August 2021;14(4):11 Prior to the pandemic, the ABR had approximately 100 employees on site in Tucson. As with many organizations, we made the necessary adjustment to a work-from-home environment and, after some adaptation to a different version of normal, we found ourselves learning and functioning at new and exciting levels – just as many of…
By Vincent P. Mathews, MD, ABR President June 2021;14(3):2 In response to a February 2019 report generated by an independent commission (Continuing Board Certification: Vision for the Future), the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) has developed a set of standards for Member Boards to follow when developing refinements and enhancements to their continuing certification…
By Donald J. Flemming, MD, ABR Board of Trustees Chair June 2021;14(3):5 The ABR’s mission is to certify that our diplomates demonstrate the requisite knowledge, skill, and understanding of their disciplines to the benefit of patients. Completion of this charge is only possible through the tireless dedication of the 1,300 volunteers who support this goal….
By Brent Wagner, MD, MBA, ABR Executive Director June 2021;14(3):3 Last month, the ABR hosted hundreds of candidates for oral board certification exams in medical physics, interventional radiology, and radiation oncology. The result of almost a year of design and iterative development, the exam interface combined standard video conference software with an interactive platform developed…
June 2021;14(3):12 The Association of University Radiologists (AUR) has recognized ABR Trustee Sanjeev Bhalla, MD, with the 2021 A3CR2 Outstanding Teacher Award. This award honors an outstanding teacher in radiology as evidenced by the quality of their presentations and teaching materials, their ability to motivate learning, their effectiveness as a mentor, and the impact that…
By Rodney Campbell, ABR Communications Manager June 2021;14(3):10 Less than a year after the ABR Board committed to moving from in-person to remote oral exams in 2021, candidates were online with examiners using the new platform. It took countless hours of staff and volunteer work, but the effort was worth it: a combined 918 interventional…
By Paul E. Wallner, DO, ABR Associate Executive Director for Radiation Oncology; Lydia Malis, ABR Associate Director of Exam Services; and Anthony Gerdeman, PhD, ABR Director of Exam Services June 2021;14(3):8 ABR radiation oncology trustees had been considering alternatives to in-room, hotel-based certifying (oral) exams for some time, but when the May 2020 exams had…
June 2021;14(3):9 By Rodney Campbell, ABR Communications Manager First-time ABR examiners this spring only experienced in-person oral exams in Louisville or Tucson as candidates. Although their knowledge of the old process is limited, they see many advantages in using the remote format. We reached out to five new examiners to get their thoughts on the…
By James B. Spies, MD, MPH, ABR Associate Executive Director for Interventional Radiology June 2021;14(3):6 With the administration of the oral certifying exams last month, the ABR has successfully completed its first remote IR/DR certification cycle, an achievement that seemed a nearly insurmountable task a year ago, when it became apparent that conducting exams remotely…
By N. Reed Dunnick, MD, ABR Associate Executive Director for Diagnostic Radiology June 2021;14(3):11 Continuing certification for physicians requires lifelong learning and a cognitive assessment of the knowledge of practicing physicians and physicists. The Online Longitudinal Assessment (OLA) instrument developed by the ABR is designed to both test knowledge and provide learning. The explanations given…
by Cheri L. Canon, MD, ABR Governor June 2021;14(3):4 The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) brings together 24 Member Boards, including the ABR, and seeks to establish certain standards across all specialties in an effort to allow the public to rely on “board certification” as a consistent credential. In July 2020, the ABMS announced…
By Matthew B. Podgorsak, PhD, Kalpana M. Kanal, PhD, Robert A. Pooley, PhD, ABR Trustees; J. Anthony Seibert, ABR Governor; and Geoffrey S. Ibbott, PhD, ABR Associate Executive Director for Medical Physics June 2021;14(3):7 After a successful pilot administration to a limited number of candidates in March, the first full-scale Medical Physics Remote Certifying Oral…
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.