Studying for the IR/DR Certifying Exam
Last verified on September 15, 2023
ABR exams are developed by volunteers from a wide range of practice settings and reflect the breadth of information a candidate is expected to know by the time of an exam. While we offer study guides on our website, each candidate should decide what type of resources he or she should use for our exams. Candidates who use test preparation materials developed by other organizations or commercial entities should not expect an ABR exam to completely align with these materials regarding the scope or item types on ABR exams.
To understand how exam questions are written and learn more about different types of exam questions, please see the ABR Item Writers’ Guide. For a look at the extensive QA process that each question goes through, please see the Illustrated Life Cycle of an ABR Exam Item.
Computerized Portion Study Guides
Candidates who do not have ABR certification in diagnostic radiology will take the computerized portion of the exam, which has two required models: Essentials of Diagnostic Radiology and Interventional Radiology. Study guides for the two required modules can be found at these links: Essentials of Diagnostic Radiology Study Guide Vascular/Interventional Radiology Study Guide The Essentials of Diagnostic Radiology module will contain Noninterpretive Skills (NIS) content. The Noninterpretive Skills Study Guide provides detailed content that examinees are expected to know to answer the NIS questions. All material that will be included in the NIS module is included in the syllabus. If changes are made to this exam module, the syllabus will be updated accordingly. The second portion of the Radioisotope Safety Content (RISC) is also integrated into the computerized portion of the exam. For studying, please refer to the RISC Domain Document.Oral Portion Study Guide
All candidates for the IR/DR certification, including those who are already certified in diagnostic radiology, will take the oral portion of the IR/DR certifying exam. The following is a study guide for the oral portion of the exam. An oral exam reenactment has been created to provide guidance to candidates as to how cases are presented and scored. You can view the video here.- Exam content: general description
- The exam structure is organized into four categories:
- Arterial diagnosis and intervention
- Venous and lymphatic diagnosis and intervention
- Oncology, biliary, and genitourinary diagnosis and intervention
- Core interventional radiology
- Each section will incorporate both diagnostic imaging related to IR and IR interventions.
- Imaging diagnosis may include CT, CTA, MR, MRA, ultrasound, vascular ultrasound, nuclear medicine, SPECT/PET, angiography/venography/lymphangiography, and plain films. Images may be pre-procedure diagnostic studies, intraprocedural imaging, or follow-up imaging.
- Interventional cases will emphasize periprocedural management and procedures, as well as procedure-related image interpretation.
- Periprocedural management includes pre-procedure or disease-related work-up, consultation, patient selection, imaging, and medical management; and post-procedure medical management, imaging, follow-up, identification and management of complications or inadequate outcomes, and disease-specific management.
- Discussions will include indications and contraindications for procedures, procedural planning, procedural techniques, device selection and utilization, intra-procedural patient management, procedural endpoints, identification and management of intra-procedural complications, and knowledge of expected outcomes.
- The exam has been designed to reflect actual clinical practice.
- The exam is assembled by a 10-member committee and constructed to cover a broad spectrum of IR practice. This format allows updating and revision of the exam content over time. Examples of content for each area are as follows (note that this is not a comprehensive or complete listing):
- Arterial diagnosis and interventions
- Peripheral vascular disease, aorta/great vessels, nontumor arterial interventions (e.g., gastrointestinal bleeding), pulmonary and bronchial interventions, interpretation of noninvasive vascular studies (CTA, MRA, vascular ultrasound), vascular malformations
- Venous and lymphatic diagnosis and interventions
- Venous thrombolysis/thrombectomy/ablation, venous stenting, venous access, pelvic venous disease, portal hypertension, dialysis access interventions, varicose vein treatment, venous sampling
- Oncology and biliary/GU interventions
- Arterially directed therapies for malignancy (TAE, TACE, TARE), ablation, and biliary, gallbladder, and genitourinary interventions
- Core IR
- Percutaneous biopsy, fluid drainage, percutaneous enteral access, foreign body removal, management of malignant effusions/ascites, pancreas, pain management, intraprocedural crises, radiation safety
- Arterial diagnosis and interventions
- Pediatric and quality of care/patient safety content is incorporated into the exam. For example, abscess drainage, and renal artery angioplasty in children, may be included in the Core and Arterial sections respectively.
- Appendix: Topics included in the exam
This is a general outline and is not all-inclusive.
- CT and CTA
- MRI and MRA
- Noninvasive vascular lab
- Vascular ultrasonography
- Venous color flow imaging
- Arterial color flow imaging
- Doppler
- Ankle: brachial indices
- Segmental limb pressures
- Pulse volume recordings (PVRs)
- Arteriography (all)
- Thoracic aorta and brachiocephalic arteries, including carotids
- Upper extremity arteries
- Lower extremity arteries
- Abdominal and pelvic arteries
- Collateral pathways
- Hemodynamics
- Venography and venous sampling
- Head and neck
- Upper extremity veins
- Lower extremity veins
- Pelvic veins
- Portal and mesenteric veins
- Superior vena cava
- Inferior vena cava
- Collateral pathways
- Hemodynamics
- Pulmonary angiography
- Pulmonary arteries
- Pulmonary veins
- Hemodynamics
- Dialysis access evaluations
- Dialysis access intervention
- Lymphangiography
- Venous access (all: tunneled, nontunneled, ports)
- IVC filter placement and retrieval
- Foreign body retrieval
- Venous ablation (varicose veins)
- TIPS and TIPS evaluation/revision
- Venous Angioplasty/stents/covered stents, venous (all)
- Arterial angioplasty/stents/atherectomy/covered stents
- Thrombolytic therapy, thrombectomy: arterial and venous
- Aortic endografting (thoracic and/or abdominal)
- Embolization, emergency (trauma, GI bleed, bronchial bleed, pseudoaneurysm, other)
- Embolization, including elective, arterial, and venous
- Chemoembolization (TACE/DEB TACE)
- Radioembolization
- Tumor ablation
- Transcatheter infusion therapy (e.g., vasopressin)
- Biopsy
- All organs
- Abscess drainage
- Body cavity
- Organ
- Tube management
- Paracentesis, thoracentesis
- Chest tube placement
- Tunneled catheter drainage of refractory pleural effusion or ascites
- Biliary intervention
- PTC
- Biliary drainage
- Biliary stents
- Biliary biopsy
- Percutaneous management of retained bile duct stones
- Cholecystostomy
- Urinary intervention
- Nephrostomy
- Nephroureterostomy
- Nephrostolithotomy tract establishment and dilatation
- Suprapubic cystostomy
- Percutaneous enteral access
- Gastrostomy/gastrojejunostomy
- Jejunostomy
- Cyst and lymphocele management
- Gastrointestinal stents
- Transplant interventions, miscellaneous
- Pain management
- Vertebroplasty
- Fallopian tube recanalization
- Hospital inpatient care
- Follow-up post intervention
- Quality & safety activities
- Radiation safety
- Life support principles
- Principles of image quality
- Contrast material
- Conscious sedation
- Oral Exam Reenactment Video
