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information would be shared with all of the other active county medical societies.” That statement misconstrues the county societies’ request for information that prior to October 2020 was available to them. The bylaws change proposed by the reference committee makes no sense in the context of the underlying issue. This one, too, I voted to extract.
The WCMS Executive Council discussed the process at a recent meeting in which we reviewed the reference committee reports. One of our members, who had served on a reference committee for the first time, said they felt ‘pressured’ to move toward pre-determined conclusions and could not explain how the final amended versions had been reached. More than one delegate lamented the absence of the passion and political persuasion that an in-person reference committee meeting – and the conversations that take place before and after – that leads to better mutual understanding of issues. Virtual meetings are frequently impersonal, distant, and deficient when the goal is consensus building.
It was interesting to see how many resolutions were considered for extraction: 15 of 25. That seems like a lot.
There can be no question that to be effective, the HOD process must enable delegates to immerse themselves in the job at hand. This requires time and concentration. When delegates are sequestered (more or less) for two or three days away from their day-to-day distractions – assuming that is possible in today’s electronically connected world – there is opportunity for immersion,
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which can lead to insight and understanding, or confusion and consternation that requires clarification.
Maybe it’s COVID fatigue, I don’t know, but I have found it hard to stay focused this year. In my first reading of the resolutions, prior to the reference committee meetings, I looked at the composition of the resolutions, who wrote them, how well they were written, whether there were extraneous whereas clauses, and most of all what the resolved statements said. In retrospect, that first reading (like all first readings) was superficial. Reading the comments of others, unfortunately, didn’t help improve my understanding. There was no debate. The process was unimpeded by contrary opinion, which might have forced deeper thinking.
Our primary goal as a society this year needs to be to get everyone vaccinated so we can once again meet in person, and immerse ourselves in arguments, elbow- rubbing, and conversation. A second goal should be to assess what we have learned about virtual meetings and see if there are ways they can be used to improve the process in the future. Those are resolutions we didn’t see, but should have had to vote on. •
*The Washtenaw County Medical Society annually selects leaders to serve at the House of Delegates. The number of delegates is proportionally depen- dent on the county’s annual membership total. Thirteen delegates served at this year’s meeting. If you are interested in joining the WCMS delegation, please contact the Society Office.
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Washtenaw County Medical Society BULLETIN
APRIL/MAY/JUNE 2021