White Coat
Last active term
Club Name
The name of the club will be White Coat. We are not agent or representative of the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA), and our views and actions in no way represent the WUSA.
Governance
The club will uphold the values, mission, and mandate of both the University of Waterloo (UW) and WUSA through following the directives outlined in the WUSA Clubs Manual, all WUSA By-Laws, Policies, and Procedures, as well as all policies and procedures outlined by the UW Secretariat. Furthermore, the club will abide by all laws of the Region of Waterloo, Province of Ontario, and Government of Canada. All club matters will ultimately be governed by the WUSA Clubs Manager.
Purpose
The purpose of the club is to gather University of Waterloo students, staff, faculty and members of the UW community at large to
collaborate and share healthcare expertise relating to self-care practices, health trends, and common ailments. Examples of self-care practices include oral hygiene, skin health, and other lifestyle measures. Health trends include health technologies, antimicrobial stewardship, health issues and fads, etc. Common ailments include pain, fever, headache, etc. It is fundamentally a student-run, interactive, workshop-based education program supported by additional social events.
Club events, activities, and/or initatives will include
educational seminars to discuss health-related topics. The club will also hold debates, social/community events, group games, fundraisers, seminars, and/or workshops.
Membership Structure
The club will be fully inclusive and welcoming to both its current and potential membership. New membership is welcome and accepted at any time during a club’s active term. Eligible club members may be current: WUSA Members, as outlined by the WUSA By-Laws; UW graduate students; UW staff or faculty; and/or members of the UW community at large, as defined in the Clubs Manual.
Only current UW students (graduate or undergraduate) may hold voting membership within the club. UW Staff, faculty, and members of the UW community at large may hold non-voting membership within the club. (If Applicable) UW undergrad students who are eligible to obtain voting membership in the club who do not wish to pay the club membership fee at the time of joining may hold non-voting membership within the club. Voting membership can be obtained for said members by paying the membership fee.
At least two thirds of the club's membership must be current UW students (graduate or undergraduate).
Membership Fee
Executive Officers
The majority of executives will be current UW students (graduate or undergraduate). The club president will be a current UW undergraduate student. All club executives will be elected, not hired or appointed. The term of office for all executive positions is one academic term, as outlined by the UW Registrar’s Office. All club decisions will be determined by executive vote, as no executive officer (not even the President) holds decision making power for the collective.
The President ensures that:
- The club operates according to the guidelines of its constitution and some agreed upon guidelines for running a meeting, such as Robert's Rules of Order;
- The club works towards its objectives as agreed upon by the membership; and
- Their successor is trained.
- The President must be willing to keep current with health information relevant to the role by consulting appropriate resources and contacts, such as peer-reviewed meta-analyses, clinical guidelines/literature, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, public health, or AHS/Pharmacy Faculty members. Health knowledge is an asset but not required. The President does not hold power to make decisions for the whole group. Rather, he/she engages in the practice of team-based decision making.
The President is a signing authority.
The VP Administration ensures that:
- Records of what the group has done are maintained, distributed, and are accessibile to all the members;
- Meeting minutes/notes are recorded and made available to all voting members;
- All club correspondence is monitored and brought to the attention of the appropriate person(s);
- Their successor is trained.
The VP Administration is a signing authority.
The VP Finance ensures that:
- The club's WUSA bank account and all financial transactions for the club are monitored and verified;
- All club revenues are collected, deposited into the club's WUSA bank account, and reconciled correctly and within a timely manner;
- Club cheque requests are submitted correctly and in a timely manner; and
- Their successor is trained.
The VP Finance is a signing authority.
The VP External ensures that:
- - trains the next VP External.
- - oversees Design Coordinators; and
- - plans club events, including purchasing materials, setting up events, drafting schedules, and running group activities;
- - coordinates room bookings and organization of any club events.
- - manages all social events and general club meetings.
- Ensures that the next VP External is trained.
The VP Communication ensures that:
- - trains the next VP Communication.
- - oversees and supports Engagement Officers; and
- - manages the club email and periodically updates the club’s social media webpage(s);
- - maintains the communication network between executives and members via email and social media;
- Ensures that the next VP Communication is trained.
The VP Education ensures that:
- - trains the next VP Education.
- - schedules rehearsals, and revises, edits, and approves the final draft before it is delivered to general audience members; and
- - oversees Student Facilitators and offers suggestions for improvement;
- - schedules and develops health topics to be presented throughout the term;
- - willing to keep current with health information relevant to the role by consulting appropriate resources and contacts, such as peer-reviewed meta-analyses, clinical guidelines/literature, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, public health, or AHS/Pharmacy Faculty members: health knowledge is an asset but not required;
- Ensures that the next VP Education is trained.
The Student Facilitator ensures that:
- - trains the next Student Facilitator.
