NC ACDIS Conference Committee: Responsibilities

Purpose and Responsibilities

Objective

The North Carolina Association of Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialists’ (NC ACDIS) Conference Committee works with the NC ACDIS board members to provide recommended educational topics, speakers, vendors, and door prizes for the spring, summer, and fall conferences to align the educational and networking events with the association’s core mission, the diverse needs of its membership, and the changing needs of the industry.

Essential responsibilities

Provide advice and insight to the administration regarding industry trends and educational needs of CDI professionals.
Contribute to meeting dialogue by providing educational recommendations and event considerations to fellow committee members.
Join fellow committee members and NC ACDIS board members on conference calls to discuss ongoing conference projects and potential opportunities.
- Note, the conference committee meets every other week in December, January, June, July, September, and October to maintain a rigorous regime of both meetings and offline required activities. Participants should have the full support of their administrators before volunteering.
Select all conference speakers, vendors, gifts, food, and posters for approval by the NC ACDIS administration.
Select NC ACDIS CDI of the Year Award winner.

Code of professional conduct

Volunteer members for Conference Committee are expected to exercise professionalism, diplomacy, and discretion when conducting all committee work. Professionally, committee members should hold themselves to the guiding principles of the national ACDIS Code of Ethics.

When topics of discussion arise on which the committee members disagree, members are expected to treat one another with respect and dignity. Committee members should leave their personal biases at the door and bring an open mind to discussions.

If a committee member is assigned a task which they are either unable to complete or do not feel comfortable completing, they should contact the committee coordinator immediately to ensure the work is covered.

Committee composition

The Conference Committee will consist roughly of three (3) members, including:

Three (3) members from the previous year’s Conference Committee to ensure continuity of practice and oversight. These members will be chosen by the administration.
A group of three (3) individuals with diverse backgrounds that broadly reflect the composition of the NC ACDIS membership and the CDI profession at large.
NC ACDIS President-Elect. The NC ACDIS President-Elect will facilitate meetings (i.e., set up the conference calls), set meeting agendas, and follow up on the committee’s progress on various tasks as assigned between meetings to ensure the meetings run smoothly and everyone comes prepared.

NC ACDIS members in good standing may apply to serve on the committee.

Term duration and prerogatives

Conference Committee memberships will be evaluated annually and reappointment decisions will be rendered based on editorial needs, the given committee member’s past contributions, and continued desire to serve.

Those needing to step down from volunteer duties due to a change in position, family obligations, or other matter may do so at any time but should provide a 30-day notice to the coordinator to maintain continuity of the group and to allow a replacement volunteer to be identified.

Any volunteer who does not fulfill the expectations of the committee and does not communicate with the NC ACDIS administration in a timely manner may be asked to step aside to allow a new volunteer to be chosen to maintain the continuity of the work.

In return for their important work, active committee members will receive the following benefits for the duration of their service:

Public recognition on the NC ACDIS website’s Boards and Committees page.
50% off (e.g., NC ACDIS conference price) to the spring, summer, and fall conferences. Please note that committee members are responsible for their own travel and accommodation expenses.

Responsibilities and Process

The Conference Committee will meet on an ongoing basis to discuss speaker selection, vendors, door prizes, food, and poster selection of the upcoming conference.

Note: All descriptions of review activities, including projected timeframes are approximations. The scope of the committee work may vary between seasons due to the proximity to the conference dates, changing editorial needs, and CDI industry trends. That said, the President and President-Elect will work to modulate the expected due dates for materials as necessary to ensure the committee workload remains balanced and manageable throughout the year. Please also note that the volunteering committee does require roughly a full year of service and, at times, may require several meetings before each conference. Volunteers should have the support and backing of their manager/administrative team before stepping forward to serve.

Task 1: Speakers

For the conferences, the NC ACDIS President will work with the Conference Committee regarding speakers and topic suggestions. The NC ACDIS administration will train incoming committee members regarding expectations for future speakers and topics.

Task 2: Vendors

For the conferences, the NC ACDIS President will work with the Conference Committee regarding vendors to help pay for food and booths. The NC ACDIS administration will train incoming committee members regarding expectations for reaching out to vendors for donations.

Task 3: Gifts

For the conferences, the NC ACDIS President-Elect will work with the Conference Committee to get door prizes and gifts for speakers. The NC ACDIS administration will train incoming committee members regarding expectations for door prizes and gifts for speakers.

Task 4: Food

For the conferences, the NC ACDIS Treasurer will work with the Conference Committee regarding breakfast and lunch. The NC ACDIS administration will train incoming committee members regarding expectations for breakfast and lunch.

Task 5: Poster presentation selection

The NC ACDIS conference also offers opportunities for poster presentations which provide attendees with more personal interaction and networking related to a narrow field of focus. NC ACDIS has space for up to 5 presentations in this category.

If the need arises, NC ACDIS administrators may review the poster applications to ensure a diversity of topics, facilitate collaboration on the occasion of topic overlap, and seek to maintain the highest level of quality in the presentations provided.

Volunteers may, if the need arises, follow a review process similar to that used for speakers and meet at least once to discuss their reviews and finalize selections.

Task 6: NC ACDIS CDI of the Year Award nominations

NC ACDIS CDI of the Year Award nomination and selection process pertains to the main, Fall conference event only.

Once criteria are set, the NC ACDIS administration will publicize these criteria and collect nominations via its online submission process.

Board members will review these submissions and discuss their findings over a meeting typically in August.

Task 7: Onsite duties

Volunteers are not mandated to attend the event. However, those who chose to do so receive 50% off their admission to the conferences. Volunteer attendees will receive a ribbon distinguishing them as committee members and will be recognized by the NC ACDIS administration during opening remarks.

Volunteers are encouraged to meet with each other socially and to engage with attendees regarding their experiences on the committee.

Ongoing duties

Although each committee’s major activities center around the scheduled meetings, committee members are encouraged to remain engaged in their work throughout the year. The following are key ways to keep active:

Notify the coordinator when something on the NC ACDIS website appears to need updates.
Bring forward “hot topics” to NC ACDIS administration for future conferences.
Look for gaps, discrepancies, and other potential deficiencies in NC ACDIS offerings and inform the committee coordinator of potential opportunities for committee work.
Share suggestions for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the committee’s work.

Please direct all feedback to NC ACDIS President.