Forming a local chapter or state/regional association Part One- Getting started
Step–by–Step
Component Association Formation Guidelines (Part 1)
Step 1
You must be an active AAMT Practitioner, recruit interested ones to become part of the
Student or Postgraduate member to coordinate chapter formation planning committee. Expenses
the formation of an AAMT component association. for the mailings you have may be
AAMT membership confirms your interest in the reimbursed.(Keep all receipts and submit them to
goals and purposes of the Association and your AAMT).
recognition of the value of joining with your
colleagues to work toward these goals. Next ask yourself:
Practitioner, Student or Postgraduate • Have I exhausted all resources in contacting
membership is also necessary to vote, hold office, medical transcriptionists and other individuals
or chair a committee. closely allied with medical transcription?
• Is interest sufficient to warrant component
Step 2 association formation in my community?
Become knowledgeable about the functions and • Can I assemble a support group to help plan
purpose of AAMT, its local chapters, and an informational seminar?
state/regional component associations. • Do I have enough information on which to
Understand the purposes and goals of AAMT and base my decision to act as coordinator?
the value of a local chapter or state/regional
association and its benefits to members. Only you can answer these questions. No amount
Accurately answering questions about the of coaching or encouragement will see you
Association and recognizing when to refer through the next three months if support for
questions to AAMT’s professional staff is component association formation is lacking.
important. Knowing AAMT’s whys, whats, and
wherefores will help you establish a successful If you are ready to pursue your quest to form a
AAMT local chapter or state/regional association. local chapter or state/regional association, sign
and return the appended Component Formation
Step 3 Coordinator Agreement. You will receive of the
At this point, evaluation of community interest is Step-by-Step Component Association Formation
important. You are now ready to contact the Guidelines - Part Two: Planning the Informational
medical transcriptionists in your community. Seminar, along with valuable component
formation information.
Contact AAMT for names, addresses,
and E-mail addresses of AAMT members in your
vicinity to send them a notice of your plan to form
a local component of AAMT and to
Forming a local chapter or state/regional association Part Two- Planning the Informational Seminar
STEP-BY-STEP
COMPONENT ASSOCIATION FORMATION GUIDELINES (Part Two)
Step 4
If the response to your evaluation is to proceed
with formation, contact the medical AAMT prefers that your informational seminar be
transcriptionists you encountered in your quest for on a Saturday to accommodate the AAMT
support of a new component association. representative speakers, who may have to travel
Schedule an informal meeting with them to a considerable distance to attend your meeting.
brainstorm ideas for the informational seminar.
Take time to get acquainted so that you can make Step 5
the best use of the talents of the group. It is Check with AAMT to learn who your AAMT
important to communicate your and AAMT’s representative speaker will be and get that
expectations and to establish deadlines for all individual’s address, phone number, and fax
projects. Be sure to record minutes of all number. S/he will contact you immediately upon
meetings and provide AAMT with a copy. selection as the representative for your meeting.
AAMT representatives are eager to help you have
Contact AAMT to with the date of your next a successful meeting and to get to know you. It is
planning meeting and ask volunteers to report appropriate to invite him/her to share a meal or
their progress. Before you reserve the meeting conversation as schedules permit.
site and speakers for your informational seminar AAMT representatives are responsible for making
you will need to contact AAMT to verify approval their own travel and hotel accommodations,
of your informational seminar date. It is important including transportation to and from the meeting
to request this at least ten weeks in advance of facility. It is, however, appropriate to offer to
the proposed meeting so arrangements can be escort him/her, if you wish. If the meeting facility
made for an AAMT representative to attend. does not have sleeping accommodations, you
Expenses of AAMT's representative speakers are may also investigate nearby hotels and advise the
paid by AAMT. AAMT representative. The AAMT representative
serves as a speaker and will provide a
Provide suggestions for the details of your creditworthy presentation.
informational seminar, including suggestions for a
centrally located meeting facility (lodge, hotel, Once the date, time, and location of the
college, or hospital), preferably with a room that is informational seminar have been determined,
free of charge. AAMT will assist in making the identifying a medical speaker can begin. Notify
meeting arrangements. AAMT of a physician or other healthcare provider
who agrees to present a 45-minute medical/non-
medical lecture followed by a 15-minute question-
and-answer period. Step 7
Secure publicity for your event by contacting
AAMT will need a brief description of content, various forms of media: newspapers, radio, and
speakers name and title, and summary of television stations, hospital newsletter editors.
speakers qualifications for continuing education Ask component associations in your state/ region
credit approval for the certified medical to publish the date of your informational seminar
transcriptionists who come to the meeting. AAMT in their newsletters. Send a personal invitation to
will provide a proof of attendance form for their presidents. This information can be obtained
continuing education credits from the AAMT office if you are not sure who or
where the other local or state/regional leaders
It is the responsibility of AAMT and the are. AAMT will publish the date in The Leading
coordinator to provide a profile of the expected Edge, JAAMT, and on the AAMT Web site.