- - reports to VP Education; and
- - upholds professionalism in the delivery of presentations;
- - holds a practice session with his/her partner prior to the presentation date;
- - ensures presentations convey accurate evidence-based information and audience-friendly language;
- - researches and creates content to be creatively presented to general members;
- - willing to keep current with health information relevant to the role by consulting appropriate resources and contacts, such as peer-reviewed meta-analyses, clinical guidelines/literature, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, public health, or AHS/Pharmacy Faculty members: health knowledge is an asset but not required;
- Ensures that the next Student Facilitator is trained.
The Engagement Officer ensures that:
- - trains the next Engagement Officer.
- - reports to VP Communication; and
- - promotes the events of the club to ensure publicity and maximal participation;
- - emails professors and promotes events on social media as delegated by VP Communication;
- - delivers professional lecture hall announcements in class;
- Ensures that the next Engagement Officer is trained.
The Design Coordinator ensures that:
- - trains the next Design Coordinator.
- - reports to VP External; and
- - develops a professional, positive brand image for the club through the use of visual communication;
- - designs artistic and promotional creations of the club, including but not limited to creating posters, advertisements, flyers, brochures, banners, logos, and display boards for use within the club;
- Ensures that the next Design Coordinator is trained.
It is important to assure that the person with the most information and/or knowledge in the club is not the full-time chairperson. Therefore, the club will occasionally rotate the role of chairperson among voting members.
Meetings
General Meetings
The club will hold bi-weekly general meetings. Quorum for general meetings will be 15 voting members of 20% of voting membership (whichever is more).
Executive Meetings
The club will hold bi-weekly executive meetings. Quorum for executive meetings will be 2 executives or at least 51% of the executive body (whichever is more).
The first meetings (both general and executive) of the following term will be arranged by the outgoing executive. At said meetings, subsequent meeting dates and locations will be set. Meeting dates and times will be forwarded to voting members by:
Emergency meetings can be called by an executive via:
and must be sent to the appropriate members at least 48 hours prior to the meeting time.
ELECTION PROCESS
Elections shall take place at the end of each term for the following academic term. Only University of Waterloo students who are members of the club can vote. Club members must be notified, by email, two weeks in advance of the meeting where executive elections will take place. The term of office shall be for one term. An executive can only hold office (any position) for a total of up to three terms.
Nominations for executives can be made from any club member. The majority of executives must be undergraduate University of Waterloo students. The successful candidate will be the one with the most votes. In the case of a tie, a re-vote will take place until the tie is broken.
IMPEACHMENT AND DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES
A movement to impeach an executive officer may be made by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members. When the motion is made the Clubs Manager will be informed. An emergency general meeting will be called as soon as is reasonably possible. No club funds will be spent until the issue is resolved.
At the impeachment meeting, the individual(s) who initiated the process will state their case. Afterwards, the officer(s) under impeachment will have an opportunity to defend their position(s) on the matter.
There will then be a question and answer period followed by the selection process for a Chief Returning Officer (CRO) who will oversee the voting process to ensure the decision is fair and democratic. Any executive officer who is neither the initiator nor subject of the impeachment may volunteer as CRO. If there is no such officer, then any voting member of the club present at the meeting may volunteer. If there are multiple volunteers, then the CRO will be selected based on a simple majority vote cast by secret ballot and tallied publically by the chairperson of the meeting. If there is no such volunteer for CRO, then the meeting will be at a standstill until either an eligible executive officer or voting member volunteers.
The vote will be by a “YES/NO” secret ballot, tallied publically by the CRO. If at least two thirds of the votes are for impeachment, then said officer will immediately be stripped of their position. The remaining executive may choose to call an immediate by-election to replace the newly vacant executive officer position.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
A claim against any executive officer or club member regarding a potential conflict of interest can be made by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members. If such a claim arises, then said individual(s) under suspicion have the opportunity to remove them self (or themselves) from said potential conflict without acknowledging intention of wrongdoing. In the event the claim is contested, then the Clubs Manager will be informed and an emergency executive meeting will be called to determine the validity of the claim. Executive officers who have a claim against them cannot vote to determine the validity of said claim. If executive quorum is not possible due to the removal of said vote(s), then an emergency general meeting will be called and the same proceedings described for impeachment will be used to determine the validity of the claim.
If the claim is validated and there is suspicion of intentional wrongdoing, an immediate impeachment proceeding may be called by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members, of whom are not named in the claim. If it is determined that a club member is involved in intentional wrongdoing, the impeachment proceeding will be called to determine said member’s club status.
AMENDMENTS
Constitutional amendments may be proposed by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members. The amendment will then be voted on by referendum. The voting procedure will be the same as for the impeachment process. If the vote passes, the amendment and the vote will be forwarded to the Clubs Manager for final approval. If the Clubs Manager approves, then the constitution will be amended and any changes will be inserted into the constitution.
A motion to officially close the club will follow the same procedure as a constitutional amendment. If such a motion passes, then the club will be purged from the clubs system.
AFFILIATIONS
No organization(s) is/are currently affiliated with this club.