Fellowship Process

1. Complete the Application

The application for candidacy for Fellowship is in addition to any previously submitted application for student membership. The questions relating to professional activity and (where applicable) clinical activity are not only for assigning a candidate to the appropriate Admittance Region, but also for fostering subsequent involvement in various Academy programs.

Download the Candidate for Fellowship Application (PDF)

Upon completion, return the form one of the following ways:

• Email the form to membership@aaoptom.org
• Fax the form to 407-893-9890
• Mail the form to:

Membership Department
American Academy of Optometry
2909 Fairgreen Street

Orlando, FL 32803 USA

 
2. Communicate with Your Regional Chair
After the Academy receives a completed application, the applicant will receive an acknowledgement letter by e-mail welcoming him/her as a candidate for Fellowship and informing him/her of the Admittance Region to which the application has been assigned. Once assigned to a specific Region, it is the candidate's responsibility to update the appropriate Chair with any new contact information. For a list of the Admittance Committee Regions and their respective Chairs/Vice Chairs, visit the Admittance Committee page.

1. Complete Application
    
2. Communicate with Your Regional Chair
    
3. Compile 50 Points and Submit Written Work
    
4. Complete the Oral Examination
    
5. Admittance and Induction
    
6. Responsibilities of Fellowship

NEXT:

Submit an Application

3. Compile 50 Points and Submit Written Work
All candidates must submit a Proposed Plan for Written Requirements as the first step towards Fellowship. To get started, first assess into which category you will submit your work. There are three primary categories of candidates for Fellowship with specific written requirements for each.

*At least one case report is required.
**At least three scientific publications (10 points per publication) are required.
***At least one original paper (either 1,200 word paper for 10 points or 6,000 word paper for 50 points) is required.

Clinical Candidates: are optometrists who are licensed to practice at the highest level permitted by law in their jurisdiction and are engaged in active clinical practice. Of the 50 points required from clinical candidates, at least one case report (10 points) is required. This case report should be submitted with the proposed plan for achieving fellowship.

• Clinical Candidate Point System
• Clinical Candidate's Proposed Plan for Written Requirements (Word)
• Sample Case Report (Word)
• 2013 ACOE Accredited Optometric Residency Programs (PDF)

Scientific Candidates: are primarily involved in research relating to the vision sciences. They have published articles in peer-reviewed journals, and generally have an advanced degree in a vision-science area of discipline. Of the 50 points required from scientific candidates, at least three scientific publications (10 points per publication) are required. For more information see Written Work for Scientists.

• Scientific Candidate Point System
• Scientific Candidate’s Proposed Plan for Written Requirements (Word)

Special Category Candidates: may include administrators, executive directors, clinical consultants, librarians, educators, editors or others who have distinguished themselves and optometry by their contribution to optometry or vision science. This category is reserved for those candidates who are not in active clinical practice or participating in publishable scientific research. Of the 50 points required from special category candidates, at least one original paper (either 1,200 word paper for 10 points or a 6,000 word paper for 50 points) is required. For more information see Written Work for Special Categories Candidates.

• Special Category Candidate Point System
• Special Category Candidate’s Proposed Plan for Written Requirements (Word)

Additional Information

• Written work for any of the three primary candidate categories may be submitted either by mail or electronically. To e-mail your written work to your Regional Chair, you may need to send a file or files that are larger than your e-mail server allows. If this is the case, you will need to first “zip” your files.

• Each item of written work should be unique. For example, two posters that describe essentially the same set of circumstances but were submitted to different meetings will count as 10 points.

• Acceptance of written work is at the discretion of the Region Chair. The candidate is responsible for providing any and all documentation of papers, posters, case report information, etc. as needed by the Region Chair to grant points.

• All written work is expected to be the candidate’s own original writing. Information taken from references or other source documents must be properly attributed. Plagiarism may cause the candidate’s application for Fellowship to be terminated.

• All candidates will be notified when they have successfully completed the written section of the examination. The candidate must then notify the Vice Chair of Admittance that s/he would like to schedule the exam for the upcoming meeting.

Time Limits

Candidates have a maximum of three years from the date of application to complete the Fellowship process.

Important Dates and Deadlines

The Proposed Plan for Written Requirements of the admittance process is due as soon as possible after you have received confirmation of your candidacy from the Region Chair.

• April 1: deadline for submitting first case report for clinical candidates, and Proposed Plan for all candidates.

• June 1: deadline for submitting the balance of all written work

• August 1: deadline for submitting any required corrections/modifications to the submitted work

• August 15: deadline for notifying the Vice-Chair of Admittance to schedule the oral examination

4. Complete the Oral Examination
Oral exams are held only during the Academy's annual meeting. Candidates must register for at least one day of the Annual Meeting, and must stay in an Academy-contracted hotel, to sit for the oral exam.

In 2013, the exam will be held on Friday, October 25, 2013 in Seattle, WA.

The objective of the oral examination is to evaluate candidates on their professional competence in solving their patients' problems at a level commensurate with the standards set by the Academy. In the case of candidates who are not in clinical practice, standards relevant to the candidate's professional activity will be used. Candidates will be examined on the basis of the credentials and written work they have submitted to the committee. Whenever possible, a candidate will be examined before the same committee that evaluated the written work.

To prepare for the oral exam, see the following:

• Preparation for the Oral Exam for Clinical Candidates

• Preparation for the Oral Exam for Scientific Candidates

• Preparation for the Oral Exam for Special Categories Candidates

All candidates will be notified at the end of their oral examinations if they successfully completed their oral examination. Successful candidates will be given a "New Fellow" ribbon to wear on their identification badge. A candidate who was not successful will meet with the Examination Committee Chair and either the Vice Chair or Chair of the Admittance Committee. An explanation of the committee’s reason(s) for the non-pass will be given. The Examination Committee Chair will outline further requirements needed to complete the admittance process in the following year.

5. Admittance and Induction
Upon successful completion of the oral examination, new Fellows are formally presented and welcomed into the fellowship of the Academy by the Academy President during the annual banquet held on Saturday evening of the annual meeting.

6. Responsibilities of Fellowship

Each individual admitted to Academy Fellowship is expected to:

• Live up to the Membership Pledge and Agreement that is signed at the time of submitting the application.



• Regularly attend the annual meeting.



• Contribute to the work of the Academy by serving on a committee when requested, submitting papers, posters and/or courses to the annual meeting and other Academy-sponsored educational and scientific programs, encouraging research in optometry, and being active in an Academy chapter if one is available.



• Sponsor additional candidates for Fellowship and serve as a mentor for candidates when invited.

• Fulfill the requirements under Maintenance of Fellowship