BY-LAWS OF THE STUDENT NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OF
THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
ARTICLE I. NAME
The name of this organization shall be the Student National Medical Association.
The approved abbreviation is SNMA.
ARTICLE II. PURPOSE
The goals of the organization shall be to act as a representative body of minority students at the
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; to distribute information which minimizes minority
problems and to create an atmosphere wherein professional excellence and work principles can be
fully exposed; to promote programs which offer better urban and rural health care; and to
promote communication between the student body, faculty and administration.
ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. Membership shall consist of any medical student enrolled in the University of
Pittsburgh School of Medicine who has paid national dues, local dues, and who has attended two
(2) out of three (3) consecutive meetings. Such members shall be considered active members and
have full voting privileges.
Section 2. Associate membership shall consist of persons interested in promoting the goals of the
SNMA who are associated with health related fields and attend three consecutive meetings.
Associate members do not have voting privileges, cannot hold offices and can be asked to leave
meetings during discussions at the discretion of the President.
Section 3. Failure to attend three consecutive monthly meetings implies failure of representation
and shall constitute grounds for expulsion. In such cases, a majority vote from the SNMA
members in attendance shall lead to expulsion. It shall be required that the entire SNMA
membership be notified in writing, a minimum of three weeks in advance of an expulsion case.
Section 4. Third and fourth year medical students, who have paid national and chapter dues, are
considered members at large and shall have full voting privileges. Votes may be accepted by
absentee ballot up to one week following a vote in general meeting. All other members must
comply with the guidelines stated above.
ARTICLE IV. EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
Section 1. The officers of the Student National Medical Association shall be President,
Upperclass Vice President, First Year Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and
Historian/Parliamentarian. These officers shall perform the duties prescribed by these bylaws and
by the parliamentary authority adopted by this organization.
Section 2. The executive officers shall be nominated at the March meeting each year.
Nominations shall be held open until two weeks prior to the next meeting. Official ballots shall
be held at the April meeting each year. The executive officers shall take office as of May 1 of
each year.
Section 3. The term of office shall be one year. No member shall hold two different offices
simultaneously.
ARTICLE V. DUTIES OF THE EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
Section 1. President
1. The President shall preside over the monthly SNMA meetings and provide the agenda for
these meetings.
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2. The President shall be the official representative of the SNMA to the Dean’s office and
other university administration officials and outside correspondences with regards to all
official SNMA business.
3. The President shall serve as the official liaison between the regional executive committee
and the local chapter members and attend at least one regular regional meeting and the
annual regional conference during his/her term. The President is responsible for
submitting chapter reports to the region, assuring that regional dues are promptly
forwarded, and obtaining and distributing regional meeting minutes to the chapter
members.
4. The newly elected President shall represent the chapter as a delegate at the annual
national convention and shall attend all national convention and regional meetings and all
House of Delegate meetings. He/She will also be responsible for assigning/coordinating
the duties of the chapter delegates sent by the chapter to the national convention.
5. The outgoing President shall serve as an alternate delegate at the national convention and
attend at least one House of Delegates meeting to advise chapter delegates in
parliamentary and voting procedure. The outgoing President must attend all regional
meetings at the national convention.
6. The President shall assist the Upperclass Vice President in his/her duty as Community
Service Chair by: reviewing and updating community service project protocols and
writing and/or editing written protocols for new projects adopted by the chapter. These
protocols shall be submitted to the regional and national community service committees.
Section 2. Upperclass Vice President
1. The Upperclass Vice President shall fulfill the duties of President in the event that the
President is unable to do so.
2. The Upperclass Vice President shall inform the general student body of scheduled events
of interest to medical studies.
3. The Upperclass Vice President shall investigate, initiate, and participate in projects which
serve the medical student body.
4. The Upperclass Vice President shall be responsible for attending SEC meetings and
reporting minutes to the membership.
5. The Upperclass Vice President shall serve as the Community Service Chair and as such
shall coordinate all existing chapter community service programs, assure that existing
chapter programs comply with some or all of the requirements of the National Service
Project protocols, and assure that un-chaired chapter service projects are properly
implemented.
Section 3. First Year Vice President
1. The First Year Vice President shall fulfill the duties of the President in the event that the
President and Upperclass Vice President are unable to do so.
2. The First Year Vice President shall be responsible for communication between SNMA
and the Premedical Organization for Minority Students (POMS) at the University of
Pittsburgh.
3. The First Year Vice President shall serve as the Minority Association of Prehealth
Students (MAPS) representative from the chapter to the region.
4. The First Year Vice President shall organize and implement programs and activities for
Black History Month.
Section 4. Secretary
1. The Secretary shall distribute the chapter agenda at the monthly organizational meetings
and all preparative work that completion of said duty entails, shall record and document
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2.
3.
4.
5.
the minutes of all chapter meetings for distribution at each subsequent chapter meeting,
and shall record and document the minutes of all executive officer meetings.
The Secretary shall initiate and retain the attendance records from each meeting and
inform the Parliamentarian if quorum as defined in Article VI, Section 6 is established at
each chapter meeting. Thus, he/she shall determine the number of active members
present at any given meeting.
The Secretary shall collect committee reports from committee chairs and keep record of
submission of these reports.
The Secretary shall coordinate with the executive officers to establish an annual meeting
calendar and shall inform the members of upcoming organizational meetings at least 3
days in advance via written notice or telephone.
The Secretary shall maintain the chapter’s designated announcement board and monitor
the chapter’s mailbox to ensure timely and efficient distribution of any and all delivered
mail.
Section 5. Treasurer
1. The Treasurer shall maintain complete and accurate records of all financial transactions
of the SNMA.
