Board Eligibility Policy

Board eligibility is reserved for candidates and defines the interval between completion of training (residency or an alternate pathway) and initial board certification. Previously certified individuals who have a lapsed or otherwise invalid certificate are not considered board eligible.

The period during which the ABR grants board-eligible status to a candidate extends from training completion to December 31st of the sixth full calendar year after training.

 

Board Eligibility Statuses

Candidates who have an approved application with the ABR for purposes of certification are considered “enrolled, not yet eligible for certification.” After the requirements for board eligibility are met, the candidate is recognized as board eligible.

 

DIAGNOSTIC RADIOLOGY (DR)	Six full calendar years from completion of an ACGME- or RCPSC-accredited training program.
RADIATION ONCOLOGY (RO)	Six full calendar years from completion of an ACGME- or RCPSC-accredited training program.
INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY (IR)	1.  INTEGRATED RESIDENCY – Six full calendar years from completion of training.
	2.  INDEPENDENT RESIDENCY – Six full calendar years from completion of training.
	3.  TRADITIONAL (VIR FELLOWSHIP) – Six full calendar years from completion of training or until 2024 depending on training completion, whichever comes later.
SUBSPECIALTIES	Six full calendar years for training completed in 2019 or later; 10 full calendar years or 12/31/2024, whichever comes first, for training completed in 2018 or earlier.
MEDICAL PHYSICS (MP)	1.  Six full calendar years from completion of a CAMPEP-accredited residency program or
	2.  Six full calendar years from approval for Part 2, whichever comes first.
ALTERNATE PATHWAY	Six full calendar years after completion of the training period outlined in the Sponsoring Department Agreement.

 

Candidates failing to successfully complete the initial certification process within the board eligibility time period are no longer considered by the ABR to be board eligible, are no longer permitted to designate themselves as such for communications or credentialing purposes, and will no longer be reported as board eligible in verification letters.

 

Additional circumstances that may result in loss of board eligibility:

Actions taken against a candidate by the ABR, which may occur due to a licensure or professionalism-related issue, may result in a change to their board eligibility status.

 

To return to board eligible status after exceeding the time limits above:

• Diagnostic Radiology (DR) candidates must complete an additional year of completely supervised training in a department with an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) – accredited or Royal College of Physicians and Surgeon of Canada (RCPSC) – accredited DR residency program.
• Radiation Oncology (RO) candidates must complete an additional year of completely supervised training in a department with an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) – accredited or Royal College of Physicians and Surgeon of Canada (RCPSC) – accredited RO residency program.
• Interventional Radiology/Diagnostic Radiology (IR/DR) candidates must complete an additional year of completely supervised training in a department with an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) – accredited or Royal College of Physicians and Surgeon of Canada (RCPSC) – accredited IR residency program.
• Medical Physics (MP) candidates must obtain an additional year of completely supervised training in a department that has a Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs (CAMPEP) – accredited residency program and sit for an exam annually.
• Neuroradiology, nuclear radiology, and pediatric radiology subspecialty candidates must complete an additional year of completely supervised training in a department with an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited or Royal College of Physicians and Surgeon of Canada (RCPSC)-accredited fellowship program in the designated specialty.

 

Additional year training details:

• Any additional non-approved training occurring during the board eligibility period will not extend, reset, or in any way modify the board eligibility period.
• The plan for this training year is department specific and must be approved by the department chair or the program director prior to submission to the ABR for approval; the discipline’s AED must put this approval in writing, and submission must occur before beginning the year of additional training.
• Re-entry training completed in a subspecialty field will not contribute to eligibility for subspecialty certification.
• At the end of the additional approved year, the program director or department chair must attest to satisfactory completion of the pre-approved experience.
• After that attestation is provided to the ABR, the candidate may re-enter the certification process and again will be required to pass both the Qualifying Exam and Certifying Exam during another six-year board-eligible period.

 

General requirements for the year of training:

The year of training must be carried out on site at an ACGME-, RCPSC-, OR CAMPEP-accredited department and may not be carried out at any unsupervised satellite facility.

• The period of training must encompass 12 consecutive months in the same department with an allowance for time off similar to that of other departmental trainees.
• Time commitment for the period of training must be 1.0 FTE for the 12-month term.
• Candidates may be assigned to any appointment designation at the preference of the host department and/or institution.
• Candidates may be assigned teaching responsibilities consistent with the departmental and/or institutional practice for trainees, but they are not to be placed in a circumstance requiring them to supervise residents.
• The period of training must be entirely clinical and may not include time devoted exclusively to basic or clinical research activities.
• All training must be supervised by an ABR- or ABMP-certified or board-eligible physician(s) or physicist. Training in an RCPSC institution must be supervised by a DABR or Board Eligible candidate.
• Training in institutions, including pediatric hospitals, that are formal affiliates of ACGME- or CAMPEP-accredited institutions is allowed, with the same requirements for supervision and program participation.
• The period of training must include participation in departmental conference and didactic activities.

 

Discipline-specific requirements for the year of training:

• Diagnostic Radiology (DR)
  • The training may be in one or more than one subspecialty of DR, but all rotations must involve supervised interpretation of images and direct supervision of procedures. No dedicated research rotations will be approved.
• Radiation Oncology (RO)
  • The period of training must include participation in all aspects of RO treatment planning and delivery, including 3D conformal radiation therapy (3D CRT), intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT), radiopharmaceutical therapy (RPT), and brachytherapy.
  • The training experience must include exposure to clinical cases comprising the eight clinical categories of the RO Qualifying and Certifying exams.
  • The training experience must include active participation in the planning and simulation of a minimum of 100 new cases.
  • The training experience must include participation in regularly scheduled department and institutional multidisciplinary conferences.
  • No dedicated research rotations will be approved.
• Interventional Radiology/Diagnostic Radiology (IR/DR)
  • The period of training must be entirely in interventional radiology in an ACGME or Royal College of Physicians and Surgeon of Canada (RCPSC) accredited IR training program.
  • No dedicated research rotations will be approved.
• Medical Physics (MP)
  • Training must be in a department that offers a CAMPEP-accredited residency in the specialty that the candidate is pursuing.
• Subspecialty (Neuroradiology, Nuclear Radiology, Pediatric Radiology)
  • The training must be completed only in the subspecialty area of application and must involve supervised interpretation of images and direct supervision of procedures. No dedicated research rotations will be approved.

 

Payment and Fees

Should a candidate withdraw/drop out of the certification process during the board-eligibility period then subsequently re-enter the process, that individual will be required to pay a new application fee and all fees assessed during the new board eligibility period.

This policy is subject to amendment. Candidates and diplomates are advised to check the ABR website periodically for the most current version.

APPROVED BY BOARD OF Governors:           BOG Meeting July 22, 2023

To download a pdf of the policy, please click here.