Constitution and By-Laws. Of the. Legal Nurse Consultants Association of Canada [insert province] Chapter

Transcription

1 Constitution and By-Laws Of the Legal Nurse Consultants Association of Canada [insert province] Chapter 1. NAME The name of this association will be The Legal Nurses Association of Canada [insert province] Chapter (LNCAC-[province]). We are a not-for- profit organization dedicated to the professional enhancement of registered nurses practicing in a consulting capacity in the legal field. 2. OBJECTIVES The Chapter will provide opportunities for continuing education for the membership, consistent with the mandate of LNCAC and the [insert respective provincial licensing body], promote the exchange of ideas on matters relating to legal nurse consulting, standards of care and health care law, and provide Provincial representation to the Legal Nurses Association of Canada. 3. MEMBERSHIP Categories for membership in this Association are active and associate. Participation as either an active or associate member of a Chapter requires the LNC to belong to and be a member in good standing with the LNCAC. Annual membership in LNCAC- [insert province] is aligned with LNCAC and will be from April 1 to March 31 of any year. Active membership in the Association may be granted to any member of LNCAC National who is an active licensed Registered Nurse or Registered Psychiatric Nurse in Canada and is qualified to provide consultation on healthcare issues within the legal arena. Active members may vote, hold office, serve on committees, and partake of all other benefits of membership as may be determined from time to time by the Executive Board Associate Membership: Associate membership in the Association may be granted to registered nurses or registered psychiatric nurses who maintain active licensure or other allied health care professionals in Canada who have an interest in the medical/legal issues. It may also be granted to individuals or groups with an interest in the goal and activities of the Association. These members may not vote, hold office, serve on committees, and partake of all other benefits of membership as may be determined from time to time by the Executive Board 4. CHAPTER FORMATION

2 A Chapter shall require a minimum of 5 members or as may be determined by LNCAC National from time to time. Members in a certain province shall make application to LNCAC National by completing the LNCAC Provincial Chapter Formation Application and forwarding same to LNCAC National Secretary for acceptance by LNCAC National Executive. Upon acceptance of the Chapter application, funding for the members will be provided from their annual membership fees as per Chapter Funding. 5. CHAPTER FUNDING Funding for the Chapter will consist of 40% of each member s LNCAC National membership fee and will be forwarded to the treasurer of the Chapter of the province in which the member practices or, in the absence of a chapter in the member s own province, funds will be forwarded to the Chapter of the member s choice or may be retained by LNCAC National, if that is the member s choice. This is to occur by June 1 of each year. New members will be given pertinent contact information about the Chapter to which they will be a member by LNCAC National upon becoming a member. The new member s information will also be provided to the Chapter applicable. When a Legal Nurse Consultant becomes a member of LNCAC after April 1 of any year, the funding for the Chapter membership will be forwarded to the applicable Chapter treasurer within one month of receipt of payment by the member to LNCAC. 6. EXECUTIVE OF THE ASSOCIATION The Executive of LNCAC-[province] will consist of elected, active members as follows: i) President ii) President-Elect iii) Past-President iv) Secretary v) Treasurer vi) Programme Co-ordinator The position of secretary and treasurer may be combined. At the call of the President, the duties of programme coordinator may be assigned to one or more members of the executive. All members are expected to behave as professionals and abide by the LNCAC Code of Ethics as outlined in the National Bylaws. 7. DUTIES OF THE EXECUTIVE Members of the Executive will: Page 2 of 7

3 i) Budget, administer and guide the affairs of LNCAC-[province]. ii) Approve the financial institution(s) in which the treasurer will deposit the funding received by LNCAC-[province]. iii) Liaise with related Nursing and Legal Organizations. iv) Attend all Executive, General and Special Meetings of LNCAC-[province]. v) Notify the LNCAC-[province] President, in writing, if unable to fulfill her/his commitment to the elected position. In the event that the LNCAC-[province] President is unable to fulfill her/his commitment to the elected position, notice in writing will be provided to the President of LNCAC. vi) Determine the reviewer of the annual financial records for the Chapter. vii) Prepare and provide a consolidated annual report of chapter activities, including the outcome of the financial review, to LNCAC two weeks in advance of the LNCAC Annual General Meeting. 8. MEETINGS OF THE EXECUTIVE The Executive will meet a minimum of [insert frequency] a year, and arrange for at least [inert frequency] meetings of the members of the Chapter, one of which will be a Chapter Annual Meeting held no later than [insert date]. Additional meetings of the Executive may be called at the discretion of the President. A majority of the Chapter Executive will serve as quorum for the transaction of business. 9. SIGNING OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION An account will have three signing officers and two signatures will be required. The signing officers for LNCAC-[province] will be: i) the Treasurer, and ii) either the President or the President-Elect 10. DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT The President will: i) Preside over all the Executive, General and Special Meetings of the LNCAC-[province]. ii) Attend LNCAC National Executive meetings bi-monthly as representative of their Chapter iii) Provide a report related to chapter activities to LNCAC General Meetings. iv) Be the ex-officio of all committees. v) Arrange and conduct Executive Meetings [insert frequency] a year. Page 3 of 7

