What’s in a Name?

That’s exactly the question for the Name Change Task Force.  The group members have a variety of perspective from our seasoned members (who can recall our first name change 20 years ago from the Section on OBGYN) to our student members; those working on both a national and international level (and to follow up on Lori Mize’s blog post “Are we a girls club?”), we have male representation as well!  The Task Force Members are:  Carrie Pagliano (Chair), Secili DeStefano, Dan Kirages, Rebecca Stephenson, Jill Boissonnault, Mikki Townshend, Tamra Wroblesky.

Where are we in the process?

The Task Force administered a brief online poll in Feb/March to gauge interest in discussing a potential name change.  Over 200 members responded, with the majority supporting further inquiry into the possibility of a name change.   Since that time, the task force has been gathering information regarding other Section name changes including APTA processes that we would have to undergo and use of consultants to identify potential names that make sense to members, the public, potential clients and referral sources.

Our task is unique compared to other Sections:  HPA didn’t completely change their name… (HPA:  The Catalyst); and other Sections are looking into becoming “The Academy of…” as opposed to “The Section on…”  All Sections have to vote on another Section who wishes to change their name (it’s in our bylaws), and this is even after the Section’s membership votes on that specific name.  This aspect of the process can take up to a year.  This is in addition to the time that the Section takes to select a new name and have their membership vote to support it.

Our timeline…

One goal of the task force is to have a name supported by membership vote for submission to the APTA deadline in late spring/early summer 2016.  This translates into a lot of ground to cover by our Section in the next year!  The Task Force is currently accepting proposals from outside consultants to help to identify what our current “reach” of our name, what’s going on nationally/internationally and help us explore options for a potential name change.  We are asking for proposals to take into consideration our membership, practice patterns/DSP, patients and referral sources.  The Task Force plans to have selected a consultant by October in order to get things moving quickly and be able to utilize venues such at CSM to get as much member input in as many ways possible!

Be on the look out!

CSM roundtable discussion, Board at the Bar, member interviews, focus groups, etc; these are just a few examples of ways in which we hope to gather more information regarding the effects of a potential name change and possible names.  Above all, the task force hopes to facilitate this process in the most complete, fiscally responsible and respectful way possible.  We want to respect our history and plan for our future!  No small feat!