Requirements for Advancing to Fellowship

All applicants must meet the basic eligibility requirements for Fellowship. These include:

  • Being an ACP member (Resident/Fellow Member or Member) in good standing for three years since completion of residency training
  • Dues must have been paid in full for three of the four years immediately prior to applying for fellowship. Check dues status.*
  • Certification in internal medicine or neurology
  • Professional activity in internal medicine, a combined internal medicine specialty, the subspecialties of internal medicine, or neurology
  • Experience in practice or in an academic position for three years since the completion of residency
  • An active medical license in good standing (if in clinical practice)
  • Continuing professional development and scholarly activities, including continuing medical education as a student or teacher
  • Teaching, either institutional or community based

In addition to the basic requirements, candidates for advancement to Fellowship should demonstrate activity within one or several of the following areas of professional accomplishment:

  • Publications: Applicants who wish to have their publications included in determining eligibility must include a bibliography of published articles since the completion of training. Peer-reviewed journals are given more weight.
  • Continuing Medical Education (CME): Candidates must indicate how many CME hours they have completed over the past three years. If they have not completed CME hours they must indicate that as well.
  • Additional Educational Activities: Include subspecialty certification, recertification, advanced degrees, certificates in special competence, participation in the Medical Knowledge Self-Assessment Program® (MKSAP) for CME credit.
  • Teaching Activities: Community hospital, office-based, institutional or other.
  • Leadership Activities: Demonstrate where you are actively influencing the outcomes within your professional work setting or community. For example, in your role as a Medical Director, hospital committee chair or participant, activities in health advocacy, quality improvement initiatives and/or medical volunteerism.
  • ACP Activities: Fellowship is a class of membership, and although not a requirement of attaining it, active ACP participation is valued. Indicate involvement in a local or national ACP-related activity such as attending an ACP  meeting (local or national), role as faculty at a meeting or course, and ACP committee participation.

Questions about eligibility requirements should be e-mailed to FACP@acponline.org.

*If elected to Fellowship while a Resident/Fellow Member and in fellowship training, you will be charged full membership dues and will be eligible for the full member discounts on ACP programs, products and services.