16-Month Pathway

to Specialty Certification in Diagnostic Radiology and Subspecialty Certification in Nuclear Radiology

Requirements

• Candidates seeking to apply to the 16-month pathway must submit the application and Sponsoring Department Agreement (SDA) for ABR review at least six months before diagnostic radiology (DR) residency training completion.
• An approved candidate who has completed a total of 16 months of experience in nuclear radiology/nuclear medicine/molecular imaging/radiotheranostics/radiopharmaceutical therapy during the 48-month DR residency may qualify to sit for the ABR’s subspecialty certificate in nuclear radiology.
• To qualify for this pathway to subspecialty certification, all 16 months of experience must be in an ACGME- or RCPSC-accredited DR program; there is no requirement for a nuclear radiology fellowship or nuclear medicine residency program at the same institution.
• The 16 months may be completed at any time during the DR residency training; there is no requirement for consecutive months.
• The training must include clinical experience with integrated SPECT/CT and PET/CT systems.
• The training must include clinical experience with a variety of pediatric (neonate/infant/child/adolescent) cases.
• The training must meet all NRC requirements in §35.390. “Training for use of unsealed byproduct material for which a written directive is required,” including but not limited to: a minimum of 200 hours of classroom and laboratory training applicable to the medical use of unsealed byproduct material requiring a written directive. Work experience must include, at a minimum: 10 cases of oral ¹³¹I NaI less than or equal to 33 mCi (either for hyperthyroidism or remnant ablation); five (5) cases of oral ¹³¹I NaI greater than 33 mCi (for thyroid cancer); and five (5) cases of parenteral radiopharmaceutical therapies (including but not limited to: alpha emitters and beta emitters)

NR/NM/MI/RADIOTHERANOSTICS (RT)/RADIOPHARMACEUTICAL THERAPY (RPT)-related Rotations

• Up to two (2) months of nuclear radiology/nuclear medicine/molecular imaging/radiotheranostics/radiopharmaceutical therapy clinical experience before the DR residency (e.g., PGY-1 clinical year or other residency training) may count toward the 16 months of experience if performed at an institution with an ACGME- or RCPSC-accredited DR program; this training must be accepted by the DR program director.
• Four (4) months of nuclear radiology/nuclear medicine are required of every resident in a DR program; all four months count toward the 16 months of experience.
• Eight (8) additional months of dedicated nuclear radiology/nuclear medicine/molecular imaging/radiotheranostics/radiopharmaceutical therapy add up to 12 months.
• At the discretion of the diagnostic radiology program director, up to four (4) of the remaining months of training may be in a field related to nuclear radiology (NR)/nuclear medicine (NM)/molecular imaging (MI))/radiotheranostics (RT)/radiopharmaceutical therapy (RPT).
• Proposed rotations in related fields must have substantial correlative exposure to NR/NM/MI/RT/RPT content. For example, head and neck imaging generally includes a considerable number of head and neck cancer cases with relevant PET/CT and SPECT/CT correlations.
• Other such diagnostic rotations could include abdominal, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, thoracic, neuroradiology, non-isotopic MI, and oncologic imaging, as well as vascular and interventional radiology (e.g., ⁹⁰Y microspheres).
• Alternatively, one or more of these four (4) months may be spent in dedicated NR/NM/MI/RT/RPT experiences. If a program has an integrated PET/MR system, one or more rotations on that service would qualify.
• The nuclear radiology trustee, assisted by ABR staff, will evaluate the proposed training plan and make a determination on the application’s merits.

Exams

Approved candidates follow the same exam schedule as candidates for the standard pathway in diagnostic radiology and for the subspecialty in nuclear radiology.

Recognition of Successful Candidates

Successful candidates are awarded a continuous ABR specialty certificate in diagnostic radiology and a continuous ABR subspecialty certificate in nuclear radiology.

Board Eligibility

• For diagnostic radiology, see Board Eligibility Policy for details.
• For the nuclear radiology subspecialty, diplomates who successfully completed their training before 2019 will have 10 calendar years or until December 31, 2024, whichever comes first, to obtain certification. Those who complete their training in 2019 or later will have six calendar years.

The application form is located here. The Sponsoring Department Agreement (SDA) form will require the signature of the program director and the nuclear radiology/nuclear medicine preceptor. Click here for the form.