ACMG Committees

The Board of Directors of the College shall have the powers and duties ordinarily delegated to the governing body of a corporation, including: maintaining legal authority and responsibility; establishing general administrative procedures and transacting the general business of the College; adopting rules and regulations governing membership; reviewing and approval of all College statements and documents to be released to the public or to be submitted to a body outside of the College; establishing principles of professional conduct; and maintaining good relationships with other medical organizations, allied medical professionals, the public, and various constituencies.

The Advocacy and Government Affairs Committee shall explore and report on public policies developed by government entities, such as the U.S. Congress, State Legislatures, and Federal Agencies, that impact the application of genetics and genomics in health care. The Committee will work closely with public policy staff to develop positions, comment on legislation and multi-organizational letters, and advise on government affairs advocacy activities. When appropriate, the committee shall study, evaluate, and prepare information for dissemination to members of the College, legislators or to the public, subject to approval by the Board of Directors. When appropriate, the Committee will identify a liaison to other committees or workgroups of the College developing documents that may impact public policy (e.g., Economics, SELI, Lab QA).

In 2003 the ABMS (American Board of Medical Specialties) began to develop an expanded four part Maintenance of Certification plan that each member Board would be required to have in place by 2009. This four part MOC plan is uniform across Boards in concept, but can vary somewhat in the specifics. The long term plan for the Continuing Certification Program (CCP formerly MOC) committee is to provide ongoing guidance to the ABMGG and the ACMG in their efforts to develop the practical application of these plans. The vision for this joint committee is to use the experience and perspective of each committee member on questions of timing, scope of activities, as well as to guide the development practice improvement modules.

The Education and Professional Development Committee shall (1) study and evaluate various aspects of medical genetics education; (2) review and recommend proposed changes in medical genetics education; (3) consider and recommend means by which the College may provide information, direction, and leadership in the field of medical genetics education; (4) consider and recommend policies and procedures by which clinical and laboratory geneticists may be assisted in maintaining their professional competence, including continuing medical genetics education, and develop criteria whereby such achievement may be recognized; and (5) plan, organize, and conduct various educational activities of the College.

The ACMG International Outreach and Engagement Committee shall endeavor in investigating and understanding the landscape of clinical genomics as a medical specialty globally. Members of this committee, each representing a different country/region/continent, shall act as ambassadors to explore the current state of global Genetics and Genomics and conduct activities to disseminate the knowledge of genomics using tools developed by ACMG. The activities of this committee will include a path to promote ACMG's mission and international commitment in the field of Genetics and Genomics through education, shared resources, and engagement with our international colleagues through collaborations and mentorship.

The Membership Committee shall be composed of a Chair, Vice-Chair, Board Liaison, and six ACMG members in good standing appointed by the President. The committee shall (1) review applications for membership in the College and recommend qualified applicants to the Board of Directors for election to membership; (2) annually review the membership of the College to determine whether action is needed to maintain a proportional Fellowship and recommend such action, when necessary, to the Board of Directors; (3) periodically reassess membership classes and qualifications and report their findings to the Board of Directors; (4) develop programs for the promotion and retention of membership in the College; and (5) consider applicants' petitions for exceptions to membership qualifications and recommend appropriate exceptions, if any, to the Board of Directors.

The Program Committee shall be composed of the Chair, Vice-chair, and up to 20 ACMG members in good standing representing the different disciplines of medical genetics and composed as follows: approximately half of whom are, certified in clinical genetics or PhD medical genetics and half in a laboratory genetics specialty; one associate member, one trainee member, and one member recommended by the SIMD. In addition, the President, President-Elect, and Education Committee Liaison and DEI Committee Liaison, each of whom serves ex officio. The committee shall plan and develop the educational content of the annual meeting of the College. The Program Committee seeks innovative topics and session formats, to improve the quality of education offered at the meeting.

The purpose of the Topic Selection Committee is to support the process of selecting topics for evidence-based guideline development, inclusive of both the EBG and systematic evidence review (SER) program. The Topic Selection Committee evaluates and determines if a topic is a high priority and should be recommended to the ACMG Board of Directors for approval; if a topic is a moderate priority and the proposal should be retained for future consideration; or if a topic is a low priority and be removed from consideration. In addition, the committee maintains a list of proposals of potential priority topics for the ACMG Board of Directors. All ACMG members, as well as ACMG committees, are welcomed and encouraged to submit topics for review.