Nominate a Gold Standard R.T.

The nomination period runs from Jan. 26 – March 8. 

There’s no limit - you can submit as many nominations as you would like. Feel free to nominate an R.T., an educator – or both! You can even nominate yourself too. 

To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of ARRT’s I Am The Gold Standard awards, we’re introducing a special one-time Educator Award in 2026. For a decade, we have honored R.T.s who exemplify quality, safety, and advocacy. This new award extends that tradition by recognizing the educators who prepare and inspire the next generation of R.T.s. 

Educators play a vital role in shaping the future of the profession. The 2026 Educator Award celebrates individuals who demonstrate outstanding leadership in teaching, mentorship, and advocacy. It reflects ARRT’s ongoing commitment to educational excellence and to supporting the educators who elevate the profession through their dedication and expertise. 

This guidance applies to both the I Am the Gold Standard award nomination and this year’s Educator Award: 

• Before you start, look at the sample PDFs (for both awards) and gather all the information ahead of time. 
• If you exit the survey before it’s submitted, you can’t go back and change or update your responses. You’ll have to start a new nomination. 
• For the essay section at the end of the form, one or two paragraphs with examples is fine. You also don’t need to cover all the criteria to be considered for the award. One or two is plenty. 

Yes. Here are some examples of what you might include: 

• Quality & Safety: Summaries/case studies of the nominee’s creative approaches to quality, safety, or patient-experience initiatives  
• Advocacy: Significant volunteer activities or outside-of-work accomplishments that promote growth of the profession  
• Impact: Customer service data or a summary of feedback from patients or co-workers  
• Research: Specific research or activities that the nominee is significantly involved in—with measurable results, if available  
• Professional Contributions: Presentations, publications, or leadership roles in professional organizations. 

Your essay might focus on one or more of the following: 

• Impact: Data or examples showing improved student outcomes (e.g., certification pass rates, graduation rates, competency assessments). 
• Innovation: Overviews of creative teaching methods, curriculum development, or technology integration that enhanced learning. 
• Mentorship: Program details or personal guidance that helped students succeed professionally and adopt safe, ergonomic practices. 
• Advocacy: Initiatives that expanded access to education or promoted growth of the R.T. profession. 

We’ve changed our nomination form this year and some of these fields are now optional. However, if you’re comfortable, we strongly recommend including as much contact information as possible. 

We contact the winners by phone initially, followed by an email. We also contact the winner’s supervisor first to make sure the nominee is in good standing. 

Yes, this happens frequently. If the nominee has fresh accomplishments, or you left out pertinent information from your initial nomination, we encourage you to nominate that individual again.

Once you submit your completed nomination, your submission is reviewed by a selection committee comprised of ARRT staff R.T.s and leaders. Because of the volume of submissions, and ARRT’s commitment to giving each nomination equal consideration, we conduct a thorough review and selection process. 

Winners are typically selected and notified in May or June. 

Nominators will see a confirmation screen appear after they click on the submit button.