State Opportunities
CMA House of Delegates
The CMA House of Delegates (HOD) consists of more than 500 delegates elected by members of component medical societies, specialty societies, and CMA sections and forums, representing virtually every mode of practice and region of the state. CMA’sHouse of Delegates convenes annually to debate on the most important issues affecting members, the Association, and the practice of medicine.
You must be a CMA member to serve in the CMA House of Delegates. Ideal candidates will be team-oriented, passionate, constructive, energetic, knowledgeable on CMA policy, forward-thinking and willing to play an active role.
One-year term. Delegates are expected to attend the two-day CMA House of Delegates, which convenes annually in October. Delegates are also encouraged to participate in CMA’s virtual year-round resolution process, which operates on a quarterly schedule.
Delegates and alternate delegates are elected to serve in the House via several pathways, depending on the structure of each delegation.
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CMA Standing Councils and Committees
CMA councils and committees function as policy advisory bodies and report to the Board of Trustees on resolutions and other matters referred by the Board. Councils also function as reference committees of the House of Delegates and report to the House on matters as required by the CMA Bylaws.
Any active CMA member may be nominated to serve on a CMA Council or Subcommittee. Ideal candidates will be team-oriented, passionate, constructive, energetic, knowledgeable on CMA policy, forward-thinking and willing to play an active role in the delegation and support the goals of the delegation.No member of the association may serve as a voting member of more than 2 councils at the same time.
All councils (excluding the Council on Legislation) generally have a minimum of 9 members up to 15 members, excluding consultants. The Council on Legislation is much larger, consisting of approximately 72 members as specified in the CMA Bylaws. Subcommittees of Councils have a minimum of 3 and maximum of 7 members, excluding consultants.
The Board of Trustees may adjust the number and size of councils and subcommittees from time to time to accommodate changes in the practice of medicine, industry trends, available expertise, or level of interest in serving as evidenced by the number of nominations received.
CMA’s councils and subcommittees include:
- Council on Ethical, Legal and Judicial Affairs
- Subcommittee on Professional Liability
- Council on Health Professions and Quality of Care
- Subcommittee on Continuing Medical Education
- Subcommittee on Medical Board of California
- Subcommittee on Physician Wellness and Professional Satisfaction
- Council on Legislation
- Council on Medical Services
- Subcommittee on Health Information Technology
- Subcommittee on Medi-Cal
- Subcommittee on Medicare
- Subcommittee on Workers’ Compensation
- Council on Membership, Governance and Bylaws
- Council on Science and Public Health
Members of councils of serve for terms of 1 year, and are staggered to the extent feasible to promote continuity and retention of experience and expertise in each council. Service on a council is limited to a maximum of 6 years. Individuals who have served 6 years and whose particular experience and expertise are needed may be considered for appointment as consultants. Councils meet at least 4 times per year (including one in-person meeting in Sacramento) for a half day or full day depending on the size of the agenda. Subcommittees will meet on an as-needed basis either in-person or via teleconference. Regular and consistent attendance is a requirement for appointed members.
Nominations are accepted annually in February. When the nomination window is open, the form will be posted at cmadocs.org/nominations.
For more information, check out the Councils and Subcommittees Service FAQ sheet.
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CMA Technical Advisory Committees
CMA's technical advisory committees (TACs) are convened by and provide key input to the Board of Trustees to guide the association on specific topics. Recent examples include: Health Care Reform TAC, Diversity and Inclusion TAC, and Governance TAC.
Any active CMA member is eligible to apply to serve on a TAC. It would be preferable that candidates interested in serving on a TAC have experience and/or familiarity with CMA’s (or another organized medicine organization's) policies and programs in relation to the subject of the TAC.
Time commitment varies depending on the TAC. Typically, there would be at least one in-person meeting and a minimum of three virtual meetings over the span of a year.
Applications and Nominations are requested and submitted on an as-needed basis and are posted at cmadocs.org/nominations as there are openings.