2. The Treasurer shall preside over the Finance Committee as Chairperson.
3. The Treasurer shall be responsible for receiving budget requests and reimbursing student
committees which includes informing the committee’s representatives about the process
of reimbursement and signing appropriate forms.
Section 6. Historian/Parliamentarian
1. Historian/Parliamentarian shall implement Revised Robert’s Rules of Order during
regular meetings.
2. Historian/Parliamentarian shall update and maintain the records and documents of
historical pertinence of the SNMA at all levels (national, regional, chapter).
3. Historian/Parliamentarian shall chair a newsletter committee responsible for information
from all levels to be distributed on a quarterly basis.
4. Historian/Parliamentarian shall chair the By-Laws Committee and is alone (or with a
committee appointed by him/her) responsible for annual review and revision of the
chapter by-laws.
ARTICLE VI. MEETINGS
Section 1. Regular meetings shall be held monthly except in June, July, and August. Notification
of the chapter meeting shall be done by any of the following means of communication: written
notification via posted, hand-delivered, electronic mail, and/or voice notification via telephone.
Notification shall be given within the week and in advance of the scheduled meeting. Requests
for copies of the agenda or minutes from the previous meeting shall be directed to the chapter
secretary.
Section 2. New business to be discussed at the monthly meetings shall be submitted to the
President at least one week in advance of the meeting.
Section 3. The President may call for a vote to defer discussion of any issue to the next chapter
meeting.
Section 4. Emergent issues and “New Business” agenda items not previously submitted to the
chapter President may be discussed at the meeting provided that the majority of those in
attendance vote to discuss the issue.
Section 5. Special meetings can be called by the chapter President and shall be called for via
written or telephoned request of the members. The purpose of the meeting shall be stated in the
call. Except in cases of emergency, at least three days notice shall be given.
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Section 6. 2/3 active members, including members of the Executive Board, constitute a quorum.
Section 7. Meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the format set forth in the Revised
Robert’s Rules of Order.
Section 8. All budgetary requests over $50.00 must be presented to the chapter for approval by
simple majority vote of the active membership.
ARTICLE VII. COMMITTEES
Section 1. Standing Committees. Standing Committees shall be Finance, Community Service,
and By-Laws Committee. These may be created by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members present.
All standing committees must be re-approved by simple majority vote at the May meeting of each
year. Immediately following the vote of re-approval, nominations for the position of the
committee chairperson shall take place (except for Budget and By-Laws Committees which are
chaired by the Treasurer and Historian/Parliamentarian respectively). Nominations shall be held
open until two weeks prior to the next meeting (September). Written notification shall be
forwarded to all members, and elections shall occur at the September meeting of each year. The
term of office shall be one year, and no chairperson may hold two positions simultaneously.
Section 2. Finance Committee. The Treasurer of the SNMA shall preside over the Finance
Committee meetings when a budget request is being discussed in order to answer any questions
and clarify any issues pertinent to that request. The representatives of the committee making a
request shall be contacted prior to the Finance Committee meeting for that month.
Section 3. Ad Hoc Committees. Ad Hoc committees may be appointed by the President or the
membership. These committees shall be recognized as legitimate committees of the SNMA.
These committees shall have a specified term of existence as deemed necessary by the President
or membership.
Section 4. Duties of the Committee Chairs. The chairperson of each committee, Standing and Ad
Hoc, shall submit a monthly written report to the Secretary of the organization. This report shall
outline the committee activities of that month. This report shall be submitted no later than one
week prior to the scheduled monthly meeting. Failure on one occasion to submit the report will
result in a warning. Two consecutively missed reports will result in a dismissal as committee
chair.
Section 5. Upon resignation or termination of a committee chair, the senior officer of that
committee will become interim chairperson. The President of the organization will appoint a new
chair out of the committee membership within 14 days per the recommendation of the
committee’s members. This member will assume the chair immediately following appointment
and continue out the term of the old chairperson.
ARTICLE VIII. AMENDMENTS TO BY-LAWS
These by-laws may be amended at any meeting (general or special) by a two-thirds vote of the
members present, provided that previous notice has been given as part of the reason for a special
meeting.
ARTICLE IX. NATIONAL CONVENTION DELEGATES
Section 1. Delegate Apportionment and Election. Upon notification from the SNMA National
Office of delegate apportionment, the active members of the chapter shall nominate and elect
delegates to represent the chapter at the national convention in the House of Delegates. One
delegate position is automatically relegated to the incoming chapter president, and the outgoing
president shall be declared as alternate delegate as described under the terms of that office.
Section 2. Delegate Expenses. The chapter must assume the following expenses for each
delegate: $200.00 maximum for travel expenses to the convention site, 2 nights maximum hotel
accommodations at the convention, and convention registration fees. It is the responsibility of the
chapter to obtain funds for these expenses. The chapter is not responsible for the following
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expenses: food (includes any room service charges); social activity fees and expenses (i.e.,
nightclub admission, museum admission, amusement park admission, etc.); damages incurred by
delegates to accommodations or rental vehicles; travel, room and board and convention
registration for non-delegate chapter members.
Section 3. Delegate Duties and Responsibilities.
1. The delegates shall follow national protocol as defined under Chapter 4 Sections A-C of
the National By-Laws.
2. The chapter delegates shall all HOD and Regional meetings at the National Convention.
3. The duties of the delegates shall be coordinated by the incoming chapter president.
4. Each chapter delegate shall give an oral report at the general chapter meeting that follows
the National Convention. The delegates will also submit a formal report within 30 days
of return from the national conference to the executive committee members. The written
report shall summarize the business of the HOD and Regional meetings and pertinent
information acquired at conference seminars and workshops.
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