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BCMS
COMMITTEES

Delegation Committee at work
reviewing resolutions prior to TexMed.

BCMS Delegation to TMA

The BCMS Delegation to the Texas Medical Association (TMA) isting policy can be presented in the form of a resolution to the
is a group of elected members who serve as voting delegates, repre- BCMS Delegation to TMA. If the delegation agrees with the res-
senting Bexar County in the 472-member TMA House of Dele- olution, it is then voted on and moves on to the TMA House of
gates, the legislative and policy-making body of the TMA. Delegates for consideration during the next House of Delegates
meeting.
Presently, the Bexar delegation is officially represented by 37 vot-
ing members. Each county medical society (CMS) is allotted one The BCMS Delegation to TMA meets three times per year: one
delegate per 100 practicing members or a fraction thereof. The meeting is to review all BCMS resolutions submitted for consider-
number of delegates allotted can fluctuate as delegate count is de- ation; another meeting is to review the TMA House of Delegates
pendent on the number of members in active practice each year. Handbook, which the Delegation reviews and takes a position on
Alternate delegates round out the delegation and stand ready to fill- all resolutions submitted from around the state. All of this work
in and move up to delegate status, in particular during the TMA’s leads up to TexMed, which culminates in the final vetting (in refer-
annual meeting, TexMed, where it is crucial that as many voting ence committees) of resolutions under consideration for adoption
delegates be in attendance as possible, in order to adequately con- by the TMA House of Delegates.
duct the business of the House, and, especially if we have a physi-
cian delegate who is running for an officer position within the TMA There are always alternate delegate spots available. If you would
House of Delegates, as we did this year with the re-election of David like to join this group of leaders please contact Mary Nava at
Henkes, MD to the TMA Board of Trustees. mary.nava@bcms.org.

Additional votes for each county medical society delegation visit us at www.bcms.org 33
come from the ex-officio categories: members of the Board of
Trustees, 15 councilors, Texas delegates and alternate delegates
to the American Medical Association, members of the Council
on Legislation and chairs of the other councils, delegates from
the Young Physician Section, International Medical Graduate
Section, Resident and Fellow Section, and Medical Student Sec-
tion, and delegates of selected specialty societies.

The county medical society delegations to TMA are the
grassroots levels of organized medicine. Each year, physicians
across the state are given the opportunity to serve on TMA
committees and councils. It is in these groups that policies are
developed and new ideas surface. In Bexar County, we look to
our delegation to identify people willing to serve on these com-
mittees and councils. An idea or recommended change in ex-