APA Changes Criteria for Distinguished Fellowship

APA has revised the guidelines it uses to assess candidates who are nominated for election to distinguished fellowship in the Association.

Among the key changes is that certification by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology “will become a core and necessary requirement beginning in 2013, though a waiver may be granted under extraordinary circumstances.”

In addition, a distinguished fellowship candidate's work in his or her district branch or on APA components is no longer consolidated into one category. Instead, the new rules establish two categories—one for district branch/local involvement and one for work on APA/national issues. In all, 10 categories will now be listed, one more than had been the case.

The changes were approved by the Board of Trustees at its December 2009 meeting.

As in the past, the applicant will have to achieve 23 points in at least five of the categories to earn the distinguished fellowship designation.

Since nominations for distinguished fellowship status are initiated by district branches and state associations, members interested in gaining that status should contact their district branch or state association for information about that organization's process for evaluating distinguished fellowship applications.

The APA Membership Committee reviews all of the nominations forwarded by the district branches/state associations and then submits its recommendations to the Board of Trustees for approval.

Information about APA's fellowship and distinguished fellowship designations, including eligibility criteria, is posted at <www.psych.org/Resources/Membership/FellowsDistinguishedFellows.aspx>.