The Significance and Value of ACNM Fellowship
Bennett S. Greenspan, MD, FACNM, FACR
Fellowship status in ACNM is awarded for recognition of significant and
sustained service to the college and to the nuclear medicine community.
This can be for extraordinary and sustained service to ACNM or
extraordinary and sustained contributions to the field of nuclear
medicine. As stated in the ACNM bylaws, "Fellows shall be those persons
who have shown evidence to their peers superior competence, integrity
and maturity in the application of their nuclear medicine knowledge and
skill and who have been elected to this honor by the board of
directors." Generally, only 3 or 4 members achieve fellowship status
each year. It is a prestigious award and an honor given for effort and
accomplishment, not just for years of membership.
Many fellows become leaders in the college, including president and
members of the board of directors. Many fellows also become leaders
elsewhere in the nuclear medicine community, including in SNMMI, and
many have served as president of their respective chapters.
However, with this honor comes obligation. Fellows are expected to
continue as active members of the college. They are expected to uphold
the values of the college and the nuclear medicine community as a whole.
These values include (1) fostering the highest standards of
consultation and service to referring physicians, hospitals, and the
public; (2) advancement of the science of nuclear medicine through study
and education; and (3) advancement of socioeconomic aspects of nuclear
medicine practice. I believe these values also include integrity and
compassion.
The status of fellowship is of significant value to the college. This is
considered one of the most valuable benefits that the college provides,
in addition to the annual meeting and the journal (Clinical Nuclear
Medicine). This recognition of individual accomplishment is commonly an
incentive to contribute more to the college. Most of the fellows
continue as members of the college, and many attend the annual meeting.
Many of the fellows also contribute as members of committees or task
forces. Much of the leadership of the college is made up of people who
have been elected as fellows. These are valuable contributions of effort
and expertise to the college.
I believe that the fellowship also provides value to the entire nuclear
medicine community in the recognition of members of the community of
accomplishment and expertise. This recognition is also an incentive to
provide leadership and to contribute further to the field and to ACNM.