Fellow of Neurocritical Care

The Fellow of Neurocritical Care Society (FNCS) is a program offered by NCS that recognizes exceptional service, academic excellence and leadership in the field of neurocritical care. Individuals who meet the requirements of this Fellowship will add the letters, FNCS, to their respective titles.

Requirements for Fellow of Neurocritical Care

FNCS membership is predicated on a long history of dedicated program development, scholarship, leadership and professionalism within the field of neurocritical care. Examples within each category can be found below. Significant contributions to the field of neurocritical care must be solidly demonstrated in all four areas. Applicants must demonstrate achievements worthy of national or international recognition. If an applicant is not sure they are meeting the criteria, it is suggested that they discuss their qualifications with an FNCS-designated member who is not currently serving on the FNCS Credentialling Committee. Individuals who are considering FNCS application in the future may email info@neurocriticalcare.org for assistance with identifying an appropriate FNCS mentor or coach.

Program Development

The applicant must demonstrate substantial contributions to the development of a neuro ICU or program that impacts the care of critically ill neuroscience patients, or substantial contributions to the improvement of an existing unit or program.  Program development may include any aspect of neurocritical care including clinical, educational, research, or administrative programs.

• Examples Include:
  • Initiating or making substantive improvements in:
    • Neurocritical care units or programs
    • Neurocritical care related research programs
    • Neurocritical care fellowship program
    • Residency programs in neurocritical care for Pharmacists, Advanced Practice Providers  (APPs), or Registered Nurse (RNs)
  • Quality improvement initiatives in neurological critical care, which may include the development of protocols or guidelines
  • Developing local, regional or national neurocritical care educational symposia
  • Development or expansion of a TeleICU program in neurocritical care
  • Initiating or substantially expanding roles of RNs, APPs or PharmDs within neurocritical care

Scholarly Activities Related to Neurocritical Care

Scholarly activities include educational activities, research (either clinical or basic science), and scientific publications. Educational scholarly activities must involve neurocritical care education directed toward physicians, nurses, pharmacists, trainees, students, allied health professionals, or the general public. These activities should be beyond what is routinely expected in an applicants’ job. For example, grand rounds or routine lectures given to residents or faculty would not be included. Research and publications should be directly related to the field of neurocritical care.

• Examples Include:
  • Regular lectures at a regional or national level
  • Evidence of high-quality teaching and education as documented by teaching awards
  • Teaching regional/state/national educational symposia
  • Grants from local/regional/date/national agencies
  • Original scientific peer reviewed publications
  • Peer- reviewed on non-peer-reviewed educational publications such as book chapters or review articles
  • Active participation in the development of evidence based clinical guidelines.
  • Mentoring research projects

Leadership in the Field of Neurocritical Care

Activity in this area must include leadership in organizations that are devoted to education, practice, administration, and/or research in neurocritical care. This generally means regional or national elected leadership positions, although other examples will be considered if the applicant’s leadership contributions are clearly articulated. Significant activity in the Neurocritical Care Society is required; however, active involvement in task forces or special contributions to committee work in other critical care, neurological, or neurosurgical societies may be recognized. A description of contributions made while in the leadership role must be included.

• Examples Include:
  • Section Chair, Director, Council Member, Chancellor, or the equivalent of neurocritical care sections in an affiliated critical care, neurological, nursing, pharmacy or allied health societies
  • Leader of a committee or task force related to neurocritical care
  • Board membership in societies related to neurocritical care
  • Division director or Service Chief
  • Unit Director
  • Department Chair
  • Stroke Center Director

Professionalism and Collaboration

Fellow applicants must provide evidence that they participate in and collaborate with a multidisciplinary team dedicated to the care and management of critically ill neurological patients.

• Examples Include:
  • Multidisciplinary rounds
  • Lecturing to other provider types
  • Chairing/or member of multidisciplinary committees
  • Working with groups of clinicians or researchers with diverse backgrounds
  • Mentoring different provider types
  • Speaking at interdisciplinary conferences
  • Including different provider types in process improvement programs/guidelines/conferences

If the applicant is deemed by the FNCS Credentialing Committee to have met all requirements, then they would be awarded with the letters FNCS to denote being a Fellow of the Neurocritical Care Society. For an applicant to be awarded this designation, the FNCS Credentialing Committee must either vote that all criteria are met unanimously or with only one dissent (therefore, either “unanimous” or “unanimous-1”).

Requirements for Application

The following requirements must be met at the time of application. Only applicants that fully meet the outlined requirements will be presented to the FNCS committee. Please review the FNCS Application Guidelines prior to application submission.

