OLA Tips and Reminders for 2025
2025;18(1):14
By David Laszakovits, MBA, ABR Communications Director, and Brent Wagner, MD, MBA, ABR Executive Director
Diplomates have answered more than 12 million OLA questions since the platform was introduced in 2019. In the first few weeks of 2025, more than 94% of diplomates with a December 31, 2025, Part 3 deadline have already met that five-year requirement. While this is a big accomplishment, it’s important that diplomates continue answering OLA questions to reach their required minimum (for most diplomates, 52 questions per year).
Here are a few other important OLA reminders participants should keep in mind early in the year.
Staying on Pace Is Important
Since two questions are offered to most participants every week, 104 are available to be answered each year. To meet the annual progress requirement, most diplomates need to answer only half, or 52 questions per year. Furthermore, OLA allows substantial flexibility regarding when diplomates answer questions, as items do not expire until four weeks after they are offered.
Avoid Forfeited Questions
Questions that are required but unanswered for a given year are considered “forfeited” and count as incorrect responses. For example, if you are required to answer 52 questions and you only answer 50, the two unanswered will be considered forfeited.
You can identify if you have forfeited questions included in your score in two places:
- Annual progress dashboard for the current and previous year
- My OLA History
Seek Help if You’ve Fallen Behind
We are eager to help you get back on track if your OLA performance isn’t what you’d like it to be. If you have fallen behind or aren’t meeting your passing standard, we recommend contacting a certification manager at information@theabr.org or 520-790-2900 to discuss your OLA standing, when/how your performance will impact your certificate, and steps that can be taken to remediate your performance.
Although more than 90% of ABR diplomates prefer OLA to taking an exam, successful OLA performance is only one of two ways to satisfy the Part 3 requirement for Continuing Certification. The other option is to take and pass the Continuing Certification Exam, which is offered twice a year for each discipline.
ABR Executive Director Brent Wagner, MD, MBA, recently sat down to answer a few questions about some of the many initiatives the organization will undertake in 2025.
There’s been a lot of discussion about the new diagnostic radiology oral certifying exam, which starts in 2028. What are the biggest priorities in 2025 regarding preparation for the exam?
Much of the work will be performed by our information technology and exam services teams. Here’s a breakdown:
IT
- End-to-end automation of the scheduling process before and during oral exams. Continued improvements to the reliability and scalability of the exam platform.
- Improvements to the interface used by volunteers to create oral exam items, including enhanced image presentation tools.
- Fully automated test assembly of oral exams from cases created by volunteers.
Exam Services
- Work with Trustees to complete content creation tools needed by volunteers to submit cases and generate case sets.
- Finalize a new, streamlined exam development process and timeline for all types of ABR assessments (computer-based, oral, and OLA).
- Realign teams of developers to balance workload when new DR oral exam committees are formed.
- Set up committee infrastructure.
- Work with Trustees to populate committees and train new committee members.
Together, the completion of these items will position us so that volunteers can begin creating DR oral case content in January 2026.
The ABR has a new board president who started her duties in late September. What should diplomates and candidates know about Cheri Canon, MD?
Dr. Canon has a breadth of experience in organizational structures, operations, and strategies. As a long-serving ABR volunteer in a variety of roles, and a keen insight that balances the strong commitment to ABR priorities, her talents as a leader will allow us to continue to move forward as an evolving and learning organization that is responsive to the public mission and ABR diplomates.
The ABR is scheduled to start work on a refresh of its website this year. What are the biggest priorities for the updated site?
In 2025, we plan to update the ABR website based on user feedback. Some of our goals include simplifying navigation to allow quicker access to information, improving the search functionality, and highlighting news and current events that are important to our stakeholders. Additionally, we’ll enhance the information available to the public to highlight how ABR-certified physicians and physicists provide high quality care to the benefit of patients.
During the past couple of years, the ABR has stepped up stakeholder engagement in discussions about many topics, including Initial Certification exams. What has the organization learned about stakeholder willingness to share their thoughts on how the ABR conducts its operations?
The conversations we have had with external stakeholders over recent years have been invaluable in supporting refinement and improvements in our certification programs. The volunteer board members and ABR staff agree that we must be intentional in our efforts to seek input and address concerns to avoid complacency and biases that may arise from a focus that is inappropriately inwardly focused. The benefits of these interactions have been significant, including many occasions where there have been conflicting views, thoughtfully and respectfully presented, within external professional societies and among individuals.
Over the past few months, the ABR has solicited applications for a public member to replace Toby Gordon, ScD, whose term is expiring. What does a public member do and why is having one important?
Dr. Gordon has made exceptional contributions as the first public member of the ABR Board of Governors (a public member has the same fiduciary responsibilities as the other Governors but is not an ABR diplomate). The position does not have an exclusive responsibility to “represent” the interests of the public because that is the mission of the entire board. Instead, the public member frequently offers a perspective that is different from radiologic and medical physics professionals. They also contribute expertise that may be outside of the normal skill set of ABR diplomates, and the diversity of background in experience contributes to a more robust discussion and better decision-making.
Most diplomates use OLA to satisfy Part 3 of Continuing Certification. Are there changes coming to the platform in 2025?
OLA continues to be well received by diplomates as a combination of a summative assessment and a formative learning tool that allows individuals to identify and correct gaps in knowledge and understanding. The model itself will be essentially unchanged but, behind the scenes, we have introduced a major initiative to improve the quality of the question pool, based predominantly on diplomate feedback.
From left to right, front row: Julie Howell (ABR Exam Developer), Kayla Dunaway (ABR Exam Developer), Dr. Ryan Woods, Dr. Holly Marshal, Dr. Debbie Bennett, Dr. Madelene Lewis, Dr. Tara Henrichsen, Dr. Chris Ho; Back row: Dr. Brittany Dashevsky, Dr. Charmi Vijapura.
