Vision
Since 2022, the New Brunswick Medical Society (NBMS) has been on a journey to transform its governance structure, to align itself with best practices, and to be more strategic, efficient and effective in supporting New Brunswick physicians.
The vision of what the NBMS could become was born by its own members. The Governance Review Committee (GRC) and then Board of Directors (Board) collected extensive member feedback and insights. These were then distilled into recommendations that were presented back to the membership at the 2024 Annual General Meeting (AGM). Members voted 88% in favour of a leaner Board, a streamlined committee structure, and a modernization of membership categories and internal governance policies.
Transition
To guide the NBMS from the 2024 AGM to the 2025 AGM, the Nominations and Appointments Committee (NAC) and NBMS staff worked diligently to navigate the transition. The NAC made recommendations to the NBMS Board of Directors (Board) on standardized terms of reference for the new committee structure. They also reviewed a new nominations webpage for members to apply to Board and Committee positions. These tasks were completed by the end of 2024, and keeping to the transition plan, the NAC began canvassing for nominations in early 2025.
The NAC sought nominations for the new positions on the Board in January and February, while calls for nominations for Standing Committees and Subcommittees were made in February and March. The NAC promoted these opportunities to the membership through various means including a Virtual Town Hall event, eBulletin postings, President’s Letters, and by directly connecting with District Medical Society Presidents and Medical Staff Office Leads throughout the province. In total, 80+ applications were received – an incredible show of engagement from the NBMS membership.
When the NAC sat down to review, deliberate and recommend nominees, the committee members did not have an easy task before them. Their mandate was to ensure that both the new Board and committee structure would be broadly representative of the membership, that many voices would be reflected from around the province. In March and May of 2025, the NAC met in person at the NBMS offices to carry out its responsibility of recommending new Board and Committee members.
Implementation
The NAC’s Board recommendations were published as part of the 2024 Annual Report, pursuant to the NBMS Bylaws, while the NAC’s Committee recommendations were set out in a report to be considered by the soon-to-be elected new Board.
Dr. Allison Kennedy, Chair of the NAC, presented the committee’s Board recommendations to the membership at the 2025 AGM held on Friday, May 30. At that time, the nominated candidates were officially elected by their peers to the NBMS Board of Directors.
On Sunday, June 1, this new Board met for the first time, and one of its first orders of business was to review the Committee member recommendations put forward by the NAC. The new Board unanimously approved the appointment of members to the new NBMS committee structure.
The new NBMS committees will begin holding their first meetings over the coming months. They will work toward maintaining corporate continuity, while bringing fresh perspectives to the NBMS.
Future Governance
The GRC and former Board created the vision, the NAC oversaw the transition and implementation, and now, the newly appointed NBMS Governance Committee will carry the governance torch into the future.
The Governance Committee will monitor and manage organizational governance practices, review and update terms of reference and policies, provide governance orientation to new Board and Committee members, oversee calls for nominations and motions, and promote transparency, accountability and effective member engagement in all aspects of the NBMS.
Reflecting on what has been accomplished, Dr. Kennedy had these words to share: “This has been an incredible and rapid journey for us. Over the past year, our organization has completely updated its governance model. I feel that the new commitment to a permanent Governance Committee will help keep the NBMS leadership structure both strong and relevant. The NAC members were fortunate to have been part of this transition.”
Congratulations and thank you to all physician members who were part of this organizational transformation – your dedication, insight and advocacy have made the NBMS more member-focused than ever.
Emily Gaunce, Legal Counsel