1. Completed application form
2. Current curriculum vitae. Please use the provided template. 
3. A personal statement outlining specific examples of sustained excellence in the areas of program development, scholarly activities, neurocritical care leadership, and professionalism and collaboration. Please include a description of time (percent effort) spent in various aspects of practice, specifically direct clinical care practice, research/scholarship activities, and administrative responsibilities. Please use the provided template and limit your personal statement to a maximum of 4 pages.
4. A copy of the applicant's primary certification which must be completed and up to date, i.e., Board certification in a medical specialty, nursing, pharmacy, respiratory therapy, etc.
5. Three written letters of recommendation from active NCS members outlining why the applicant should be accepted as a fellow.
   1. 1. Please Note: one letter must be from a colleague in a different profession, and one letter must come from a member previously awarded FNCS designation (however, current members of the FNCS Credentialing Committee are ineligible to provide letters of recommendation). In addition, at least one letter should come from an individual who practices outside of the applicant’s current institution/organization or previous training program. A single letter may be used to fulfill more than one of these criteria (for example, a letter from an FNCS colleague from a different profession fulfills two of the three requirements).   
6. Applicant must be an active member of the Neurocritical Care Society for a minimum of 5 continuous years (60 months) at the time of application. Time as a student, resident, or fellow member does not count towards the time requirement for eligibility.
7. Applicant must have participated in at least 5 national or international conferences with a neurocritical care focus, with a minimum of 2 of these being the Neurocritical Care Society Annual Meeting. Meetings attended must be detailed on the application.
8. Applicant must have a minimum of five (5) years (60 months) of post-training professional practice/experience at the time of application. While 5 years (60 months) of post training professional practice is the minimum requirement, most candidates require 8 to 10 years to develop a career appropriate for FNCS inclusion.

Completed applications and all requirements should be sent to the NCS Executive Office at info@neurocriticalcare.org.

The applications for the fellowship will be reviewed by the NCS FNCS Credentialing Committee, which comprises the following individuals, all of whom are FNCS certified. FNCS Committee members are not eligible to write letters of recommendation.

Committee Leadership

• Committee Chair: Jason Makii, PharmD, MBA, FNCS
• Committee Chair-Elect: Ivan Da Silva, MD, PhD, FNCS
• Immediate Past Chair: Dea Mahanes, DNP, RN, CCNS, FNCS
• NCS Board of Directors Representative: Ryan Hakimi, DO, MS, NVS, RPNI, CPB, FCCM, FNCS

Committee Members

• Mary Amatangelo, DNP, RN, ACNP-BC, CCNS, CNRN, SCRN, FAHA, FNCS
• Keith Dombrowski, MD, FNCS
• Diana Greene-Chandos, MD, FNCS
• Deepa Malaiyandi, MD, FNCS
• Jeffrey Mucksavage, PharmD, FNCS
• Santosh Murthy, MD, FNCS
• David Seder, MD, FNCS

Completed applications and all requirements should be sent to the NCS Executive Office at info@neurocriticalcare.org.

Special Exemption Process

Individuals who cannot meet requirements in all four domains (e.g., bench researcher, retired clinician) may petition to be evaluated under special exemption. These individuals must show exceptional achievements in one or several of the four domains (Program Development, Scholarly Activities, Leadership in Neurocritical Care, and Professionalism and Collaboration). Petitions for Special Exemption must be submitted prior to the initial application and prior to the application deadline to be considered.  

Appeal Process

If the applicant is deemed by the FNCS Credentialing Committee not to have met all requirements for fellowship, a denial of acceptance letter will be sent by the Chair of the Committee to the denied applicant. The letter will outline which criteria for admission were met and why a candidate did not meet all criteria.

An applicant may appeal the Committee’s decision if they feel they can provide additional explanation that may change that decision. Any additional information submitted must be related to activities or outcomes that occurred prior to the time of the initial submission. Applicant must submit the appeal within 30 days of the date that the initial denial letter was sent. The FNCS Credentialing Committee will re-evaluate the candidate’s initial packet and any additional information provided. The applicant will be notified of the Committee’s decision via letter.

Applicants who do not receive FNCS designation after appealing to the FNCS Committee may request review by the Board of Directors if the applicant feels they can demonstrate a process failure only. Appeal to the BOD will not overturn the FNCS Credentialing Committee decision unless a breach of process is demonstrated. To overturn the Committee’s decision, a two-thirds majority of the Board must vote to support the applicant’s process appeal.

Unsuccessful Applicants

Applicants who are determined not to meet the requirements for FNCS designation may reapply after a period of two years. Unsuccessful applicants may request a meeting for additional feedback from the Credentialling Committee by contacting the NCS Office.

FNCS Designee Responsibilities

Continued service to NCS is an expectation of FNCS designees and may include committee service, educational efforts, and mentorship.  With the exception of current FNCS Credentialing Committee members, FNCS designees should offer advice to potential FNCS applicants regarding the strengths and weaknesses of their application, and, if asked, should write a thorough, descriptive and honest assessment of the applicant’s suitability for FNCS credentials. Designees should continue to represent NCS in a positive, ethical manner.

Rescinding and Non-Renewal of FNCS Credentials

FNCS designees will forfeit their FNCS credentials if they: 1) forfeit NCS membership; 2) fail to pay FNCS dues after sufficient notice and payment opportunities are provided; or 3) are found in violation of the NCS Ethics policy.

A one-time application fee of $100 for FNCS is required. Upon acceptance of the FNCS application, one will be required to pay $50 annually in addition to the annual NCS membership dues in order to maintain the FNCS status.

Purchase FNCS Application Fee

2025 Dates

Applications Open: Monday, January 13, 2025

Application Close: Friday, April 11, 2025

Application Decision Sent: Week of June 20, 2025

Appeal Deadline: Sunday, July 27, 2025

Appeal Decisions Sent: Week of August 8, 2025

Annual Meeting Induction Ceremony: September 16-19, 2025