The experience requirement provides a minimum standard of practical experience needed to earn your FACHE.
The Fellow application requires you to provide current versions of each of the following documents:
- Job Description
- Organizational Chart
- Resume
These documents must demonstrate:
- Current employment by a healthcare organization or a healthcare influencer (i.e. consulting firm, government organization, supplier, etc.)
- Control of departmental budgeting, planning, and staffing
- Accountability to senior management for departmental performance
- Minimum of five years of experience in healthcare management
Formal Definition of Healthcare Management Experience
An executive healthcare management position is one in which the applicant is employed by a healthcare organization or by an organization whose purpose is to influence the growth, development or operations of a healthcare organization. To be eligible for advancement an applicant's position must be at a department director/department head level which includes control of departmental budgeting, planning and staffing and accountability to senior management for department performance. Eligible positions include C-suite executives, vice presidents and directors/department heads. Additional titles may be accepted if job responsibilities reflect departmental control as described above.
Applicants whose management authority is at a project and/or program level do not qualify. Examples of this level of authority might include: analyst, coordinator, program manager, project manager and specialist.
Administrative fellowships, residencies and internships do not qualify.
Interpretations for Healthcare Management Experience
The interpretations below clarify the experience requirements for physicians, nurses, consultants and healthcare management faculty:
- Physicians – Physicians must hold a department director/head-level position where at least 50% of their time is devoted to managing administrative functions such as controlling departmental budgeting, planning and staffing.
- Nurses – Nurses must hold a department director/head-level position where at least 50% of their time is devoted to managing administrative functions such as controlling departmental budgeting, planning and staffing.
- Consultants - Due to department level management being an uncommon administrative unit in consultant firms the equivalent level of management authority that consultants must hold is to be in the top leadership role of their project team.
- Healthcare Management Faculty – Healthcare management faculty must hold a program director/chair position, or other high level administrative position, within their department, college and/or university.
These interpretations were written with the assistance of ACHE Fellows that represent each of the groups above. They were approved by the ACHE Credentials Committee, the Membership Committee and the Board of Governors.
Assess Your Healthcare Management Experience
Download this helpful matrix to assess your years of executive-level healthcare management experience. Completion of this document does not guarantee you have met the Healthcare Management Experience requirement but can be a helpful tool to determine if you are ready to submit your Fellow Application.
Examples of completed matrices for healthcare leaders with different backgrounds are below: