ABR Board of Governors Seeks Qualified Applicants

By Robert M. Barr, MD, ABR President, and Cheri L. Canon, MD, ABR President-elect

2022;15(5):4

The American Board of Radiology (ABR) is seeking qualified applicants to serve on its Board of Governors. Individual members of the Board of Governors typically have a broad range of experience in some combination of clinical practice, professional society activity, educational roles, and leadership positions. We are requesting individuals to consider nominating themselves for appointment to the Board in 2023. Interested candidates must be board certified by the ABR and participating in Continuing Certification (MOC). Qualified applicants may be from either academic or nonacademic practice environments. 

Interested candidates should have:

• An understanding of the relationship between medicine and health policy, and knowledge of medical education, training, and certification.
• In-depth knowledge and expertise which supplements that otherwise represented on the Board of Governors such as business and finance, health policy, information technology used in health care settings, health system management, quality improvement science, outcomes research, patient advocacy, or patient communication/satisfaction.
• Skills and experience that will help the ABR achieve its strategic agenda.

Here is a link to the full description of the position, requirements for consideration, and the application process.

As background, the ABR was incorporated in 1934 as a nonprofit; our mission is to “certify that our diplomates demonstrate the requisite knowledge, skill, and understanding of their disciplines to the benefit of patients.” In support of this mission, the Board of Governors (BOG) is responsible for the corporate powers, business, and affairs of the ABR; this oversight role is consistent with the fiduciary duties owed by the board members of a nonprofit organization: the “duty of care,” “duty of loyalty,” and “duty of obedience.”¹ The members of the BOG are selected by the Board itself and are, by intention and shared understanding, not representative of a particular constituency. This construct (“functional” rather than “representational”²) is important to maintain independent decision-making that directly supports the mission.

1. Duty of Care: Take care of the nonprofit by ensuring prudent use of all assets, including facility, people, and good will. Duty of Loyalty: Ensure that the nonprofit’s activities and transactions are, first and foremost, advancing its mission; Recognize and disclose conflicts of interest; Make decisions that are in the best interest of the nonprofit corporation, not in the best interest of the individual board member (or any other individual or for-profit entity). Duty of Obedience: Ensure that the nonprofit obeys applicable laws and regulations, follows its own bylaws, and adheres to its stated corporate purposes/mission. “Board Roles and Responsibilities.” National Council of Nonprofits. https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/tools-resources/board-roles-and-responsibilities. Accessed 9/22/22.
2. MacDonald, G. 2016. “Representative boards: Good idea?” Governing Good.  https://www.governinggood.ca/representative-boards-good-idea/

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