ACORN Fellowship
Fellowship of the College is a prestigious category of membership that is reserved for those members who have made a significant contribution to the goals of the College and also made a significant contribution to perioperative nursing and/or demonstrated professional excellence within this field or the wider profession of nursing. Fellowship is conferred during the biennial ACORN conference.
Honorary Fellows are persons of eminence who have given exceptional service to perioperative nursing on a national and/or international level, made a noteworthy contribution to the goals of the College at the highest level, as well as to the profession of perioperative nursing and/or the wider nursing profession. It is anticipated that conferring Honorary Fellowship will be an exceptional event. Honorary Fellowship is conferred during the biennial ACORN conference. More details on the ACORN Honorary Fellowship and nomination criteria can be found on the ACORN Honorary Fellowship page.
A full list of ACORN Fellows and ACORN Honorary Fellows can be found here.
ACORN members may apply for fellowship by 31 October in the year beofre the national conference using the following application form.
Eligibility
To be eligible for admission to the membership category of Fellow the member must:
- be a registered nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Board Australia (NMBA)
- be a current financial member of ACORN through membership of their local association
- have appropriate postgraduate (or equivalent) qualifications in perioperative nursing or affiliated disciplines of nursing or health.
Applications from individuals who do not meet these requirements will not be considered.
Selection criteria
Applicants will be selected for the membership category of Fellow based on the following criteria that provide evidence of contributing to perioperative nursing.
Essential
To be considered, applicants must have:
- demonstrated a commitment to the vision and values of ACORN
- actively participated in ACORN, local associations and other bodies or committees
- been acknowledged by peers for high standards of professional practice
- actively promoted ACORN membership and the activities of the College
- produced publications and/or made presentations that have contributed to perioperative and nursing knowledge
- contributed to an ACORN standards review.
Desirable
Ideally, applicants will have:
- made a demonstrable contribution to the advancement of perioperative nursing on a professional, clinical or educational level
- been an ambassador for perioperative nursing
- served on a national and/or international committee
- contributed to perioperative nursing as an expert consultant or representative of perioperative nursing at international, national and state forums
- made a demonstrable contribution to submissions to governments regarding perioperative nursing issues.
Entitlements of Fellows
Fellows of ACORN shall be entitled to:
- be known as a Fellow of the Australian College of Perioperative Nurses
- use the postnominal FACORN
- be presented with and display the ACORN Fellowship certificate
- be presented with and wear the ACORN Fellowship badge
- purchase, be presented with and wear the ACORN Fellowship regalia
- be presented as a new ACORN Fellow in the conferring ceremony at the biennial ACORN conference
- be eligible to be a member of the ACORN Censor Panel.
Responsibilities of Fellows
Fellows of the College must uphold the values, mission statement and vision of the College as the peak body representing perioperative nurses nationally and internationally.
Termination of Fellowship
The status of Fellow will be withdrawn if the Fellow:
- lets their local association membership lapse
- brings disrepute upon ACORN or perioperative nursing
- fails to pay the annual Fellowship fee
- has their registration suspended or cancelled
- is convicted of a criminal offence.
How to apply
Members of ACORN may apply for their membership to be upgraded to Fellowship. Applications must be submitted using the form below, along with the required supporting evidence. The onus is on the member to provide appropriate documentation to support the application and incomplete applications will not be processed.
Applications must be submitted in full by 31 October in an odd year (i.e. the year before an ACORN conference).
There is an application fee of $50 and an annual fee of $100. In addition, local association membership must be retained.
An invoice for the $50 application fee will be sent upon receipt of the completed application form.
Supporting evidence
Please provide the following supporting evidence with your application:
- curriculum Vitae
- a statement of support from your local association president (Use the ACORN Fellowship statement of support form provided below.)
- a statement outlining the importance of ACORN Fellowship to you
- statements from two ACORN Fellows supporting your application. These statements must be signed and dated and confirm your contribution to perioperative nursing by specifically addressing each of the essential selection criteria and, where applicable, the desirable criteria as outlined above. (Use the ACORN Fellowship statement of support form provided below.)
Applications and nominations without the above supporting evidence will not be considered.
ACORN Fellowship statement of support form