APMA News - January/February 2025 - A1

Young Physicians
January/February 2025 | Issue 92
Trusted News and Information
for Young Physicians and Students
APMA House of Delegates:
Young Physicians Making their Mark
Lauren Wurster, DPM, APMA Young Physician Trustee
It's February, which means the APMA House of Delegates (HOD) is
just around the corner! For those who have not yet attended, HOD is
a weekend-long meeting each March in Washington, DC. Delegates
represent the 53 APMA component societies nationwide. These individuals
serve as members of the legislative and governing body of APMA,
developing and voting on the direction of APMA and the profession. Last
year's HOD tackled various topics, including the definition of podiatric
medicine and surgery, preventive foot exams/support of a comprehensive
lower extremity exam as part of an insurance benefit, board certification
processes, DPM supervision of PAs, recruitment competition between large
hospital systems and smaller private practices, and integration of DPMs
into academic and university health systems. These issues were debated
through town halls and policy proposals, allowing the podiatric community
in attendance to move the profession forward.
Lauren Wurster, DPM
ny APMA member can submit a
policy proposition, bylaws proposition,
or a budgetary action item
(BAI) resolution. A bylaws proposition
describes any change to APMA's governance
documents (bylaws, administrative
procedures, HOD operations manual,
and code of ethics). Policy propositions
are positions, policies, or philosophies
that APMA assumes on a particular topic.
BAIs are directives for APMA to
complete over the course of the next year.
Young physicians (YPs) have successfully
submitted such proposals in the past,
and we aim to continue this trend.
YP involvement in the decision making
that occurs at HOD is vital to the
profession's future. Recent completion of
podiatric medical school and residency/
fellowship provides a distinct perspective
rooted in fresh clinical education experience
and emerging health-care trends.
A
However, not all YPs with interest in the
HOD have the opportunity to participate
for various reasons.
One bylaws proposition submitted this
year seeks to ensure consistent inclusion
of new voices. It would require that any
component with three or more delegates
have at least 25 percent of its voting delegation
be individuals with five or fewer
years of HOD experience. If passed, this
bylaws proposition would guarantee a
constant influx of fresh perspectives at
the state and national level, benefiting
both the profession and our patients.
You can read the complete bylaws proposition
L-25 at www.apma.org/hod.
Developing the proposal involved
collaboration with several YPs to define
our goals and effective strategies. Since
it amends an APMA governance document,
I also sought input from those
who have attended previous HOD
meetings, including current/former delegates
from both large and small states
and state association
executive
directors
and presidents. Once this process
was complete, I used the template from
Continued on page 3
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EDITOR:Tiffany Kildale, CAE
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CONTRIBUTING EDITOR:
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DESIGN: Suzanne Kleinwaks Design
YOUR APMA / PAGE 1
http://www.apma.org/hod
APMA News - January/February 2025

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