As director of membership development, a new position at DCMS, my focus is to inform physicians in the Dallas County area about DCMS and recruit them for membership. DCMS leaders and staff members looked at the Society’s membership numbers over the past 5 or 6 years and found that, although we were adding new members each year, the membership total was static, at about 3850 active members. (We also have 500 resident members and 800 retired members.) For the third year in a row, DCMS has been the second-largest medical society in Texas and the third largest in the country—with more members than many state medical associations.

In order to remain a strong voice for organized medicine, provide a wide range of benefits for members, and keep dues affordable, we need to increase our membership. It has been difficult for DCMS staff to devote the time to develop recruitment strategies when working full time on other projects and responsibilities, so, through a collaboration with TMA, I was hired to focus solely on increasing membership.

My goal is to locate nonmember physicians or nonmember physician groups, and determine why they haven’t joined DCMS and how membership could benefit them. With this information and the help of the DCMS directors, I’ll develop a recruitment plan. I’ll discuss the plan with active DCMS members who want to help in the recruiting process and, together, we will approach potential new members. Peer-to-peer recruitment is the most effective way to introduce a physician to the medical society because the current member knows first-hand the benefits of DCMS membership.

DCMS has a few upcoming events to benefit our members and prospective members:

• The Residents Roundtable on April 5 is a great evening to hear and discuss what residents need to know as they anticipate beginning their practice. It is a casual Q&A session, so residents are encouraged to come prepared to interact. Feedback from the residents shows this is a valuable resource. The food is free, and we welcome all residents to join us. The Roundtable will be from 6-8:30 pm at the Aldredge House, 5500 Swiss Ave, Dallas. If you plan to attend, contact Linda Doyle at Linda@ dallas-cms.org or 214-948-3622, ext. 237.

• New this year is the Happy Hour Med Mixer, which we’ll offer several times a year to active members, spouses, friends, and potential members. This is a great opportunity to socialize and network with your colleagues. Check the DCMS Web site at www.dallas-cms.org for details of the next DCMS Happy Hour.

As the first director of membership development at DCMS, I welcome members’ input about our recruitment process as we work toward our goal of 100% membership. Feel free to contact me at cara@dallas-cms.org or 214-948-3622, ext.236.