Anne Marie McLellan, DO, was so curious about Online Longitudinal Assessment (OLA) that she participated in the pilot program held months before the system’s release.

That interest continued when OLA launched last January for diagnostic radiologists and those with DR subspecialty certificates. Dr. McLellan receives four questions a week (she’s also certified in neuroradiology and pediatric radiology) and isn’t letting many go unanswered. As of late November, she had already fielded 181 questions.

“I do them within the first day or two of when they come,” said Dr. McLellan, who works for Mercy Radiology Group Dignity Health in Sacramento. “I like the succinct nature of the questions.”

Dr. McLellan sees OLA as a weekly opportunity to hone and refresh her knowledge. She said the content is “comprehensive” and the questions closely match her practice profile. She doesn’t even mind getting some wrong.

“I’m OK with missing a few questions because it enables me to learn,” she said. “We learn the most from our mistakes, right? They stick with you. I also appreciate that questions I have missed come back in a different case and give me an opportunity to redeem myself.”

Dr. McLellan enjoys OLA’s continuous nature and considers it a vast improvement over the days of time-limited certification that required traveling to Tucson or Chicago to take a Maintenance of Certification exam every 10 years. OLA launches for interventional radiologists, medical physicists, and radiation oncologists in January and continues for those with DR and DR subspecialty certificates.

“I think it is the best way going forward,” Dr. McLellan said. “Practical. Simple. Up to date. I’m killing multiple birds with one stone and learning in real time. Plus, I’m saving a fortune.”