Awards

ASHT recognizes members and hand therapy supporters through the following awards, presented at the Annual Meeting:

Past award recipients
Hall of Fame

2024 Awards Timeline

May 20, 2024

Award nomination submission period opens
June 12, 2024

Award nomination submission deadline
June 16, 2024 Award nomination submission EXTENDED DEADLINE
July 8, 2024 Award winners notified
September 2024 Awards presented at 2024 ASHT Annual Meeting

* No ASHT Board of Directors member or Awards Committee member may be nominated for an award.

Research Awards

The ASHT Research Division names the following at each Annual Meeting:

Annual Awards

Nathalie Barr Lectureship Award

The Nathalie Barr Lectureship Award honors an ASHT member who has made significant original contributions to hand and upper extremity rehabilitation and to ASHT. The nominee must have shared this information through publication and speaking presentations; and/or shared a unique quality of work, theory, research and education that is original and genuinely supports ASHT mission, values and vision in one of following ways:

  • Development and/or refinement of professional theory, clinical methods and/or techniques used in hand and upper extremity therapy
  • Outstanding research with outcomes evidence to support hand and upper extremity therapy treatment
  • Contributions to hand and upper extremity therapy development, and to ASHT, as a profession
  • Contributions to the specialty of hand and upper extremity rehabilitation and/or healthcare not related to ASHT, specifically the candidate’s contributions to public service and/or awareness of hand and upper extremity therapy

Nominees for the Nathalie Barr Lectureship Award must be an Active member in good standing of ASHT for at least five years. No ASHT Board of Directors member or Awards Committee member may be nominated for an award.

The Awards Committee accepts nominees from the membership and selects the award winner through a structured process. The award is presented at the ASHT Annual Meeting. The award includes a plaque, $1,000 honorarium and complimentary registration to the Annual Meeting at which the lecture will be presented.

Nathalie Barr Lectureship Award nomination application 

Paul Brand Award

The Paul Brand Award recognizes individuals who have exemplified humanitarianism in their work as a hand therapist in addition to providing clinical and professional excellence in several facets of practice. Examples of such qualifications for practice acceptable for receipt of the Paul Brand Award may include: demonstration of excellence in patient care and/or research; demonstrated service to ASHT; advanced educational development to enhance others less able to receive optimum mentoring; and/or support to the promotion of the hand and upper extremity therapy specialty, any one of which must be above and beyond the usual work of the potential nominee. 

The candidate for this award is one who strives for the advancement of hand and upper extremity therapy, which may include underserved areas nationally and/or internationally. For the purpose of this award, a humanitarian is described as one who is devoted to the promotion of human welfare within the realm of hand therapy. 

Nominees for the Paul Brand Award must be Active, Lifetime, Associate or Affiliate members of ASHT in good standing for a minimum of five consecutive years including the year nominated. No ASHT Board of Directors member or Awards Committee member may be nominated for an award.

Up to three nominees may be selected to receive the Paul Brand Award per year.

Paul Brand Award nomination application 

Joy MacDermid Lifetime Scientific Award

This distinguished award recognizes an ASHT member who has made contributions through research to the science and practice of hand rehabilitation, which have subsequently changed hand and upper extremity therapy professional standards. The award is presented to an ASHT member who has demonstrated career-long research-related endeavors that have had a lasting and transformative impact on the science and practice of hand and upper extremity therapy.

The award is announced at the ASHT Annual Meeting. The recipient will be given a plaque and a $1,000 honorarium. The award recipient will present his/her research contributions during the Joy MacDermid Lectureship at the following year’s Annual Meeting. If the award is to be given, the recipient will be notified two months in advance of the Annual Meeting at which the award will be announced. The award recipient will also receive complimentary registration to the Annual Meeting at which the lecture will be presented.

One Joy MacDermid Lifetime Scientific Award in Hand Therapy will be considered every year. The award may not be given every year if no eligible candidates are nominated.

