How is AΩA organized?
A national office of six staff (see Contact Us) that includes the Executive Secretary and Treasurer of AΩA is located in Menlo Park, CA. The staff reports to a Board of Directors, fifteen in number including several students, which is responsible for development of all policies, constitutional changes, and funding mechanisms. The national office is linked to each chapter at member medical schools where a faculty member is designated by each school dean to supervise chapter activities and to assure that elections are done effectively and within constitutional guidelines. At present, only three medical schools (UC San Diego, University of Connecticut, Mayo Medical School) have never had a chapter of AΩA. Both Harvard and Stanford had chapters established in the early part of the last century, but chapters at both institutions have become inactive in the past twenty years.
Several schools with no active chapter have developed AΩA Associations formed of members (faculty or community physicians) elected previously at other schools. These Associations cannot elect students, but can elect residents, faculty, and alumni in numbers prescribed by the constitution. In addition, these Associations are eligible to request and receive funds from the national office to support the programs of the society that are open to all students at the school.
When a new medical school is founded and approved by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the Dean and faculty members elected previously at other institutions have the option to apply for AΩA chapter status. These requests are evaluated closely by the Executive Secretary and Board. A site visit to the applicant school by the Executive Secretary and a member of the Board will occur and a recommendation forwarded for full Board action.