INITIAL CERTIFICATION POLICIES

The following policies are pertinent to Initial Certification :

Appeals
CAMPEP - Physics only
Professional Standing
 Policy Regarding Brachytherapy Requirements - RO only 

APPEALS POLICY

The American Board of Radiology has established the Appeals Policy to resolve concerns with decisions made by the Board relative to the following five areas:

1. Training requirements
2. Admissibility to examinations
3. Examination process
4. Requests for examination accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ( see ADA information )
5. Non-renewal of MOC certificates

The policy provides for three avenues of resolution for concerns:

1. Inquiries and requests as to status or requirements
2. Requests for reconsideration by the Board
3. Appeals hearings (informal and formal)

All appeals MUST be made in writing, submitted via email or certified letter, and received at the ABR office no more than 45 days from the date of the initial written notification of the Board decision. Appeals must be addressed to the Executive Director, and appropriate documentation should accompany written concerns.

CATEGORIES OF CONCERNS

Training Requirements
-Concerns regarding denial of approval of training.

Admissibility to Examination
-Concerns regarding the denial of admissibility to an examination for any other reason.

Examination Process
-Concerns regarding the process (including form or administration, e.g., computer malfunction) of the Initial Certifying examinations.
-Examination results may not be appealed.*
-Written feedback on oral exams and hand scoring of computer-based exams are available for initial certification in these areas:

-Appropriate documentation should accompany written concerns.

Requests under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
-Concerns regarding the denial of a request for examination accommodations under the ADA

* All examination results are subject to extensive quality assurance procedures before release. In the case of the oral examinations, scores are reviewed on-site at the oral exams by multi-category panels, senior staff, and trustees.

This policy is subject to amendment. Candidates and Diplomates are advised to check the ABR website periodically for the most current version.

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ABR MEDICAL PHYSICS EXAMINATION
FUTURE REQUIREMENTS (CAMPEP)

Addendum to 2002 Policy
Updated March 2010

Two new requirements address eligibility to take the ABR initial certification examination in medical physics with linkage to CAMPEP-accredited education programs starting in 2012. This policy statement was developed by the Medical Physics Trustees as a follow-up to the August 17, 2007, ABR/CAMPEP Summit in Dallas, Texas. The policy as recommended was approved by the full ABR Board of Trustees on October 13, 2007.

2010 Initiative:

Candidates taking the American Board of Radiology Part 1 examination in medical physics for the first time in 2012 or later must be enrolled in or have graduated from a CAMPEP-accredited education program (e.g., MS, PhD, or residency). A candidate who has graduated from the CAMPEP-accredited education program at the time of application must be working as a medical physicist as specified here .

2014 Initiative:

Candidates taking Part 1 for the first time in 2014 or later also must have completed a CAMPEP-accredited residency program before being eligible to take the Part 2 examination in Medical Physics.

Note: If a candidate's completed application for Part 1 is submitted for an examination to take place prior to the dates specified in the new requirements above, the candidate is subject only to the rules in effect at the time of submission and is not bound by any subsequent new rules. The new eligibility requirements for Part 1 and Part 2 will not be applied retroactively to candidates in process.

ABR procedures require application submission by September 30 of the year before the examination.

This policy is subject to amendment.

Candidates and diplomates are advised to check the ABR website periodically for the most current version.

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Professional Standing Policy for Applicants/Candidates

REQUIRED LICENSURE:

For certification by the ABR, the physician must hold either:

1. a current, full and unrestricted license to practice medicine in at least one jurisdiction in the United States, its territories or Canada, or
2. in jurisdictions which provide for a "training license" under the supervision of the institution"s training program, the physician must hold such license continuously and without restriction

Any restrictions placed on any medical license or training license must be reported to the ABR by the physician within 60 days of their imposition.

  Policy Regarding Brachytherapy Requirements

February 21, 2011

Purpose: To clarify classification of brachytherapy and radioactive unsealed sources for completion of residency training and registration for the ABR certifying examination.

Program directors and candidates for ABR certification have frequently raised questions regarding the appropriate category for logs in brachytherapy cases because of differing terminology employed by the ACGME, FDA, and NRC, and the periodic introduction of new agents and delivery systems that seem not to permit simple categorization. This policy has been developed to reduce that confusion and to better enable staff to deal with numerous candidate inquiries.

Current requirements: (from the ACGME Program Essentials in Radiation Oncology, adopted 1/2009)

IV.A.5.a).(2)….... must perform no fewer than 5 interstitial implants and 15 intracavitary implants. Resident involvement should include planning, review of dosimetry, and hands-on participation in a significant portion of the implantation procedure. Separate applications of an implant in a given patient (such as two separate intracavitary applications) may be counted as two separate procedures. However, multiple fractions of a single application (such as multiple fractions of an interstitial implant) may be counted only once. Only one resident may count a specific application.

IV.A.5.a).(3)……. must participate in the administration of no fewer than six procedures using radioimmunotherapy, other targeted therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals, or unsealed radioactive sources;

Note: NRC requirements for Authorized User eligibility require a minimum of 3 oral I-131 cases and 3 cases employing unsealed sources.

Acceptable case material:

Interstitial implants

• Any application of radioactive needles, wires, or seeds directly into a tumor volume or into catheters placed in a tumor volume (e.g. prostate brachytherapy, etc)
• Any application of sealed or unsealed sources into a catheter pre-placed directly into tissue (non-natural body cavity or non-natural lumen) (e.g. breast balloons, GliaSite® applications, etc.)
• Surface molds

Intracavitary implants

• Any LDR or HDR application into a natural body cavity or lumen, whether direct or into a pre-placed applicator (e.g. endobronchial, billiary, cervix, endometrial, etc.)

Parenteral procedures (to be considered as unsealed sources for NRC Authorized User eligibility a minimum of 3 are required)

• Therapeutic microspheres for treatment of disease in any anatomic site (e.g. TheraSpheres®, SIR Spheres®, etc.)
• Unsealed sources for treatment of bone metastasis (e.g. strontium-89, samarium-153
• Unsealed sources for treatment of hematologic malignancies (e.g. P-32)
• Unsealed source administration directly into a body cavity (e.g. P-32)

Oral 131-Iodine procedures (for NRC Authorized User (or Agreement State) eligibility a minimum of 3 cases with administered activity equal to or in excess of 1.22 Gigabecquerels (33 mCi) are required)

• Conditions may be either benign or malignant but the counted administration must be for therapeutic intent.

Case logs and case counting

Program Directors and/or clinical supervisors will be required to attest on candidate case logs to the candidate’s meaningful participation in reported/counted cases.

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These policies are subject to amendment. Candidates and Diplomates are advised to check the ABR web site periodically for the most current version.