By Rodney Campbell, ABR Communications Manager August 2023;16(4): After graduating from Kent State University with a bachelor’s degree in applied physics, Kelsey Bittinger, MS, took an unusual path. She loaded her belongings and moved to Austria to play pro volleyball. “It worked out really well because I wasn’t sure of what I wanted to do…
By Rodney Campbell, ABR Communications Manager August 2023;16(4):10 They are part of a club so exclusive that there are only two members. Ted Cardoso, MD, and Gaston Mendez Jr., MD, have each answered more than 1,000 OLA questions since they began participating in 2019. Both maintain specialty certificates in diagnostic/interventional radiology along with neuroradiology and…
By Vincent P. Mathews, MD, Former ABR President August 2023;16(4):11 It is with great sadness that we note the passing of Dr. James Youker, former ABR volunteer and trustee, on June 12 at Angel’s Grace Hospice in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. Dr. Youker’s life was one of service – to the medical community, to our nation, and…
By Rodney Campbell, ABR Communications Manager August 2023;16(4):5 Mary S. Newell, MD, is cutting back on her duties at Emory University and the Winship Cancer Institute. But that doesn’t mean she’s slowing down much even as her active work schedule is pared. Dr. Newell, a professor of radiology and imaging sciences at Emory and a…
By Rodney Campbell, ABR Communications Manager August 2023;16(4):9 Anyone who has questions about serving as an ABR volunteer should reach out to Mark Mullins, MD, PhD. Dr. Mullins earned an ABR Lifetime Achievement Award this year after spending 15 highly productive years as a volunteer. His duties ran the spectrum: computer-based exam question writer, oral…
On this page DR Oral Exam Pilot Added to 2027 Schedule (August 28, 2026) First Edition of Candidate Guide Posted (July 23, 2026) ABR Trustee Explains How Oral Exams Allow Candidates To Share Their Knowledge (June 15, 2026) ABR Newsletter Features Helpful Articles About Oral Exams (June 10, 2026) ABR Executive Director Brent Wagner, MD,…
By Geoffrey S. Ibbott, PhD, ABR Associate Executive Director for Medical Physics, and Michael Yunes, MD, ABR Associate Executive Director for Radiation Oncology June 2023;16(3):7 The ABR continues to evolve its oral exam platform. This spring, oral examiners conducted exams from Tucson as well as from remote locations, resulting in the first “hybrid” exams. In…
June 2023;16(3):9 By Gary J. Becker, MD, Former ABR Executive Director What possessed me to agree to attempt the impossible: pen a befitting farewell to Reed Dunnick on his retirement from the position of ABR associate executive director (AED) for diagnostic radiology (DR)? I don’t know. After all, no one can encapsulate and reduce to…
By James B. Spies, MD, MPH, ABR Associate Executive Director for Interventional Radiology June 2023;16(3):5 The ABR is committed to serving all its stakeholders, and candidates for initial board certification are among the most important. To become certified in IR/DR, candidates must pass three exams: the Qualifying (Core) Exam, the computer-based portion of the Certifying…
By Robert M. Barr, MD, ABR President June 2023;16(3):2 On April 13, the ABR announced that the Diagnostic Radiology Certifying Exam, currently administered in a written multiple-choice format 15 months after graduation from residency, will be replaced with a remote online oral exam. The new format will be required for candidates completing residency during or…
By Rodney Campbell, ABR Communications Manager June 2023;16(3):8 There are several reasons why Jordan Mackner might not have enrolled in medical school last year: Obstacles slowed but didn’t stop Jordan, who’s now a first-year medical student at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix. At age 38, he appreciates his unconventional route, which included working…
June 2023;16(3):10 The ABR Board of Trustees (BOT) is adding two members: Steven J. Frank, MD, and Ashok Gupta, MD. Both appointments take effect at the October board meeting. Dr. Frank is an endowed tenured professor of radiation oncology and holds the Bessie McGoldrick Professorship in Clinical Research at The University of Texas MD Anderson…
The ABR is a not-for-profit organization and member of the American Board of Medical Specialties. Our mission is to certify that our diplomates demonstrate the requisite knowledge, skill, and understanding of their disciplines to the benefit of patients. Our vision is to positively impact the lives of all patients as the foremost trusted certifying body assuring the highest standards of specialty expertise and professionalism in the radiological sciences.