April 2025;18(2):13 ABR Governor Desiree E. Morgan, MD, professor and vice chair of faculty affairs in the Department of Radiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), is one of three physicians awarded the Society of Abdominal Radiology (SAR) Gold Medal for 2025. The SAR Gold Medal is the highest recognition given by the Society and based…
April 2025;18(2):11 By Brooke Houck, PhD, ABR Associate Director of Assessments Research and Strategy Online Longitudinal Assessment (OLA) is a continuous assessment program that allows diplomates to engage in learning over the course of their five-year Continuing Certification Part 3 cycle. Having an OLA passing score in the fifth year of each cycle fulfills the…
By Rodney Campbell, ABR Communications Manager April 2024;18(2):9 There are career changes and there are career changes. Two decades ago, ABR volunteer Adina Alazraki, MD, made a huge switch in her work life. After completing training and working in the emergency room as an urgent care physician at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Dr. Alazraki rebooted…
By Geoffrey S. Ibbott, PhD, ABR Associate Executive Director for Medical Physics April 2025;18(2):6 To candidates for certification and even many diplomates, the ABR might appear to be a black box from which exams, requirements, and rules appear and decisions are handed down. However, nothing could be further from the truth. While the ABR has…
On this page DR Exam Changes: Timing Impacts for IR/DR Residents (December 12, 2025) IR/DR Certifying Exam Process Changes Coming in 2029 (March 10, 2025) 2025 December 12 DR Exam Changes: Timing Impacts for IR/DR Residents After months of soliciting feedback from stakeholders, the ABR is making changes to the timing of the Qualifying (Core)…
February 2025;18(1):16 ABR Trustee Kalpana M. Kanal, PhD, recently earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Upstate New York Chapter of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine. This award is given to an individual who has made lifelong and lasting contributions to medical physics. Dr. Kanal has worked in the department of radiology at…
February 2025;18(1):15 ABR Trustee Anne M. Covey, MD, has been elected as the RSNA Board Liaison for Public Information and Professionalism. An ABR volunteer since 2007, Dr. Covey is an interventional radiologist and professor of radiology in New York City at Weill Cornell Medical College and an attending radiologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center,…
By Rodney Campbell, ABR Communications Manager February 2025;18(1):12 With two older sisters planning to go into medicine, young Katherine Tzou was looking for a separate career. “Because I’m the youngest and wanted to be different, I thought there was no way I was going into medicine,” she said. “I was going to be an oceanographer.” …
By Brent Wagner, MD, MBA, ABR Executive Director February 2025;18(1):3 When the ABR began offering remote exams in 2021, their development and implementation were based on the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. But there are several practical advantages of remote exams for our candidates and diplomates; most importantly, enabling them to avoid the expense…
By Cheri L. Canon, MD, ABR President; Kinsey SmithWright, ABR Administrative and Exam Support Manager; and David Laszakovits, MBA, ABR Communications Director February 2025;18(1):2 The ABR has expanded communications with our candidates and diplomates over recent years, including blogs, The Beam (e-newsletter), and expanded content on our website. Our Board of Governors has emphasized the…
By John A. Kaufman, MD, MS, ABR President-elect; James B. Spies, MD, MPH, ABR Associate Executive Director for Interventional Radiology; and Brent Wagner, MD, MBA, ABR Executive Director February 2025;18(1):7 The Diagnostic Radiology Certifying Exam will be changing to an oral format in 2028. This past August, the ABR announced that it had retained a…
By Rodney Campbell, ABR Communications Manager February 2025;18(1):10 When he started at Rush Medical College in Chicago, Armaan Mazra, MS, had a goal: In 2025, he would be matching into a surgical residency, possibly orthopedic surgery. “I joined almost every surgical Interest group I could because I didn’t have a lot of perspective on medicine,…
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.