4 vi) Arrange for the President-Elect to preside at meetings in her/his absence. vii) Have the power to make emergency decisions for the benefit of the membership. viii) Promote recognition of legal nurse consulting. ix) Act as the media spokesperson for LNCAC-[province]. 11. DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT-ELECT The President-Elect will: i) Perform such duties as assigned by the President. ii) Perform the duties of the President in her/his absence. iii) In the event of the resignation or extended leave of absence of the President, assume that office immediately. 12. DUTIES OF THE PAST-PRESIDENT The Past-President will: i) Perform such duties as assigned by the President. ii) Act as consultant to the Executive. iii) Provide advice and guidance to the President and President Elect iv) Provide input into the content of the LNCAC webpage. 13. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY The Secretary will: i) Maintain a database of members and their contact information. ii) Record the minutes of all meetings of LNCAC-[province]. iii) Distribute a copy of the minutes within two weeks of each meeting. iv) Review minutes of the previous General Meeting at each General Meeting, and obtain membership approval. v) Be responsible for correspondence pertaining to LNCAC-[province] business. vi) Arrange for a member of the Executive to act as Secretary in her/his absence. vii) Maintain LNCAC-[province] archives. viii) Arrange for LNCAC-[province] printing as required. ix) Maintain stationery inventory. 14. DUTIES OF THE TREASURER Page 4 of 7

5 The Treasurer will: i) Receive monies from national dues and maintain a database of Chapter members contact information. ii) Ensure that all members are in good standing with LNCAC. iii) Prepare an annual budget for LNCAC-[province] for approval at the June executive meeting. iv) Prepare a financial statement for each General Meeting of LNCAC-[province]. v) Issue appropriate cheques, expense forms and receipts. vi) Arrange for an annual financial review to be completed by February 28th and present an Annual Financial Report to the LNCAC Provincial Chapter Executive, LNCAC Annual General Meeting and LNCAC-[insert Province] members at the chapter Annual General Meeting. 15. DUTIES OF THE PROGRAMME CO-ORDINATOR The Programme Co-ordinator will: i) Review evaluations of the previous program at each General Meeting and outline future programs. ii) Prepare and present a written report of the year s activities at the AGM. iii) Arrange for a member to present the report in her/his absence. iv) Provide contact hour certificates for each educational event. v) Conduct an annual needs assessment. vi) Arrange the educational component of meetings as needed. 16. CRITERIA FOR ELECTION OF EXECUTIVE i) Candidates will be active member s of the Legal Nurse Consultants Association of Canada (LNCAC) for one year prior to nomination. ii) All members of the executive will be members of [insert name of provincial registered nurses association]. 17. ELECTION OF EXECUTIVE It is desirable to have elections of the executive positions take place on alternate years so as to ensure continuity of executive member services. i) Members of the LNCAC [province] Executive will be elected by the general membership for a term of [identify length of term]. Page 5 of 7

6 ii) The President-Elect term consists of [insert number of years] as President- Elect, [insert number of years] as President and one year as Past-President. iii) In the event that the office of President becomes vacant, the President-Elect will assume the office of President for the unexpired portion of the President s term, and will subsequently assume the office of President. The office of President-Elect will remain vacant until the next scheduled election for that office. iv) In the event that the President-Elect resigns during the term of office, the President will arrange an emergency election to fill the position. v) In the event that any other position of the Executive becomes vacant, the Executive will appoint a member to fill the unexpired term. vi) A member may serve no more than two consecutive terms in the same office. 18. VOTING i) All active members in good standing will have voting privileges. ii) Election of the executive will take place by either electronic or paper ballot. Results will be destroyed immediately following the election. iii) In the event of a tie vote, the decision will be made by a second ballot. iv) Members must prove voting eligibility by use of an issued password for electronic ballots or having their name appear on a member roster before voting. v) Voting for other purposes will be by show of hands and a simple majority will prevail. 19. SPECIAL COMMITTEES With approval of LNCAC-[province] members, special committees may be appointed at any time by the Executive. These committees will be appointed for the duration of a special project and will be disbanded when the purpose for which they were formed, has been fulfilled. Members of special committees will be active members. Associate members may be appointed to such committees at the discretion of the Executive. 20. MEETINGS OF LNCAC-[province] i) Regular meetings of LNCAC-[province] will be held on the [insert established dates] unless there is a conflict with major conference or religious holiday. ii) The last meeting of the fiscal year will be the AGM. iii) Special Meetings may be called by the President. 21. QUORUM FOR MEETINGS Page 6 of 7

7 A quorum at any meeting of the Executive, standing or Special Committee will be a majority of members. A quorum of ten percent (10%) of the membership is necessary at any General Meeting requiring a vote on major issues. 22. FISCAL YEAR The fiscal year of LNCAC-[province] will end on the thirty first (31 st ) day of March of each year. 23. FINANCIAL REVIEWER A financial reviewer will be approved by the Executive for each fiscal year. 24. AMENDMENTS A. The Executive may recommend to LNCAC National Executive Committee that Chapter bylaws be revoked or amended as the need arises. Chapter by-laws will be reviewed every five (5) years. B. Proposed amendments of the Constitution and by-laws approved by LNCAC National Executive Committee will be circulated to the provincial membership within one General Meeting prior to being submitted for ratification. C. The revocation or amendment of these bylaws will not come into effect unless ratified by a majority vote of the active members in attendance at the next General Meeting of LNCAC- [province] Ratified: [insert date] Page 7 of 7