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CMA Board of Trustees
CMA's Board of Trustees is comprised of CMA's seven elected officers and elected trustees from 11 regional districts, as well as elected trustees representing the Specialty Delegation, Medical Student Section, Resident and Fellow Section, Young Physician Section, Organized Medical Staff Section, Ethnic Medical Organization Section and Mode of Practice Forums.
In order to serve, you must be an active CMA member and be available to meet quarterly in person, and virtually as needed.
The CMA Board of Trustees meets in person quarterly, and remotely as needed throughout the year.
Each delegation, district, section and forum will elect one or more of its members to serve on the CMA Board of Trustees (BOT). Processes and requirements may vary.
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CMA Executive Committee
CMA's Executive Committee is comprised of seven officers, and their responsibilities encompass chairing the Board of Trustees, House of Delegates and/or Executive Committee, as well as serving as CMA spokespersons. Members of the CMA executive committee are elected to serve by their peers via the CMA House of Delegates.
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CMA Mode of Practice Forums
CMA’s mode of practice forums include the Solo and Small-Group Practice Forum, the Medium Group Practice Forum, the Large Group Practice Forum, the Very Large Group Practice Forum, the Academic Practice Forum, the Administrative Medicine Forum, the Government Employed and the Hospital-Based Physicians Forum. Membership in these forums is determined by each member’s self-selected mode of practice.
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CALPAC Board of Directors
The Board of Directors is the governing entity of CALPAC, CMA’s political organization to advocate for the welfare of physicians and patients through political advocacy, including supporting candidates for office. Members of the CALPAC Board of Directors play a critical role in educating candidates for office, encouraging physicians to participate in the political process, and raising funds to directly and indirectly support physicians and physician-friendly candidates for office.
All members of CMA in good standing (and executive employees of component medical societies) are invited to apply and will be considered for any positions for which they are eligible.
The available positions and their criteria are as follows:
- Eleven (11) physicians representing CMA Districts I-XI
- Up to Twelve (12) physicians chosen on an at-large basis
- One (1) physician who meets the criteria for the Young Physician Section
- One (1) resident or fellow
- One (1) medical student
- One (1) member of the CMA Organized Medical Staff Section
- One (1) member of the CMA Ethnic Medical Organization Section
- Two (2) executive employees of CMA component medical societies
Two-year term. Board members attend quarterly meetings, some of which are held virtually. In-person meetings are typically held around Legislative Advocacy Day (a weekday in mid-April) and House of Delegates (a weekend in late October). Board members are also expected to be politically active in their areas and attend candidate interviews in open seat races for the state Legislature and Congress.
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Physicians for a Healthy California Board of Directors
Physicians for a Healthy California (PHC) -- formerly known as the CMA Foundation -- is a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to improving community health, growing a diverse physician workforce and promoting health equity.
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CalHealthCares Advisory Council
The CalHealthCares loan repayment program works collaboratively to support and incentivize physicians and dentists to increase their participation in the Medi-Cal program. The CalHealthCares Advisory Council is responsible for providing recommendations and guidance on the program, including establishing eligibility criteria, drafting the program application, developing scoring guidelines and reviewing applications.
Advisory Council members should have some knowlege of the Medi-Cal program and physician workforce issues.
Each year the Advisory Council meets approximately 5 times, accordingly attendance and active participation is expected.
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CalMedForce Advisory Council
CalMedForce provides grant funding to graduate medical education programs, to train physicians and help California address its growing physician shortage. The CalMedForce Advisory Council is responsible for providing counsel on governance, policy, program and operations. This includes, but is not limited to, establishing grant eligibility and funding criteria, reviewing applications, making awardee recommendations, developing administrative and operational procedures, as well as program evaluation.
Advisory Council members should have knowlege of graduate medical education and physician workforce issues.
Each year the Advisory Council meets approximately 5 times, accordingly attendance and active participation is expected.
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