RO Qualifying Exam To Increase Coverage of Benign Diseases
By Michael Yunes, MD, ABR Associate Executive Director of Radiation Oncology
2024;17(6):9
The ACGME Program Requirements for Graduate Medical Education in Radiation Oncology were last updated in 2023. Section IV.C.4 outlines the residency requirements of general disease sites with a specific comment that residents must have experience with the “treatment of benign diseases for which radiation is utilized.”
The ABR has included questions on radiation oncology (RO) initial certification exams related to benign diseases involving the central nervous system as well as the head and neck for several decades. These include questions about diagnoses such as meningiomas, pituitary adenomas, schwannomas, glomus tumors, and arteriovenous malformations. In clinical practice, many radiation oncologists also must be familiar with other nonmalignant processes such as keloids, heterotopic bone, Dupuytren’s disease, osteoarthritis, and Graves ophthalmopathy. These are covered in residency programs.
The 67th ASTRO annual meeting in September 2025 is titled Rediscovering Radiation Medicine and Exploring New Indications. President Sameer Keole, MD, is clearly focused on ensuring that professionals in radiation oncology and other fields are aware of indications for radiation treatment in the nonmalignant space. With this emphasis in mind, as well as the increasing visibility of radiation for benign or nonmalignant diseases, the ABR Board of Trustees has begun to incorporate more of this subset of cases into the RO board certification exams.
As presented at the 2023 ASTRO annual meeting, benign diseases will have representation in the 2025 Qualifying Clinical Exam as part of the hematologic malignancies and benign disease category. The addition of benign diseases into the Oral Certifying Exam is expected to begin in 2026. The intent is to focus on the most common processes treated with radiation. Questions regarding presentation, evaluation, treatment decisions, and treatment planning as well as prognosis and toxicities should be expected. Program directors and residents will not be expected to understand the complex milieux of biological and molecular causes of diseases unless there is a clear understanding in the field, such as with Graves ophthalmopathy.
The ABR Board of Trustees is committed to continuously reviewing and assessing the topics encompassed by the exams. The addition of benign diseases is the next step in updating these topics as they reflect the changing landscape of radiation oncology.
Updates to Assessments and Study Materials Coming in New Year
By Desiree E. Morgan, MD, ABR Governor
2024;17(6):1
As the year wraps up and we spend time sending glad tidings and gathering with family and friends, I pause to wish you all the best for 2025. The ABR is focused on activities geared toward welcoming the new year and the next cycles of certification. We are excited to share upcoming changes to exams and preparatory materials across the four disciplines for next year, as well as introduce you to more of our volunteers who help forward the ABR’s mission throughout the seasons.
In this issue …
ABR President Cheri L. Canon, MD, and Executive Director Brent Wagner, MD, MBA, discuss how the board’s conflict of interest policy for volunteers helps maintain the integrity of the assessment process.
ABR Executive Director Brent Wagner, MD, MBA, answers common questions from candidates and diplomates about ABR processes and procedures and explains the motives behind the board’s construct and actions.
A few months after joining the ABR Board of Trustees, Kristopher Cummings, MD; Umesh D. Oza, MD; Kenneth Rosenzweig, MD; and Jennifer Stickel, PhD, share thoughts on their new roles.
ABR Trustee Umesh D. Oza, MD, and Ephraim E. Parent, MD, PhD, announce that an expanded Radioisotope Safety Content Study Guide will soon be available on the ABR website.
ABR Trustee Jennifer R. Stickel, PhD, describes updates coming next year to improve the Online Longitudinal Assessment (OLA) process for nuclear medical physics diplomates.
ABR Associate Executive Director of Radiation Oncology Michael Yunes, MD, reports that benign diseases will have greater representation in the 2025 Qualifying Clinical Exam and that cases from this subset will start being added to the Oral Certifying Exam in 2026.
Future radiology resident Annelise M. Silva, MD, EdM, talked with ABR Communications Manager Rodney Campbell about her quick transition from completing medical school to being the national president of the American Medical Student Association (AMSA).
ABR volunteer Ryan Avery, MD, uses his interactions with residents to inform his question writing for the Diagnostic Radiology Nuclear Radiology Subspecialty Committee and his work on the committee to help him stay current with advancements in practice.
Studying oral exam methodology while earning a doctorate in education helped ABR volunteer Ashley Cetnar, PhD, prepare for her role as an oral examiner for medical physics.
ABR Trustee Leslie Scoutt, MD, was recently honored with a Distinguished Clinical Career Award from the Yale School of Medicine, where she is professor of radiology and biomedical imaging and medical director of the Non-Invasive Vascular Laboratory.
Remember to keep your contact information up to date in myABR to ensure that you receive important announcements from the ABR.
With the New Year coming, there’s no better time for diplomates and candidates to ensure that their contact information is current in myABR.
Having updated information on file allows diplomates and candidates to receive important correspondence from the ABR, including announcements about program enhancements, Continuing Certification, deadlines, and policy changes, as well as bimonthly copies of The Beam.
Updating contact information is easy. After logging in to myABR, users may click on their name in the upper right corner and then the personal information tab to change their mailing and billing addresses, primary and alternate email addresses, and phone numbers. Candidates and diplomates are encouraged to include a personal email address as either their primary or secondary contact information.
Anyone with questions may contact a certification manager at information@theabr.org or 520-790-2900.
