ASAM Fellows

• November 2011 - January 17, 2012: Application filing period
• January 17, 2012: Filing deadline
• February 2012: Review of applications
• February 28, 2012: Applications approved by Fellow committee
• March 2012: Board vote
• March 2012: Notification sent to applicants
• April 2012: Announce recipients in ASAM News
• April 2012: Fellows presented certificates at the 43rd Annual Medical Scientific Conference

In 1996, the Fellows program was developed to celebrate the exceptional contributions of the leading members in the field of Addiction Medicine. New ASAM Fellows join a distinguished list of colleagues to whom ASAM and its members look for guidance and leadership. Since the program inception, 324 physicians have been awarded Fellow status by ASAM.

In order to qualify as an ASAM Fellow, at a minimum, you must meet each of the following five criteria (A-E) and provide documentation:

A. Member for at least five consecutive years.

B. Certified by ASAM or ABAM (Recertification is a plus).

C. Given significant service to ASAM in at least two of the following ways:

1. Served on the ASAM Board of Directors.
2. Served as chair or member of an ASAM committee, task force, or work group.
3. Served as an ASAM delegate or alternate to the AMA.
4. Served as an officer of a state society or chapter of ASAM.
5. Served as a speaker, chair, or been involved in the planning of an ASAM conference.
6. Published in an ASAM publication or served on an ASAM editorial board.
7. Significant contributions at the state or chapter level of ASAM or other state specialty medical society or organization.

D. You must have made and continue to make significant contributions in at least three of the seven areas below:

1. Participation in other medical and professional organizations: Active participation as an officer, committee member, or representative in medical societies or organizations such as the AMA, AOA, ASIM, APA, RSA, etc., or state and local medical societies.
2. Participation in non-compensated activities of social significance such as: Volunteer work at community health agencies, volunteer services on a Board of Directors for a health care agency, or volunteer work with the JCAHO, County AIDS Task Force, schools, Planned Parenthood, Boy Scouts, etc.
3. Political/legislative involvement, grass roots or other lobbying, holding elected or appointed public office, serving as a committee member in the political process to further the goals of addiction medicine or ASAM, and/or testifying before local, state, or federal legislative bodies to further the goals of Addiction Medicine or ASAM, or other related activities.
4. Clinical contributions such as: Developing a unique model for addictions treatment or advancing the knowledge base of Addiction Medicine.
5. Administrative appointments (three years minimum) such as: A position of authority within a hospital, hospital committee, or within a substance abuse treatment program, Boards of substance abuse treatment programs, and federal or state departments of alcoholism and/or drug abuse.
6. Teaching contributions (five years minimum) such as: Appointment to a medical school faculty (ies) in substance abuse teaching. Volunteer teaching of alcoholism and drug abuse information to patients in publicly funded treatment or education program, or presentations of formal lectures in the substance abuse field to physicians and/or health care providers in the addiction field, on a consistent basis.
7. Published writings in peer reviewed journals and/or books, or chapters of books, written for the education of professionals; a strong emphasis will be placed on addiction related topics and on clinical or basic research.

E. Your $250 (U.S. funds only) application fee must be submitted along with your application.

Members of the Fellow Committee will evaluate all applications. Applications are first reviewed to determine whether they satisfy the minimum requirements. If one reviewer does not accept the application, another member of the committee conducts a second review. If there is a difference of opinion, the application is reviewed by the committee chair and, if necessary, the entire committee.

The list of candidates recommended by the Fellow Committee will be presented to the Board of Directors.  Candidates are confirmed by 2/3's vote of the Board.

American Society of Addiction Medicine and the ASAM Board of Directors recognizes these elite professionals for special recognition as "Fellows" due to their significant contributions to the field of Addiction Medicine and work as outstanding, prominent, and distinguished professionals in the Medical Community. These professionals have been "uniquely" singled out for special distinction out of an estimated 1.5 Million physicians.

So what does it mean to be a "Fellow" member, what is their role, what type of people become a "Fellow" of ASAM?

They were chosen based upon an outstanding and long sustained demonstration of top-ranking competence in the field of Addiction Medicine, exceptional professionalism, consummate integrity, demonstrated service, significant contribution, and noted leadership. Fellows are strong advocates of the field of Addiction Medicine and they promote sustained Service, Contribution and Leadership advocating Professionalism.

They employ the FASAM designation after their names as a Mark of Distinction and to provide a description of their unique position. The designation represents "Fellow, American Society of Addiction Medicine." So they write in their signature blocks:

"Fellow member name", FASAM