The focus of the Excellence in Clinical Engineering Leadership Award is on the achievements of individuals at-the institution activities level that go beyond that of routine operations of a quality Clinical Engineering (CE) department. The ExCEL Award targets institutional rather than national or international professional activities, although external leadership activities often accompany institutional leadership. The ExCEL Award also seeks individuals whose leadership is functional rather than merely being reflected by their position in the organization chart. Included in this category is impact on public benefits.

Therefore, The management of an efficient and effective Clinical Engineering department that fulfills the basic requirements of CE is assumed to be a prerequisite to the leadership qualities that the ExCEL Award seeks to recognize.

Since the initial evolution of the Clinical Engineering profession there has been a need for defining and for promoting an expanded leadership model designed for creating an environment of collaboration, involvement and action. Now, ACCE Healthcare Technology Foundation has embarked upon the implementation of the Excellence in Clinical Engineering Leadership Award [ExCEL] program. This recognition of leadership excellence program will enable improvement in processes, outcomes, and relationships associated with the management and advancement of technology throughout the health care delivery system. The ExCEL program functions through a panel of experts that are charged with the implementation and administration of assessment methodology, qualification requirements, scoring guidelines, and processing criteria of submitted applications.

Applications can be submitted electronically to secretariat@acce-htf.org or mailed to prior to the submission deadline - December 31st:

AHTF
Attn: ExCEL Application
5200 Butler Pike
Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462-1298

Application Form Guidelines
Application Form

Eligibility and Minimum Requirements
For purposes of the ExCEL Award Program, "clinical engineering practice" is defined as the professional practice of engineering in the clinical environment and a "clinical engineering program" is defined as a hospital function that includes clinical engineering practice and associated activities for management of healthcare technology.

Clinical engineering leaders may apply to the ExCEL Award Program if they

• are based in an accredited hospital within the United States;
• are member in good standing of the American College of Clinical Engineering (ACCE)
• have responsibility for healthcare technology life cycle management such as selection, inspection, maintenance, and repair of medical devices;
• limit engineering titles to personnel holding recognized engineering credentials;
• are actively involved in medical technology planning activities; and
• are actively involved in patient safety and risk management activities, and
• agree to promote this program through oral presentation, publications or networking

Applications to the ExCEL Award Program include,

• employment and employer information,
• verification of eligibility;
• support letters from their organization’s executives including administration, support services, and clinical,
• documentation of excellence in one or more priority areas,
• a commitment to the objectives of the ExCEL Award Program; and
• a non-refundable application fee

Excellence Priority Areas
The ExCEL Award Program periodically selects priority areas in which to encourage leadership, innovation and excellence. Clinical engineering professionals applying to the ExCEL Award Program must demonstrate excellence in one or more of the priority areas. Current priority areas are

• patient safety and risk mitigation;
• performance improvement and its monitoring;
• information technology integration;
• collaboration with clinicians;
• staff development, and
• community service

Awards
Awards under the ExCEL Award Program consist of

• a plaque suitable for permanent display in public areas of the hospital;
• a monetary prize to be used in furtherance of the hospital’s clinical engineering activities; and
• publication of the event in clinical, administrative, and public forums

Dissemination of Lessons Learned, Knowledge Gained
The identification and articulation of the characteristics competency profile of high performance leader will provide for opportunities to develop training to instill leadership excellence and leadership metrics and to lead to the creation of community network for exchange of critical information advancing leaders ability to impact patient safety and quality of care delivered.

Lessons learned and knowledge gained are disseminated by

• publication in the clinical engineering literature;
• presentation in clinical engineering and information technology educational forums;
• publication on electronic boards,
• posting on publicly access portals, and
• cross-disciplinary publication in clinical, nursing and administrative venues