Current Awards

Clinical Fellowship Rescue Funding Award

Issue Date: February 3, 2020
Application Due Date: May 4, 2020 by 11:59 p.m. CT
Award Selection Notification: By July 31, 2020
Period of Performance: 1 year
Amount of Award: Up to $65,000 of support

The AASM Foundation is committed to the expansion of the field of sleep medicine with highly qualified researchers and clinicians. To ensure that there is a healthy pipeline of board-certified sleep medicine physicians that can provide quality care for all patients who have a sleep or circadian disorder, the AASM Foundation provides matching funds to maintain Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) sleep medicine fellowship slots at organizations at risk of losing funding through a competitive application process. The goal of this award is to provide supporting funds for a one-year sleep fellowship slot, that was included in the sleep medicine fellowship match, while the program works to secure funding for the subsequent year(s).

The Clinical Fellowship Rescue Funding Award provides funds for one year and can be up to $65,000 per award. The funds must be matched by another source (division/department, industry, etc.) and this support will need to be indicated in the application. The funds can be used for salary support and related expenses (benefits, etc.). The award is a contract between the AASM Foundation and the awardee’s organization, and funds must be used for the intended purpose.

The following eligibility criteria must be met:

  • The application must be submitted by a sleep medicine Program Director from an ACGME-accredited sleep medicine fellowship program that is in good standing.
  • If the sleep medicine fellowship program has citations, they must be disclosed in the application along with ACGME documentation of continued accreditation despite the citation(s). A plan on how the program is addressing the citation/s will also be required.
  • Documentation that this is an established ACGME-accredited sleep medicine fellowship slot that is at risk of being lost due to funding issues must be provided.
  • The program must provide evidence for support from an organization (division/department, industry, etc.) that will provide matching funds for the award.
  • Individuals may apply for renewal of funding during each application cycle, however, there is no guarantee of continued funding, and funding will generally not be provided for more than 2 consecutive years.
  • Sponsoring organizations and fellowship programs may only hold one active award at a time.

  • Additional or new sleep medicine fellowship slots will not be funded through the Clinical Fellowship Rescue Funding Award.
  • Sleep medicine fellowship slot/s being closed due to citation issues will not be funded. Programs losing a fellowship slot due to lack of funding that also have significant citations are not eligible to apply.

An award committee, appointed by the AASM Foundation Executive Committee, will evaluate and score all submitted applications. Factors that will be taken into consideration include:

  1. Funding: Description of past funding mechanisms for the sleep medicine fellowship slot, avenues being pursued for current funding in addition to the Clinical Fellowship Rescue Funding Award, and feasible plan for securing funding in the future.
  2. Training and Outcomes: Description of training received by sleep medicine fellows and whether it is well-structured and will equip fellows to have successful and productive sleep medicine careers.
  3. Appropriateness: A clear and feasible plan on how the Clinical Fellowship Rescue Funding Award will facilitate maintenance of the sleep medicine fellowship slot, and what will be achieved with the funds.
  4. Budget: Current budget for funding from award is well-justified and there is written confirmation that support from at least one additional organization to provide additional funds to fully fund the sleep medicine fellowship slot has been secured.

A full payment (100%) is remitted upon execution of the contract.

Since this award is intended as support, if additional external funds are received (e.g. VA, industry, etc.) to fully fund the sleep medicine fellowship slot, the program director must notify the AASM Foundation and the following would apply:

  • If external funds are received between submission of the application and notification of award, the application must be voluntarily withdrawn from further consideration.
  • If external funds are received after notification of award but prior to distribution of Foundation funds, Foundation funds would not be released, and the award would be closed out with the AASM Foundation.
  • If external funds are received after distribution of AASM Foundation funds, the remaining Foundation funds should be returned, and the award would be closed out with the AASM Foundation once the funds are received back.

Additionally, if additional external funds that are not identified in the application are received (e.g. VA, industry, etc.) to further partially fund the sleep medicine fellowship slot, the program director must notify the AASM Foundation and submit updated budget and budget justification documents indicating the amount of funds the program would need to retain to ensure full funding of the sleep medicine fellowship slot.

The AASM Foundation intends the Clinical Fellowship Rescue Funding Award to aid sleep fellowship programs by providing relief funds for fellowship slots at risk of being lost due to funding.

The expected results from receiving funding and deliverables should be clearly stated in the application. The program director must submit progress and final reports during the project period, describing activities and results, as outlined below. Failure to meet the deliverables or submit progress or final reports may result in the award organization being ineligible for any future funding from the AASM Foundation until the report(s) are submitted and approved.

Progress Reports Every six months
Final Report Within 90 days of award completion

Upon execution of the contract, the program director must submit a progress report at six months and final report within 90 days of award completion, both to include a financial report.

Outcomes evaluation is an essential component of this award. The reports must be in a format specified by the AASM Foundation Reports, must include an accounting of how award funds were spent during the reporting period, and an update on plans to secure funding for the fellowship slot the following training year.