Diagnostic radiology encompasses a variety of diagnostic and image-guided therapeutic techniques, including all aspects of radiological diagnosis, nuclear radiology, diagnostic ultrasound, magnetic resonance, computed tomography, interventional procedures and the use of other forms of radiant energy.

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The Certificate

As you progress through your residency and finish, you will take examinations to qualify for your first certification, which will be in diagnostic radiology.

If you have chosen to subspecialize, you can also take exams to qualify for subspecialty certificates in the following disciplines:

  Hospice and Palliative Medicine
  Neuroradiology
  Nuclear Radiology
  Pediatric Radiology
  Vascular and Interventional Radiology

Your certificate is time-limited; it is good for ten years.

In those ten years, you are expected to continue learning and improving your skills in a personalized program (see ABR-MOC ). Before the end of the tenth year (any time within the last three years of the cycle), you will take a Maintenance of Certification (MOC) exam. This is a practice-profiled, computer case-based, multiple-choice examination. The examination is distinctly different from the current oral exam. When you have completed all that is required for the MOC cycle, you are issued a new certificate. NOTE: Beginning in 2009, candidates will have a 10-year period after completion of training to obtain initial certification to.

Time Limitation for Attaining Initial Certification

Effective January 1, 2012, candidates have specific, pre-determined time limits for remaining eligible to be initially certified by the ABR and to maintain their status as "board eligible." Because a number of current candidates have completed training and continue in the examination process, the new policy will have a transitional phase-in period. In all instances, the phase-in timing will begin at the completion of diagnostic radiology or radiation oncology residency training. For international medical graduates, "end of training" is defined as the end of the four-year period outlined in the Sponsoring Department Agreement.

The termination dates for board eligibility status are listed below.

End of Training Termination of board eligibility

2004 or before: December 31, 2014

2005-2006: 10 years (e.g., 2015 or 2016)

2007-2010: January 1, 2017

2011 and afterward: 6 years from end of training

After the period of eligibility, candidates failing to successfully complete the initial certification process will no longer be considered by the ABR as "board eligible," will no longer be permitted to designate themselves as such for communications or credentialing purposes, and will no longer be reported as such on the ABMS website (www.certificationmatters.org/) or in verification letters.

To return to "board eligible" status, candidates must take an additional year of training in a department with an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited or Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC)-accredited diagnostic radiology or radiation oncology residency program. At the end of that year, the department chair must attest to satisfactory completion of the experience. After that documentation is provided to the ABR, the candidate may re-register and re-enter the certification process and will again be required to pass both the qualifying and certifying examinations within a six-year interval.

Questions related to these or other board certification issues can be addressed to Ms. Christina Slater at cslater@theabr.org, icnotification@theabr.org, or by calling (520) 790-2900.

To read the policy, please click here.