APIC Fellows Program

Congratulations to the 2020 APIC Fellows!

The APIC Fellows program recognizes exemplary APIC members with status as a Fellow of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (FAPIC). Fellow of APIC status is a distinction of honor for infection preventionists who are not only advanced practitioners of infection prevention practice, but also leaders within the field. 

Important Application Information

Thank you for your interest in becoming an APIC Fellow! Over the next few tabs you will learn more about the eligibility requirements, the submission process, and common questions you may have regarding the program.

To be considered for APIC fellow status, an applicant must:

  • Be an APIC member in good standing (full/active and associate members accepted) for the last five consecutive years prior to applying
    • If you are unsure about your member status and history, please contact us at fellows@apic.org prior to applying.
  • Hold the CIC® certification
  • Have a Master’s degree or higher
  • Have at least seven years of infection prevention work experience (must be clearly shown on your resume or CV)

Your application must indicate the following:

  • Your recognition as a named author in a scientific peer-reviewed publication (can be a journal, book, or text)
    • Please refer to the University of Minnesota’s guidelines for a detailed explanation of what we mean by the term “peer-reviewed journal.”
    • Submissions that don’t meet the definition of peer-reviewed won’t be accepted and the application denied.
    • The submission must be published at the time of application. Submissions that are pending approval or being reviewed by the editor will not be accepted.
    • Important note: Abstracts that were presented at Annual Conference and published in a supplemental of the June issue of AJIC do not qualify as the review process is different from research published in the journal.
  • Activities that demonstrate achievement in 3 of the 4 categories shown below. You can pick the three categories, however all activities must have occurred in the last 10 years prior to applying. For each activity, the applicant must write a brief explanation for how that activity shows achievement in that specific category.(Note below the related future-oriented competency domains in the APIC Competency Model that align with each category for reference and ideas for areas of achievement-definitions for each domain and subdomain are provided here in an interactive model on the website)
    • Category 1: Leadership (Leadership Domain; Professional Stewardship Domain)
      If you pick the Leadership domain as one of the three, then you will need to indicate a voluntary leadership position you held at the local, state, regional or national level. Please note that:

      • The leadership position cannot be connected to your job, such as leading a facility Infection Prevention Committee.
      • The leadership position must have been directly connected to infection prevention and control and/or healthcare epidemiology.
      • Serving on a committee or as an advisor/subject matter expert alone doesn’t qualify. You must have held a titled leadership position (e.g. committee chair).
    • Category 2: Infection Prevention and Control (IPC Operations Domain)
    • Category 3: Performance Improvement and Implementation Science (Quality Improvement Domain; Research Domain)
    • Category 4: Technical and IPC Informatics (IPC Informatics Domain)
      For Categories 2, 3, or 4, you will need to show achievement in that category by providing an activity of any of the following types:

      • Being a named author in a peer-reviewed publication (Note: Must be a different publication than the one provided to meet first criteria)
      • Oral presentation/abstract at the state, regional, or national level that was reviewed and approved by a peer group such as an annual conference or education committee. This must be for educational, not commercial, purposes.
      • Poster presentation at the national level
      • Contribution to an APIC practice resource (a product or course developed by APIC), whether:
        • Named contributor for the development of a class taught by APIC at the national level (e.g. EPI® 101 faculty or course author) or
        • Being a named author, editor, or reviewer (mentioned specifically in the resource’s opening Acknowledgements) to an APIC book or APIC Implementation Guide
      • Although you can use the same type of activity more than once, you can’t use the same specific activity twice, including the submission for the publication requirement. (For example, you can submit oral presentations for the Infection Prevention and Control and Performance Improvement and Implementation Science domains, but they have to be two different oral presentations.)
      • For any activity in these three domains, you must describe briefly how that activity shows achievement in that domain.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Continued FAPIC status is contingent on continuing your APIC membership and also maintaining CIC status. APIC will check the membership and CIC statuses of all APIC Fellows on an annual basis and will notify those who are in danger of losing their status. 

To learn about how to submit your application, click the Submission Process tab.