No ASHT Board of Directors member or Awards Committee member may be nominated for an award.

Joy MacDermid Lifetime Scientific Award in Hand Therapy nomination application 

Lifetime Fellowship Award

This distinguished award recognizes a member who has made lifelong contributions to ASHT and the hand and upper extremity therapy community at large. Lifelong ASHT fellows are honored for their long-term Society membership participation, exemplary leadership and documented achievements in the field. The cumulative effects of these recipients have been paramount in advancing the field of hand and upper extremity therapy through ASHT. Their talents have been diverse with integrated accomplishments.

Eligible lifetime fellows are individuals whom the Society deems worthy of special recognition in view of a career-long ASHT participation (e.g. volunteerism, Annual Meeting presentations, etc.), exemplary leadership and documented achievements in the field (e.g. publications, programs, advanced degrees, awards, etc.). The nomination is open to ASHT members active for a minimum of 25 years. Committee-endorsed recommendations will be represented to the board. No ASHT Board of Directors member or Awards Committee member may be nominated for an award.

Only one Lifetime Fellowship Award is presented each year.

Lifetime Fellowship nomination application 

Honorary Membership Award

The purpose of Honorary Membership Award is to recognize persons other than certified hand therapists who have made significant contributions to ASHT and the specialty of hand and upper extremity therapy through education, advocacy, research, public service, marketing and promotion of the ASHT’s mission, vision and values; whose achievements are of national or international significance or influence and have provided notable service to the specialty of hand and upper extremity therapy. Honorary Membership is awarded to an individual who is not already a member of ASHT and who is not eligible for Active or Associate membership in the society. One Honorary Membership Award will be considered every two years. No ASHT Board of Directors member or Awards Committee member may be nominated for an award.

Honorary Membership Award nomination application 

Hall of Fame Award

The Hall of Fame Award was established to recognize hand therapists who have reached the pinnacle of excellence in all areas of hand and upper extremity therapy. The areas identified for excellence include clinical practice, research, advocacy, education, international involvement and innovation. The nomination is open to former hand and upper extremity therapists currently retired from the profession. Nominees must be former (or current Retired) ASHT members with previous volunteer and leadership experience within the Society. No ASHT Board of Directors member or Awards Committee member may be nominated for an award.

Hall of Fame Award nomination application 

Emerging Hand Therapist Award

The Emerging Hand Therapist Award addresses the issues and achievements faced by Certified Hand Therapists within the first five years of initial HTCC certification as they begin in their specialty careers. The award fosters awareness and activity in newly certified hand therapists to encourage a legacy of participation in the profession. Nominees for the Emerging Hand Therapist Award must be an Active member in good standing of ASHT for at least three years. No ASHT Board of Directors member or Awards Committee member may be nominated for an award.

Emerging Hand Therapist Award nomination application 

Best Grassroots Effort Award

The Best Grassroots Effort Award recognizes an ASHT member’s, or group’s (example, a state association/hospital system/academic institution, etc.) passionate, and consistent involvement in governmental affairs at the national, state and/or local level during that fiscal year.

The future of hand therapy depends on the efforts of certified hand therapists in national, state, and local public awareness and governmental affairs activities. The purpose of the Best Grassroots Effort Award is to:

  • Motivate others to increase political involvement
  • Lead by example, showing that one person can make a difference through consistent involvement in governmental affairs activities.
  • Demonstrate strategic thinking in organizing or helping to organize a legislative or grassroots campaign.
  • Initiate coalitions to maximize advocacy efforts.
  • Raise the visibility and influence of the profession (individually and personally) 

Nominees for the Best Grassroots Effort must be either an Active ASHT member or an Affiliated Group (that includes at least one active ASHT member for at least two years). Examples of Affiliated Groups could be state associations, hand therapy practices or a group of hand therapists with at least one active ASHT member for at least two years. No ASHT Board of Directors member or Awards Committee member may be nominated for an award.

Best Grassroots Effort Award nomination application