Young Physician-at-Large

Basic Function

The Young Physician-at-Large (YPAL) primarily serves as the representative for the Young Physicians, ACOG members who are within their first eight years of ACOG fellowship. The National YPAL brings important ideas and perspectives related to transitioning from residency/fellowship to practice to the ACOG Board of Directors. The National YPAL maintains bidirectional communication with the ACOG Board of Directors to inform them of regional issues, while disseminating national information from the ACOG Board of Directors back to the District level, by way of the District Young Physician Representatives. The YPAL representatives focus on mentorship, career development, work/life balance, and ensuring Young Physician members throughout ACOG have access to the resources they need to be successful as they begin their career as an ACOG Fellow.

Primary Responsibilities

The Young Physicians-at-Large must be well informed and report to the ACOG Board of Directors information from the members. The Young Physicians-at-Large are responsible for reviewing selected documents for consistency with ACOG policies. They prepare and review documents, agendas, reports or other materials for the business of ACOG. The Young Physicians-at-Large have fiduciary duties to ACOG including the duty of care and the duty of loyalty. All ACOG Board of Directors responsibilities must be carried out in good faith, with reasonable care, honesty, and due diligence in a manner that is in the best interest of ACOG, not to any constituent group. The Young Physicians-at-Large must be available to participate and vote on issues between meetings that require approval.

Young Physicians-at-Large attend the following regularly scheduled meetings:

ACOG Board of Directors Meetings
ACOG Board of Directors Retreat
ACOG Board of Directors Orientation
Grievance Process Ratifications
Committees on Bylaws (one Young Physician-at-Large will serve on a rotation determined by policies and procedures of the ACOG Board of Directors)
Annual Clinical and Scientific Meeting
Annual Business Meeting
Annual District Meeting (of his/her district)
Interim District Meeting (of his/her district)
Presidential task Forces (if appointed, and meeting is at time of an ACOG Board of Directors meeting)
The Young Physicians-at-Large may be asked to serve as Board liaisons to one or more committees.

Qualifications

To be eligible for a Young-Physician-at-Large position a candidate must have been a Fellow for eight or fewer years as of the deadline for submission of nomination materials. Fellows must be board-naïve. Fellows seeking this position must not have served in any capacity on the ACOG Board of Directors previously.

Election and Term of Office

Effective with the 2018 elections two Young Physicians-at-Large will serve on the ACOG Board of Directors according to the bylaws and policies and procedures established by the ACOG Board of Directors. They will have two-year terms and are not eligible for re-election to that position. Their terms will be staggered.

Honorarium

An honorarium is provided to the Young Physicians-at-Large for the duties performed and meetings attended. The honorarium may be adjusted depending on circumstances determined by ACOG policies and procedures. The Compensation Committee determines the honorarium level annually