANS.
The three amendments were approved by 88.6 percent, 92.1 percent and 71.1 percent of those voting, respectively.
This was the association’s first use of electronic voting. Members with e-mail addresses were sent information about how to vote online. No problems were reported by members during the electronic voting process.
Prior to the general vote, some members of the Young Neurosurgeons’ Committee and the Membership Committee were invited to test the electronic voting system. This group encountered no problems and provided several important suggestions to improve the voting process. Thank you to the testers and to all members who voted on these bylaws amendments.
The direct link to the revised Bylaws of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons is www.aans.org/about/combined_bylaws_041.pdf. Printed copies of the bylaws may be requested by contacting Susan Funk at (847) 378-0507 or [email protected].
Susan M. Eget is AANS associate executive director-governance.