AAFP member constituencies

The AAFP prioritizes community and connection for our members. Here’s how you can find your family within family medicine—colleagues and mentors with common areas of interest and a drive to turn discussion into action.

Member constituencies represent AAFP members who experience systemic barriers, cultural challenges, and socio-economic issues within medical institutions, among physicians, and in their communities. These groups may be underrepresented in leadership roles at both national and chapter levels, encounter obstacles in accessing traditional leadership pathways, or experience disparities that necessitate intentional representation and advocacy within AAFP.

Member constituencies are part of the AAFP commission on membership and member services. The constituencies include:

Once a year, AAFP chapters send one delegate to the National Conference of Constituency Leaders (NCCL) to represent each of the constituencies, where they voice their passion about issues important to family medicine, as well as elect leaders to represent their interests.

Chapter delegates collaborate to develop resolutions seeking the AAFP’s action (e.g., influence policy, request investigation or implementation of a program, address other issues of concern), debate the merits of those resolutions during live reference committee hearings, and vote on their disposition during full business sessions.

Each reference committee includes chapter delegates from every constituency plus any named observers. They are tasked with

• listening to all viewpoints expressed during committee hearings;
• meeting in executive session to decide based on that testimony and their own knowledge whether to recommend that delegates adopt the original measure or a substitute, not adopt it, or reaffirm it as current policy; and
• reaching consensus and developing a consent calendar to present to the full business session for action

This article walks you through the NCCL process.

NCCL is an important step in the governance process, but measures adopted at the conference do not automatically become AAFP policy.