audience as well as to send a letter summarizing
the agreement and specifying the meeting Step 8
location, date, and time of the event. A minimum of 20 people must be registered 2
weeks prior to the meeting date or the meeting
Step 6 will be canceled. All payments for pre
Send AAMT a list of the MTs you have contacted registrations must be payable and sent to AAMT
so that we can enter them into our database to 2 weeks before the informational, (postmark
include in the brochure mailing. At least ten date). The AAMT representative will be
weeks before the date of the informational responsible for on-site registrations. If the
seminar AAMT will need to have all necessary meeting registration is more than 30 people,
information to develop a registration brochure. volunteer assistance may be requested.
AAMT will fax it to you, if possible, to confirm that
the details of the seminar are correct and that Step 9
there will be no changes in the program. It is Everything’s in order. You’re almost there!
important that you proofread the brochure. We Today’s the day!
encourage you to enlist others to assist you with As component association coordinator, you are
this project. Once you have reviewed the responsible for hosting the informational seminar
brochure, notify AAMT within 24 hours of any with the AAMT representative. Use this
corrections or proposed changes. Once the opportunity to meet the transcriptionists and
brochure has been finalized, the AAMT office will others assembled for the initiation of this new
send the brochure to AAMT members and component association. You should acknowledge
prospective members as well as the and welcome all guests. This is the time to
state/regional president in your area. generate enthusiasm and interest. Be prepared to
announce the date and location of your next
meeting at this time.
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Continue to confirm progress in the various
planning stages of the informational seminar with
your planning group. Close communication
throughout the formation process will facilitate a
successful meeting.
Step–by–Step
Component Association Formation Guidelines (Part Three)
Step 10
The component association coordinator continues the chapter) may assist with the details of the new
as the new component association’s leader until component association. Decide on a day, time, and
permanent officers are elected. The nominating place for holding regular chapter meetings.
committee must be composed of AAMT Meetings should include a medical and/or
Practitioner members. The committee members nonmedical lecture and a short business meeting.
compile a slate of AAMT Practitioner members When possible, schedule a place, date, and time for
who are interested in running for office in the the next several meetings so
component association.
Once a slate of candidates is established, contact
AAMT with this information so a ballot can be that members can plan ahead. Until you are
prepared and mailed by AAMT. All candidates officially an AAMT chapter you may notify AAMT
should be informed by the coordinator of the if you
election results immediately following the tellers’ would like them to send a postcard or flyer to all
report. It is recommended that election results be potential members, at least three weeks before each
announced at the following meeting and/or by flyer, scheduled meeting. A telephone committee may be
postcard, or newsletter. Notify AAMT of the formed to assist in notifying members and potential
results. Prepare the component association’s members of meetings. Announcements should
Petition for Recognition and mail to AAMT for appear in your newsletter.
acceptance. Be sure to make a copy of it for the
component association’s permanent records. An alternative meeting plan is to rotate meeting
days, times, and locations to accommodate as
many MTs as possible, especially if your
Step 11
component association covers a large geographic
For the first two or three months, the component
area. This also provides an opportunity for
association coordinator (if not an elected officer of
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transcriptionists from various facilities to host the for addition to the handbook. The Leading Edge,
meeting and perhaps arrange for a local speaker. AAMT’s publication for component association
leaders, is available on the web site www.aamt.org
A suggested format for your meeting is to hold the and should be shared with the officers of your
business portion first (one hour is the maximum association, and your newsletter editor. You are
time recommended for business), followed by a also encouraged to share this information contained
one-hour medical and/or nonmedical lecture and in it with your members.
question-and-answer session. If your meeting
includes a meal function, inquire if local restaurants Revised 06/04
will provide free meeting space in exchange for
holding a meal function. Some hospitals and large
clinics will cater events for a reasonable fee.
Step 12
Within one year of recognition as a
chapter/state/regional association, the bylaws of the
association shall be submitted to the Administrative
Office for approval by the AAMT Board of
Directors.” Available on-line(aamt.org) is the
Model Bylaws for Component Associations.
AAMT will apply for an Employer Identification
Number(EIN) for the component association in
order to establish a bank account for the component
and receive reimbursement of the remaining funds
from the informational seminar from AAMT. Once
your group tax exemption number is received,
AAMT will contact you.
You have received a copy of the AAMT Leadership
Handbook for Component Associations. One copy
of the handbook is issued to each component
association, and we ask that it be given to the
incoming president as elections occur. As new or
revised chapters are added to the handbook, they
will be sent to the component association president
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