New Year Kicks Off Period of Project Refinement
By Brent Wagner, MD, MBA, ABR Executive Director, and Robert M. Barr, MD, ABR President
2024;17(1):3
The volunteer Board of Governors provides oversight of ABR staff activities, programs, and projects by defining priorities. For 2024, those priorities include the refinement of several diverse projects that were developed during 2021-2022 and the continued evolution of major programs, including those related to remote exams. The goal of these partially overlapping efforts is not only to enhance service to our stakeholders (candidates, diplomates, and volunteers), but also to increase efficiency while supporting our staff.
Operational integration and enhancements to the website myABR will include continued development of an individualized user experience, customized to the specific needs of the candidate or diplomate, so that “next steps” are clearly outlined as they relate to one’s progress. Some of those features were introduced last month, and more will be rolled out during the rest of the year. Modification of the RADS platform used by hundreds of ABR volunteers to develop exam and Online Longitudinal Assessment (OLA) content will focus on increased efficiency in populating relevant assessments that attempt to cover expanding clinical domains.
Behind the scenes, our customer service software will be updated this year to facilitate rapid responses to inquiries about upcoming exams or continuing certification, and finalizing the implementation of financial and accounting management software will increase efficiency and timely generation of reports to guide board decisions. We have also recently evaluated a document management system (and corresponding process changes) that includes systematic review and updating of policies and procedures. This initiative is not a major overall of “how things are done” but instead “how things are codified, shared, and updated when needed” that will allow us to update the website and other communications more quickly and comprehensively. There will also be important incremental technical modifications of the remote exam platforms to improve the reliability of the software and the user experience.
As 2024 begins, we continue to prioritize controlling costs and enhancing the effectiveness and transparency of our external communications. We remain committed to fulfilling our obligation to the public by offering a rigorous assessment program that requires diplomates to demonstrate their knowledge and skill in the radiologic sciences. We are optimistic that the value of certification will be enhanced as we transition from the rapid development and implementation of 2021 and 2022 into a phase of refinement and improvement.
