August 2025;18(4)10 ABR Associate Executive Director for Medical Physics Geoffrey Ibbott, PhD, was awarded the William D. Coolidge Gold Medal by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) in July. The award recognizes distinguished careers and significant impact on the practice of medical physics. Dr. Ibbott is a professor and chair emeritus in the…
By Brent Wagner, MD, MBA, ABR Executive Director August 2025;18(4):2 A major part of the ABR’s Continuing Certification program is Online Longitudinal Assessment (OLA), in which approximately 38,500 diplomates are enrolled. Collectively, they have answered 14 million questions. Since the introduction of the platform for diagnostic radiologists in 2019, we have received positive comments about…
By Rodney Campbell, ABR Communications Manager August 2025;18(4):6 It took Riddhi Borse, MD, until her fourth year of medical school in India to decide which medical specialty she wanted to pursue. A family health crisis was the deciding factor when she ultimately chose radiology. Dr. Borse’s father fell ill and needed a lymph node biopsy…
By Matthew B. Podgorsak, PhD, ABR Board of Trustees Chair; Geoffrey S. Ibbott, PhD, ABR Associate Executive Director for Medical Physics; Kalpana M. Kanal, PhD, and Jennifer Stickel, PhD, ABR Trustees; and Sameer Tipnis, PhD, future ABR Trustee August 2025;18(4):5 The ABR’s mission is to “certify that our diplomates demonstrate the requisite knowledge, skill, and…
By Desiree E. Morgan, MD, ABR Governor; Kate Maturen, MD, MS, ABR Trustee; and Michelle Miller-Thomas, MD, future ABR Trustee August 2025;18(4):4 Since the 2023 announcement that the current Diagnostic Radiology (DR) Certifying Exam would be transitioning from a computer-based exam focused on subspecialization to an oral exam in general diagnostic radiology beginning in 2028,…
By David Laszakovits, MBA, ABR Communications Director, and Mary S. Newell, MD, ABR Associate Executive Director for Diagnostic Radiology June 2025;18(3):11 When designing Online Longitudinal Assessment (OLA), the ABR set out to create an assessment tool that not only provides a measure of summative performance but also serves as a formative evaluation instrument. Immediately after…
By Rodney Campbell, ABR Communications Manager June 2025;18(3):10 When it comes to choosing a radiation oncologist, Jamie Cesaretti, MD, has one piece of advice: “Try to pick an optimist.” Dr. Cesaretti has long believed in the value of optimism, a perspective that has served him well since his third year of medical school at SUNY…
By Rodney Campbell, ABR Communications Manager June 2025;18(3):9 As an interventional radiologist who teaches and performs clinical work, Divya Kumari, MD, keenly understands her role as an ABR volunteer who writes Qualifying (Core) Exam questions. It’s a balancing act. “I have a good idea of what (candidates) should know, particularly diagnostic residents,” she said. “We’re…
By Garrett Barfoot, MD June 2025;18(3):8 On Monday, March 17, I felt a wave of relief seeing I was matching at a diagnostic radiology program. What followed were anxious days filled with real estate searches, sleepless nights, and heartfelt conversations about how this would affect our young family. Since my international medical school doesn’t receive…
By Kalpana M. Kanal, PhD, ABR Trustee; Ben Babcock, PhD, ABR Associate Director of Psychometrics; Geoffrey S. Ibbott, PhD, ABR Associate Executive Director for Medical Physics; Jennifer Stickel, PhD, ABR Trustee; and Matthew B. Podgorsak, PhD, ABR Board of Trustees Chair June 2025;18(3):7 In a recent Beam article, ABR Associate Director of Assessments Research and…
By James B. Spies, MD, MPH, ABR Associate Executive Director for Interventional Radiology June 2025;18(3):6 Whether in diagnostic radiology, interventional radiology, radiation oncology, or medical physics, many international medical graduates (IMGs) wish to practice in this country and seek the confirmation of their competence that ABR certification provides. For years, the ABR has recognized the…
By Mary S. Newell, MD, Associate Executive Director for Diagnostic Radiology; Kate Maturen, MD, MS, ABR Trustee; Desiree E. Morgan, MD, ABR Governor; and Stephen F. Simoneaux, MD, ABR Governor June 2025;18(3):5 Time passes quickly! The new DR Oral Exam will launch in 2028, and ABR volunteers and staff are in planning and implementation mode….
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.