At the 2014 North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS) House of Delegates, proposed amendments to the NCMS Constitution and Bylaws were passed to re-engineer the NCMS governance structure. The goal of the proposed amendments is to establish a policymaking process within the NCMS that is more accessible and efficient. One option to be considered is to develop a mechanism for NCMS members to bring issues to the Board of Directors for discussion and action on a timely basis, rather than waiting for the House of Delegates to meet annually.

Following the House of Delegates meeting, NCMS President Robert Schaaf, MD appointed a Bylaws Modernization Task Force. As part of their work, all members have been contacted by email  to respond to an online survey. The NCMS has contracted with McLaughlin & Associates, a national public opinion firm, to conduct this Internet survey of all NCMS members. This survey will assist in determining how best the NCMS can represent its members.

The survey launched on Friday, January 9 and is being administered by McLaughlinOnline.com, an Internet polling service fully owned and operated by McLaughlin & Associates, and powered by Qualtrics, an online data collection engine.

Please take a few minutes to complete the survey you received via email now if you haven’t already done so to give the NCMS leadership valuable information about your expectations for member representation and how you prefer to engage with us and other professional organizations. The survey will only take a few minutes of your time, and will be invaluable to the NCMS and its leadership. Thank you in advance for your participation in this survey.

Note: To ensure valid results, the survey is email specific and can only be accessed through the email sent to your address on Jan. 9. A reminder email with link to the survey and the password was sent on Jan. 14.