The secretary,
appointed by the head among the members, shall have the following
responsibilities:
1.
record and document all the meetings and the activities of the SIG
2.
disseminate information regarding the SIG and its activities to its
members
3.
keep and update the list of members
4.
serve as auditor of the group
The
SIG Head will serve tenure of one year. The Head may seek a re-election
the following year and may only hold the position for two consecutive
years. In case the SIG Head fails to complete his/her term, the PPTA CE
Committee Head will appoint an OIC who will act as head till the end of
the year/next election.
Working
committees within the group shall be informed in a per project basis.
Each SIG shall
draft its own objectives, congruent to the objectives set by the
professional organization for special interest groups. The SIG shall draw
up activities, for approval by the PPTA Board of Directors and Officers.
Should the PPTA come up with a suggested activity for a specific SIG, they
shall be informed accordingly through the head of the Continuing Education
committee and the SIG head.
When
the members of the Occupational Therapy Association of the Philippines (OTAP)
and the Philippine Association of Speech Pathologists (PASP) are ready to
join the special interest group organized by the PPTA or initiate an SIG
open to physical therapists, the professional members shall be answerable
to his/her respective professional association.
Membership
in an SIG is voluntary and is not mutually exclusive. Therefore a PPTA
member may choose to become a member of more than one group. However,
since SIG is a group of experts or soon-to-be experts, it is advisable for
a member to be recognized in just one field of expertise.
Only
members of the professional organization may become members of any of the
special interest groups. Interested
individuals may signify their intentions to the head of the group they
wish to participate in.
Non-PPTA
members may attend SIG activities but they have to become PPTA members
within one month for them to be allowed to continue with their
participation. Moreover,
members of the SIG who failed to attend three consecutive meetings without
any valid reason will be considered an inactive member. In such a case,
the inactive member will not be informed nor invited to any group activity
or meeting. Active membership status will be regained provided that the
member attends a meeting.
The
Committee on Elections (COMELEC) is composed of the head and two members
duly appointed by the Continuing Education Committee head among the
members of a particular special interest group. They all must be members
of the Philippines Physical Therapy Association (PPTA). The COMELEC is in
charge of activities relating to the election of the head of an SIG.
These activities will address the nominations and screening of
nominees, the registration of voters and election proper.
The
nominee for the SIG head must meet the following eligibility requirements:
-
A
duly licensed and registered physical therapist;
-
A
member of the PPTA
-
Currently
practicing in the special field of interest;
-
Has
at least one-year PT related work experience, either in the academe or
in the clinics, but not necessarily focused on the field of interest;
and
-
A
member of the SIG who has actively participated in activities of
the group through involvement in committee work.
SIG
The
nominator must be a member of the PPTA and of the SIG. Members of the
COMELEC and the Head of the PPTA Continuing Education Committee (CEC) are
not allowed to nominate or be a nominee.
The
COMELEC will decide as to when the nominations will be formally opened,
preferably during an activity of the SIG. Requirements for nomination will
include a duly accomplished nomination form and other supporting documents
(e.g. photocopy of the nominee’s professional license and PPTA
membership card, and of the nominator’s PPTA membership card).
Nominations shall be passed to and received by the Head of the PPTA CE
Committee and the two COMELEC members. Deadline for submission of nomination is set at 5:00 p.m., 10
working days prior to elections. Screening of nominees will be conducted
by the three-member COMELEC. Nominees
may be disqualified from seeking office based on the eligibility
requirements. All nominees will be informed of the decision of the COMELEC
by the 5th working day prior to elections.
The decision of the committee shall be final.
Qualified nominees will be requested to be present during the
elections for the formal presentation of nominees.
Any nominee who will be absent during the election must give prior
notice and a valid reason either personally or through the nominator to
the COMELEC. The COMELEC will try to send a copy of the list of qualified
nominees to members of the SIG prior to elections.
Failure
of nominations is declared in the event that no nomination is received by
the set deadline or in the event that no nominee met the eligibility
requirements. In case there is a failure of nominations, the COMELEC may,
in its discretion, allow oral nominations on the actual election date,
provided that the eligibility requirements are met. In the event that
there is only one nominee, a confidence vote (2/3 of the votes cast) in
favor of the said nominee is required for the declaration.
The
COMELEC will also decide the date of the actual elections. Only members of
the SIG who are PPTA members would be allowed to vote. Members of the
COMELEC are not allowed to vote. The election is to be conducted by secret
ballot.
Opening
and canvassing of votes will commence after all votes have been cast.
Valid votes shall be those fall within the following conditions: correct
spelling of the full name of the nominee; correct spelling of just the
first name or surname of the nominee provided that no other nominee has
the same first or last name; and incorrect spelling of full, first of last
name provided that the name written on the ballot has a strong resemblance
in pronunciation of the actual name of the nominee, and that provided it
agrees with the preceding item. Combination of names of different
nominees; and incorrect spelling of full, first or last name of nominee
that does not have strong resemblance in pronunciation to actual name of
nominee shall be considered invalid votes.
The nominees
garnering the most number of votes shall be declared the SIG Head.
In
view of the cited definition and objectives, the activities of the SIG may
include the following:
-
Creation
of a list of specialists on a particular field of physical therapy based
on the members of the SIG
-
Hold
continuing professional education activities for SIG members and other
professionals including non-SIG members (e.g. round table discussions,
case conferences, seminars workshops, journal clubs, post-graduate
courses)
-
Provision
of physical therapy services to the general public in coordination with
the Special Projects Committee (e.g. information campaign, free clinic)
-
Conduct
research related to the particular field of interest
-
Hold
fund-raising activities in coordination with the Ways and Means Committee
It
is encouraged that each group would come up with more creative and
effective activities in line with their objectives.
In instances when an activity necessitates coordinating with
committees other than Continuing Education, the CE committee shall serve
as the conduit of communication between the parties involved.
The
SIG functions like a committee of the PPTA therefore the Treasurer of the
association will still hold its money. The money will be disbursed to the
SIG head as necessary and a financial report must be submitted
accordingly. Initially, PhP 5,000 will be given by the Association to the
SIG for its activities, after which, they must finance their activities
independently. It is expected
that the SIG would be self-sustaining after a reasonable amount of time of
operation. Should they need more than the stipulated amount, the
Treasurer may “lend” money as approved by the board, which the SIG
must repay. Net profit generated
by the SIG shall be divided as follows: 25% to the PPTA and 75% to the
SIG.
As
more SIGs are created, an assistant treasurer of the Association will be
appointed when the need arises.
