More than 80 hospitals and health systems, along with more than 25 graduate health management programs participate in the National Council on Administrative Fellowships (NCAF).
NCAF creates an industry-standard in the recruitment of administrative fellows. In doing so, NCAF allows for a uniform and coordinated recruitment process, helps organizations access a national pipeline of the next generation of healthcare industry leaders, and brings fellowship sites and graduate health management programs together to share ideas and best practices.
NCAF provides administrative fellowship sites and graduate programs the tools to help their students when applying for administrative fellowships by creating a uniform coordinated recruitment process, providing access to national industry data, and providing opportunities for fellowship sites to share ideas, best practices, and expectations that allow for the preparation of students for administrative fellowships. Membership cycles run from January through December, but you can join at any time throughout the year.
The National Council on Administrative Fellowships began on October 1, 2014. As of October 2024, NCAF is made up of 123 member organizations including both fellowship sites and graduate health management programs. These organizations work collaboratively to continuously improve early-career development opportunities for our next-generation healthcare leaders.
The National Council on Administrative Fellowships brings tremendous value and impact to the industry. Cornerstones of the program include:
NCAF believes that the healthcare industry will benefit from better coordination across the field in the development and operation of fellowship programs. All members agree to abide by the guidelines of the NCAF Code of Good Practice, which includes upholding uniform application dates.
The Uniform Application (NAFCAS) dates for 2024 are as follows:
– Application Opens: June 7, 2024
– Phone Interviews can begin: September 9, 2024
– Application Closes: September 27, 2024
-Interview & Offer Period: September 30 – November 1
Applicants have no more than ten (10) calendar days to accept or decline the offer. If a second offer is received, the applicant has 24 hours to decide between the two offers. If the new offer is chosen to hold, the ten (10) calendar day acceptance period starts over.
NCAF members get exclusive access to a centralized application service (NAFCAS) to simplify the application process for fellowship applicants and administrative fellowship sites. NAFCAS is a one-stop-shop for administrative fellowship sites, applicants/students, and faculty/staff.
The NAFCAS 2024 – 2025 has two application cycles:
• Cycle 1 Applications Opens June 7, 2024
• Cycle 1 Applications Closes September 27, 2024
• Cycle 2 Applications Opens November 18, 2024
• Cycle 2 Applications Close January 31, 2025
The NAFCAS 2025 – 2026 has two application cycles:
• Cycle 1 Applications Opens June 6, 2025
• Cycle 1 Applications Closes September 26, 2025
• Cycle 2 Applications Opens November 24, 2025
• Cycle 2 Applications Close January 30, 2026
Visit the prospective fellow resource center for more information.
NAFCAS is powered by Liaison International
NCAF’s agenda is member-centric. The NCAF
Planning for the 2025 educational content is underway. 2024 recorded content was made available via email to NCAF members and non-members that registered ahead of time.
Watch previous series content.
In 2023, students, fellows, an emerging leaders will have access to A Guide for the Healthcare Early Careerist.
This podcast will have three series:
Interested in Sponsoring? Learn more about sponsorship levels here.
Contact ncaf@nchl.org with questions.
Podcast episodes are all available on Spotify.
In 2025, fellowship sites and graduate programs will have the opportunity to meet with other sites and fellows to discuss best practices, ask questions, and learn from each other. Calls for fellowship sites will be held quarterly. Fellows of member organizations will have quarterly calls for networking and professional development.
NCHL conducts four annual benchmarking surveys to assess trends, impact, and challenges that exist in the graduate healthcare administrative fellowship area. NCHL reports aggregated responses back to participants and to the broader graduate healthcare management community. Responses provide everyone with important knowledge on the current state of fellowships and help our program members navigate the future of administrative fellowships. 2023 – 2024 results of the NCAF benchmarking surveys have been released to members. You can purchase the report here.
For 2024, NCAF has developed specific sponsorship opportunities for training organizations, hospital and health systems, graduate programs, and fellowship sites. These opportunities for sponsorship are geared toward organizations looking to connect with students, early careerists, and current interns and fellows. Click below to see the full sponsorship packet. Questions about sponsorship can be directed to ncaf@nchl.org.
NCAF membership cycles run from January through December. Membership consists of $1,500 for fellowship sites and $1,250 graduate programs. New NCAF Fellowship Sites who join are charged a one-time administrative fee of $500 to get NAFCAS set-up.
NCAF members include administrative fellowship sites and graduate health management programs. Members join as an organization, not on an individual basis.
The implementation guide for fellowship sites was updated to reflect changes in the field over the last five years. The updated version can be found on the NCHL online store.
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Published on December 2, 2022
