By Helen Fernandes, PhD (fernande@umdnj.edu) and
Rick Press, MD, PhD (pressr@ohsu.edu), Co-Chairs,
Membership and Professional Development Committee

The Membership and Professional Development Committee (MPDC) had a successful start-up in 2008. The purpose of the Committee was to promote the mission of AMP by increasing involvement of members and increase the visibility of AMP through national and international collaborations. Over the past year the four-member Committee (Helen Fernandes and Rick Press, Co-Chairs; Robyn Temple-Smolkin and Shuji Ogino, members) worked with Mary Williams and the AMP Council to establish the following:

·         Clarified eligibility and benefits for the “Emeritus” membership category.

·         An online application process where interested members can sign up for assisting the various committees.

·         Screening process for helping the committees in the selection of the most appropriate candidate(s) for working groups and assignments.

·         A Volunteer management system to keep track of applicants and their interests.

·         Guidelines for set up of international chapters with sister organizations that specialize in Molecular Pathology.

·         Surveys that are circulated to AMP members to assess and improve the performance within the organization.

The MPDC is currently in the process of responding to the requests of AMP members to develop local interest groups where AMP members can meet to discuss and promote the education and developmental needs of the discipline of Molecular Pathology.