Thank you for your interest in applying to the APIC Fellows program.  The next opportunity to apply will be in 2021. The submission process will be open February 1 to March 31, 2021.

Before you begin the online application, we strongly recommend that you first:

  • Confirm your membership status with APIC staff to ensure you meet the requirement. Email fellows@apic.org
  • Make sure your CV or resume follows APA style guidelines, is up-to-date, indicates at least seven years of infection preventionist experience and includes clear references to the activities used to demonstrate achievement in the future-oriented domains.
  • Download the Practice Application to familiarize yourself with the format and prepare your responses in advance of submitting online.

To submit your application:

  • Click “START APPLICATION” to start the process.
  • Complete all relevant parts of the application, including uploading your current CV or resume.
  • Once you are positive all of your information is correct, hit Submit.
  • On the screen after you’ve submitted your application, provide payment for the non-refundable $125 application fee. (Note that your application won’t be processed or reviewed until after you’ve paid the fee.)

START APPLICATION

If you have additional questions not addressed here, please contact us at fellows@apic.org.

  • What are the benefits of this designation?
    FAPIC is a distinction of honor for infection preventionists who are not only advanced practitioners of infection prevention practice, but also leaders within the field.
  • How will awardees be recognized for their achievement?
    Successful applicants will be considered “Fellow of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology” and will have the FAPIC credential. Additionally, the Fellows will receive the following recognition:

    • Certificate of FAPIC achievement
    • Letter to applicant’s supervisor (if applicable)
    • Recognition at APIC Annual Conference
    • Recognition on APIC website
    • Recognition in fall Prevention Strategist
  • Do all of my activities need to have been done with APIC?
    No. The major requirement is that all activities must be related to infection prevention and/or healthcare epidemiology, and must have occurred in the last 10 years prior to applying.
  • What if I apply and don’t receive FAPIC status? Do I have to reapply?
    If your application for APIC Fellow status isn’t approved, then you must reapply. (Please note that each application costs $125, and you will not be refunded if your application is not approved.)
  • Once I receive FAPIC status, will I need to maintain my membership and CIC credential?
    Yes. Continued FAPIC status is contingent on continuing your APIC membership and also maintaining CIC status. APIC will check the membership and CIC statuses of all APIC Fellows on an annual basis and will notify those who are in danger of losing their status.
  • I wrote an article for Prevention Strategist. Is this accepted as contribution to a peer-reviewed publication?
    While Prevention Strategist is reviewed by an advisory panel, it is not identified as a scientific peer-reviewed publication.
  • Is there a renewal process?
    At this time, there is no renewal process or extra fee.
  • If I applied in a previous year but was denied FAPIC status, will this affect my chances in future years?
    No. Your application will be evaluated based on the application materials submitted for the current year and nothing else.
  • Is there a quota for the number of new Fellows admitted?
    No. Candidates are evaluated based on the criteria for admission and not in comparison to the pool of applicants for that year.
  • Are APIC Associate members eligible?
    Yes.
  • When can I expect to receive notification about the status of my application?
    All applicants will be notified of their FAPIC status prior to the APIC Annual Conference.
  • How will I know if APIC received my application and payment?
    If you are able to see the payment screen, then your application was successfully saved. Additionally, notification of payment will go to the email address provided by the payer.
  • Someone else (e.g. my employer) will pay for my application fee. Do I need to do anything special because of this?
    Payment is required immediately following the completion of your application by logging in to the APIC website. If someone else pays your application fee, you will still be required to log in and pay for the fee under your account.

As a reminder, continued FAPIC status is contingent on continuing your APIC membership and also maintaining CIC status. APIC will check the membership and CIC statuses of all APIC Fellows on an annual basis and will notify those who are in danger of losing their status.

In 2019, APIC created Fellows Emeritus for current Fellows who are retiring and no longer maintaining their CIC. Fellows Emeritus still requires an active APIC membership, but all membership types, including Retired, are accepted.

If you are retiring but plan to maintain your membership, please contact fellows@apic.org.