PhiDE Board Representative Positions
I have had the privilege and opportunity to serve on the International Board in all three representative roles. The three representative positions are: premedical representative, medical student representative, and the resident/fellow representative. The experiences I have had serving in these roles have been some of the most important and impactful on my career so far. The applications for all three of these positions will be released in the coming weeks to months, so I wanted to answer some FAQ’s about these opportunities for this month’s newsletter.
Please note this is just my perspective and summarization. Please refer to the applications for a full list of formal requirements.
What is the International Board?
The Phi Delta Epsilon International Board is the governing body that oversees the entire fraternity. You can read the PhiDE website for the full list of members. It is composed of our CEO, Board Members (graduate physicians, Resident/Fellow Representatives, a Premedical Student Representative and a Medical Student Representative). The Board Members will work in multiple sub-committees as well. Karen Katz, the CEO, and her staff oversee and execute all of the day-to-day functioning of the fraternity and manage all chapters directly. The Board oversees things from a higher level, “ensuring long-term success of the organization while ensuring it fulfills its mission”. Overall, the Board looks at things like trends of the fraternity, retention and expansion, strategic planning, budgeting and finance, etc. All discussions are confidential.
Logistically:
The Board will meet approximately once monthly virtually and twice a year in-person. The various subcommittees will meet as needed depending on their ongoing projects and goals. The Executive Committee is composed of The President (Dr. Stitzlein), Vice President (Dr. Ghodadra), and Karen Katz CEO, and they tend to meet the most often.
What is the Role of the Premedical and Medical Student Representatives?
Each year the International Board selects two students, who will serve a one-year term. The student representatives are full voting members of The Board. Their job is to represent the interests and perspective of the students. They also serve as another contact point and mentor to the chapters they represent. The student representatives will survey the chapters and prepare a report twice a year for the in-person meetings. There are currently approximately 70-80 Premedical Chapters and 25-30 Medical Chapters.
The Student Representatives report to and work directly with the CEO (and it is a huge privilege to work with Karen Katz).
Your flight and hotel for attending the in-person meetings and some Leadership Institutes will be covered by the fraternity.
Beyond some of those logistics and basic requirements, the positions are largely student-driven, meaning you can make what you want of the experience. Each representative brings a unique perspective, chooses to serve in their own unique ways, and takes up projects that are of particular interest to them. Some representatives focus on meeting individually with chapters, focus heavily on specific goals, etc. As I’ve mentioned before, when I was chosen as a student representative, it inspired me to start this blog!
What is the Role of the Resident/Fellow Representatives?
Each year the International Board selects a Resident/Fellow Representative as well, who will serve a two-year term. This is one of the newer roles on The Board; I am actually only the third Resident/Fellow Representative! Since this role is so new, there is a lot of freedom and opportunity to make what you want of it. This year Dr. Chandran and I created a new type of presentation at the Leadership Institutes, and we continue to work on programming to increase Resident/Fellow involvement and opportunities. We also report to the CEO.
Your flight and hotel for attending the in-person meetings and some Leadership Institutes will be covered by the fraternity.
Residency and Fellowship are such demanding times, and the expectations and requirements absolutely take this into account. I am serving in this role during the busiest year of residency (for my program our second year is the most demanding), and it definitely takes some planning ahead but it is very doable and I love it.
Who Should Apply?
Any PhiDE member in good standing can apply!
Would you do it again?
Absolutely. The leadership and mentorship opportunities, professional development, and (my personal favorite) the chance to foster lifetime PhiDE friendships have been some of the most important in my career so far. This journey to being a doctor is long and difficult, but being part of PhiDE has made the journey so much more enjoyable and memorable.
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions! We look forward to seeing your applications :).
Thank you for such a detailed and yet personal description of your involvement and journey in this processes. It is truly an inspiration to the future colleagues in your profession. You are truly an inspiration.