What is the House of Delegates?
Aimee Larson, Chief Delegate 2009-2010
The House of Delegates (HOD) is the American Academy of Physician Assistant's (AAPA) policy making body and defines all the bylaws, policies, and procedures of AAPA.
Changes to Student House of Delegate Delegation
The Student Academy Board of Directors is updating the House of Delegates (HOD) student delegation in time for the 2010 HOD being held in Atlanta – Saturday, May 29 through Monday, May 31. In past years, there has been a schedule rotating all HOD student representatives through the Student Academy HOD delegation seats and the volunteer teller positions on the House floor – meaning that over a 100 students were rotating in and out of about 25 different delegate seats and teller positions throughout the course of the HOD. However, the Student Academy leaders did not feel that this was productive for the student delegation or the students participating in the HOD, which is why they decided to change the process and allow students who are interested in participating in the entire HOD, to apply for a student delegate position.
The Student Academy has 14 House seats in Atlanta, one of which will be dedicated to the Student Academy Chief Delegate throughout the House, but the other 13 will be open to students from any PA program with a registered student society[http://www.aapa.org/student-academy/student-societies/1350] and any student in good standing with the PA program may apply for a delegate position.
Students who are selected will be assigned to one of the three reference committees (A: Academy bylaws and operations; B: education, certification, membership, and constituencies; or C: professional practice, government affairs, and public policy) so that a total of 39 students will be accepted to represent all PA students at the HOD as the student delegation. The students who are accepted will be required to attend the HOD in its entirety from Saturday, May 29 through Monday, May 31 – including the orientation for new delegates on Saturday at 7:30am.
Students who are interested in applying for the position can complete the on-line application [http://www.formsite.com/aapa2/form836626995/index.html] which is due by Wednesday, March 31 and they will be informed of their selection by Monday, April 12 so that they can register for the HOD by the April 16 deadline. Note that registration to attend the HOD only (no other annual conference events) is free for delegates. Students who apply must be AAPA student members and have permission from their program director or faculty, but do not need to be the current HOD representative for their student society.
In addition having 39 unique students participating as HOD student representatives, there will no longer be the requirement to have the HOD student delegates attend the HOD in order for their teams to be eligible to participate in the National Medical Challenge Bowl.
If you have any questions regarding these changes, please contact Shannon Faherty, Student Academy staff advisor (703-836-2272 ext. 3311 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).
House of Delegates Student Delegate Duties:
1) Become informed on the issues that will be discussed and debated during the HOD session during AAPA's Annual Conference.
2) Regularly discuss the issues from above with others from your Student Society. This gives delegates an opportunity to inform their Student Society about what is going on within the profession. Furthermore, these discussions will help delegates be more aware of their class's opinions on the issues, which will allow them to better represent their class when it comes time to debate and vote on issues.
3) Familiarize yourself with the parliamentary procedures used during House proceedings. Then, when it comes time to get involved, delegates will be more comfortable with their ability to do so.
4) Regularly check the e-mail account given to the Student Academy on your society registration. This will facilitate the distribution of any essential information that delegates need to be made aware of throughout the year. Additionally, leading up to the national conference, e-mail will be the primary method used by the Student Academy's Chief Delegate to inform delegates of the HOD schedule of events, as well as any changes to that schedule.
5) Prepare to introduce any resolutions that your Student Society would like to present to the HOD for consideration. This should also be coordinated with the Chief Delegate to ensure that the resolution is technically sound, not already currently in the HOD bylaws, and to allow time for gathering any additional information that may helpful in passing the resolution.
6) After the National Conference, return to your Student Society and give a summary of the resolutions discussed and what actions were taken on these resolutions.
The following is a short list of resources available to HOD Student Delegates that can be used in their efforts to accomplish their duties.
1. The Delegate News the monthly publication of the HOD (e-mailed to every HOD student delegate).
2. The HOD section of the AAPA main site.
If you have any questions or concerns, please e-mail me, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
