Deadlines:
Distinguished Fellow – DFASHRM
Distinguished Fellow of the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management – for superior achievement
Fellow – FASHRM
Fellow of the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management – for outstanding achievement
Who is Eligible?
Academic/Professional Designations
Continuing Education Criteria
Employment Experience
Contributions to the Field of Risk Management
Designation Process and Advancement
Submission
Application Fees
Frequently Asked Questions
Forms:
Professional Recognition Program Application Form
Continuing Education Reporting Form
DFASHRM participation is limited to current ASHRM members who have been members for a minimum of 10 years. Membership years need not be consecutive.
FASHRM participation is limited to current ASHRM members who have been members for a minimum of five years. Membership years need not be consecutive.
Academic/Professional Designations
Distinguished Fellow: Applicants must have earned a minimum of three of the designations listed, at least one of which must be from Category A.
Fellow: Applicants must have earned a minimum of two of the designations listed, at least one of which must be from Category A or B.
| Category A | Category B | Category C |
| Ph.D. MD JD MBA MPA MPH MHA MS/MA Ed.M. CPHRM MHSA MN |
RN BA BS CPCU |
Healthcare technicians/technologists (certified, licensed or registered) Barton Certificate Program in Healthcare Risk Management American Board of Healthcare Risk Management (ABHRM) Certified Healthcare Environmental Manager (CHEM) TEACH program (The Virginia Insurance Reciprocal) Associate in Risk Management (ARM) Associate in Claims (AIC) Associate in Loss Control Management (ALCM) Certified Safety Professional (CSP) Certified Healthcare Safety Professional (CHSP) Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) Certified Healthcare Protection Administrator (CHPA) The Healthcare Risk Management Certificate Program (The New England Healthcare Assembly) Associate in Underwriting (AU) Healthcare Risk Management Certificate Program, MMI Companies, Inc. (HRM) Registered Professional Liability Underwriter (RPLU) Florida Risk Management Institute, Inc. course Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Associate Healthcare Risk Management Quality Review (AHRMQR) Risk Management for Health Care Organizations (RMHC 351) Course, Insurance Institute of America |
Other academic/professional designations may be considered on a case-by-case basis by the ASHRM board of directors upon submission of information about the designation.
Candidates must complete the Continuing Education Form.
Distinguished Fellow: Applicants must provide evidence of at least 150 contact hours of risk management (or related) continuing education credit earned within 10 years prior to the date of application.
Fellow: Applicants must provide evidence of at least 75 contact hours of risk management (or related) continuing education credit earned within five years prior to the date of application.
To be accepted as qualifying continuing education credit, continuing professional education must relate to the content categories identified below:
| Content Category | Code |
| Loss prevention/reduction | 1 |
| Claims/litigation management | 2 |
| Risk financing | 3 |
| Regulatory/accreditation compliance | 4 |
| Risk management operations | 5 |
| Bioethics | 6 |
Candidates must submit copies of continuing education certificates with their application, with the following information on each certificate:
A contact hour is defined as 60 minutes of educational experience. The following table provides a conversion of other units of education into contact hours:
ASHRM may disqualify incomplete continuing education certificates.
Distinguished Fellow: Applicants must possess at least 10 years experience in a position(s) with primary job responsibility for activities related to risk management.
Fellow: Applicants must possess at least five years of experience in a position(s) with primary job responsibility for activities related to risk management.
Note: “Risk management (or related)” includes any function, organization or discipline that has, as its mission or purpose, to reduce or prevent the incidence of speculative or casualty (as opposed to “business”) risks for healthcare or healthcare-related organizations.
Documentation must be produced to show experience in risk financing, loss control, claims and litigation, regulatory/accreditation compliance or loss prevention. All applicants for either designation must submit the following documentation of employment experience:
Contributions to the Field of Risk Management
Distinguished Fellow: Applicants must meet all requirements in all three of the contribution categories listed below: Leadership, Publishing and Lecturing.
Fellow: Applicants must meet all requirements in any two of the contribution categories listed below: Leadership, Publishing and Lecturing.
Note: Routine job responsibility will be defined as “any function, activity, task or responsibility regularly undertaken by an employee in order to maintain employment with the employer.” A “routine job responsibility” may or may not be described in the applicant’s job description. “Employer” shall include any subsidiary or affiliated organizations of the applicant’s employer. Payment of an honorarium or travel expenses by a third party may be evidence that the activity was not a routine job responsibility.
1. Leadership
Applicant must provide at least two examples of risk management-related leadership positions totaling at least four years of service that are not a matter of routine job responsibilities, not held concurrently and that are each at least one year in duration.
Leadership positions must have been completed within 10 years of application. The application must include:
Leadership positions include organization officer, board member and committee chairperson. Multi-year board terms count as a single position. Offices of president-elect and immediate past president are not counted as separate positions, but are considered part of the office of president. Other examples include: four leadership positions, each one year in duration; two separate positions, each two years each in duration; and one position held for three years and one for one year.
2. Publishing
To meet the publishing criteria, the applicant must:
1. Be the author or co-author of a book chapter; OR
2. Be the author of at least two articles published in journals or periodicals with documented circulation exceeding 1,000 readers. The applicant must be the sole author of at least one of the articles. All articles:
Articles published as a matter of routine job responsibility will not be accepted. All material submitted must also:
3. Lecturing
Applicant must provide at least two examples of participation as a speaker or faculty member in risk management programs conducted within five years prior to the date the applicant is applying for recognition (cite Content Category Code listed above in Continuing Education Criteria section).
The applicant must provide documentation verifying the purpose or occasion for the lecture or presentation. Acceptable documentation includes either program brochures or correspondence from the programs’ sponsors. Lectures or presentations delivered as a matter of routine job responsibility will not be accepted.
Designation Process and Advancement
All designations of Fellow and Distinguished Fellow are granted by the ASHRM Board of Directors based upon review of the applicants’ credentials. Only completed applications will be submitted to the board for its review.
Applicants who submit incomplete applications will be notified regarding the need for further information or documentation.
Completed applications are reviewed by the Board of Directors during regular meetings. Applicants approved by the board shall be notified by the ASHRM president; unsuccessful applicants shall be notified by the ASHRM executive director regarding areas in need of improvement.
Successful applicants receive plaques of recognition, and their designations are announced at the annual business meeting. Names, titles and designations also are published in ASHRM publications.
Fellows who wish to advance to the Distinguished Fellow level may at any time submit evidence to ASHRM demonstrating they have met all pertinent achievement criteria. A fee of $50 is required. Applications for advancement will be reviewed, and approved or not approved, by the ASHRM board of directors according to the established designation process.
Submission:
Completed applications may be submitted any time, but are only reviewed around several deadline dates throughout the year. The Professional Recognition Program Application Form, Continuing Education Reporting Form and all other supportive documentation may be submitted electronically via email to: ashrm@aha.org.
Application Fees (One-time, nonrefundable):
Distinguished Fellow (DFASHRM)
Fellow (FASHRM)
Reapplication After One Year
Please make payment via check/money order payable to the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management. Payment must be submitted separately from the application and supportive materials, and mailed to:
American Society for Healthcare Risk Management
Professional Recognition Program
155 North Wacker
Suite 400
Chicago, IL 60606
For more information, please consult the Frequently Asked Questions or contact ASHRM at (312) 422-3980 or ashrm@aha.org.