News
Discover inspiring stories from our volunteers, candidates, and community, and stay up to date with important news and announcements on exams, policies, and more.
Love of Patient Care Drives These Breast Imagers
Breast Cancer Awareness Month focuses attention in October on early detection, patient support, and research needs. But physicians in the breast imaging field work all year to battle a disease that affects approximately one in eight women in their lifetimes. A few of those professionals recently shared why they got into the field and why…
Chemo Run Complete, Breast Cancer Patient Prepares for Next Steps
This past spring, Stephanie Workman Phillips was feeling great. Dedicated to fitness and overall health, the 48-year-old mother of two was keen on working out and eating right. There’s no way she could have imagined that #chemosummer was coming. Her life was turned upside down in May when a lump appeared in her left armpit….
Her Patient Education Efforts Make for a Busy October
October is a busy month for breast imagers. A recent study showed that mammogram rates can run 60 percent higher during Breast Cancer Awareness Month than any other time of the year. That’s OK with Eshani Sheth, DO, a diagnostic radiologist at the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University and assistant professor in the division…
Medical Physicist’s Career Keeps Blowing Up
One ABR medical physics volunteer partially owes his career path to balloon animals. As an undergraduate majoring in physics in his native Australia, Leith Rankine, PhD, and others from his university volunteered to visit Perth Children’s Hospital, where they handed out balloons they had twisted to appreciative kids. It was there that Dr. Rankine made…
Breast Imager Committed to Making Patient Experience Less Intimidating
By Catherine McNulty, MD I was drawn to breast imaging because it combines so many of the things I love about radiology — imaging, procedures, and meaningful patient interaction. Breast imaging can be an incredibly anxiety-provoking experience for patients, whether they’re coming in for a routine screening or navigating a new breast cancer diagnosis. I…
His Hike Through Training is Helped by Professional Connections
A second-year diagnostic radiology resident who volunteers for two societies and the ABR, Michael Justus, MD, knows the value of making connections. But he recently found himself in a situation where he wasn’t interested in adding a contact. Dr. Justus and his husband were hiking in the mountains of North Carolina when they ran across…
Trustee’s Daughters Keep Medicine in the Family
Three generations of Pamela Propeck’s family have worked in medical professions. But one of her daughters nearly chose another path. Dr. Propeck, an ABR Trustee and a University of Wisconsin Health radiologist and professor in the department of radiology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, grew up with a father,…
Blogs | Diagnostic Radiology | Interventional Radiology | Medical Physics | News | Radiation Oncology
ABR Sponsoring Four New ABMS Scholars
Representatives from all four disciplines certified by the ABR are part of the new class of American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Scholars: Warren Campbell IV, MD, PhD (diagnostic radiology); Kofi Deh, PhD (medical physics); Mary Mahoney, MD (radiation oncology); and Daniel Veyg, DO (interventional radiology). Dr. Campbell is a resident at the University of Virginia Medical Center. His research project is titled: “Quantifying Diagnostic Excellence: Utilizing…
He’s Getting Quick Education on Board Certification
When he arrived in Pittsburgh last September for the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Conference, Abdullah Alshreef, PhD, was just becoming familiar with the importance of board certification. Dr. Alshreef had recently been selected as an ABMS Scholar, one of three funded last year by the ABR. They each received $15,000 grants to be part of the year-long, part-time program that supports early career physicians,…
Coming to America Gave His Family a Fresh Start
When he was 14 years old and living in Kosovo in 1990, Dukagjin “Duke” Blakaj, MD, PhD, and his family were in a dangerous spot. Ethnic tensions were rising and the country seemed destined for civil war. Dr. Blakaj’s parents, both physicians, decided to move the family to Connecticut. Eight years later, fighting erupted between…
DR Oral Exam Pilot Added to 2027 Schedule
Dates for the 2028 Diagnostic Radiology (DR) Oral Exam and DR and the Interventional Radiology/Diagnostic Radiology (IR/DR) Qualifying (Core) Exam have been finalized. The schedule also includes an opportunity for up to 220 eligible candidates to take the DR Oral Exam in 2027 as part of a pilot group. Candidates are eligible for the pilot if they have passed the Qualifying (Core) Exam prior to June 2027, are either a resident or an alternate pathway candidate, and are on track to complete training by June 30, 2027. …
His First Sessions as an Oral Examiner Prove ‘Seamless’
Getting the opportunity to serve as an ABR oral examiner has long been a goal for Dev Butani, MD. He’s among the diplomates who went through the in-person Initial Certification orals process in Louisville. After sitting on the other side of the desk as an examiner on a remote platform earlier this year, he sees the current process as a great improvement. “If I were going through the current schema as a…
Blogs | Diagnostic Radiology | Interventional Radiology | Medical Physics | News | Radiation Oncology
A Few FAQs About the ABR and AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is advancing at a pace that is prompting reflection across the medical community, including within organizations responsible for certification and establishing lifelong professional standards. For the American Board of Radiology (ABR), this moment presents an opportunity to consider how emerging technologies may intersect with our mission — not only in terms of potential innovation, but also…
Successful Candidates Reflect on Their Qualifying Exam Experience
This past June, a record 1,589 candidates sat for the Diagnostic Radiology (DR) & Interventional Radiology/Diagnostic Radiology (IR/DR) Qualifying (Core) Exam. Most of the field (93%) passed, putting those successful DR candidates on track to take the DR Oral Exam when it starts in 2028. More information on that exam is available in the candidate…
Advisory Committee Member Was Born to Become a Physician
One ABR volunteer’s path to medicine started before he was born. As a child, Dru Curtis, MD, noticed a scar on his father’s abdomen and wondered what caused it. Before he understood the seriousness of the incident, he knew there was a medical connection. “Growing up, I heard stories about how my father was saved by a surgeon,” he said. His father was shot during a robbery…