Radiation Oncologist Named to ABR Board of Trustees
2024;17(3):16
ABR volunteer and radiation oncologist Kenneth Rosenzweig, MD, has been named to the organization’s Board of Trustees (BOT). Dr. Rosenzweig will start at the end of the fall board meeting in late September.
Dr. Rosenzweig is chair of the department of radiation oncology at Mount Sinai Health System and a professor in the department of radiation oncology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.
Dr. Rosenzweig earned his board certification in 1997 and has been an ABR volunteer since 2002, serving in multiple roles, including question writer and oral examiner. He most recently served as chair of the lung/sarcoma section of the Qualifying Exam. He received the ABR Lifetime Service Award in 2015.
In addition to his ABR duties, Dr. Rosenzweig has also served as:
- President of the American Radium Society, the nation’s oldest society dedicated to the study of cancer.
- Chair of the Scientific Committee of ASTRO’s annual meeting.
- Vice-Chair of the Radiation Oncology Residency Review Committee of the American College of Graduate Medical Education.
- A member of numerous other panels and committees.
Dr. Rosenzweig earned his medical degree from the Yale University School of Medicine and completed his residency at the Joint Center for Radiation Therapy at Harvard Medical School.
The BOT advances the quality, relevance, and effectiveness of the ABR’s exams for Initial and Continuing Certification across diagnostic radiology, interventional radiology, radiation oncology, and medical physics. The BOT makes recommendations to the Board of Governors regarding candidate and diplomate assessment structure including, but not limited to, exam format, content, assembly, delivery, scoring, and feedback.
Window to Apply for Visiting Scholars Program Closing Soon
2024;17(3):17
Time is running out for residents and early career physicians and physicists to apply for the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Visiting Scholars Program.
Applications will be accepted until June 17. Visiting Scholars participate in research projects that address pressing health care issues and research priorities for the Member Board community during the one-year, part-time program. The ABR partners with the ABMS to assist candidates and diplomates with their research efforts and leadership development.
The ABR’s goal is to fund up to four projects each year, preferably with one participant from each of the specialties that it certifies: diagnostic radiology, interventional radiology, medical physics, and radiation oncology.
Laughter Lightens the Challenge of Writing Exam Questions
By Rodney Campbell, ABR Communications Manager
2024;17(3):12
Writing questions for ABR exams is serious work. But volunteers can still have fun in the process.
Christine Eyler, MD, PhD, a radiation oncologist and member of a committee that develops questions for the Biology and Physics Qualifying Exam, said she and her colleagues find ways to keep the mood light even as they spend hours writing and reviewing questions for candidates.
“I laugh a lot,” she said. “It’s a funnier group than I ever thought there would be writing radiation biology questions. But people are legitimately funny, and it’s been a really warm group.”
Learning to write fair and relevant questions is challenging. New committee members go through a breaking-in process the first several times they try. It’s not something they do in their regular jobs.
“In the first review of questions, it was almost like stage fright in terms of having to explain and defend your questions,” she said. “But I feel more like it’s a collaborative workshop than a spotlight on deficiencies. That’s been really pleasant.”
Dr. Eyler’s question-writing acumen is quickly getting better, but there remain areas where she wants to improve.
“I’m on the wordier side, so writing questions that are clear, to the point, and easy to answer is a skill that I’m still working on,” she said.
Dr. Eyler is the Butler Harris Assistant Professor in Radiation Oncology at the Duke University School of Medicine and a member of the Duke Cancer Institute. She fills several roles, spending four days a week in the lab or teaching and the other day seeing patients at VA Durham Healthcare. Her lab and instruction work allows her to interact with residents who will be taking ABR Initial Certification exams, and her clinical duties provide the opportunity to directly serve patients and see real-life cases.
She believes both experiences give her a well-rounded approach to her ABR volunteer tasks.
“(Working with residents) makes it a little bit easier because I can put myself in the head of someone who doesn’t marinate in some of these more nuanced topics all day every day and say, ‘Is there any sort of patient relevant issue that can be tested here?’” she said. “Since I also see patients, that’s a hat I can easily put on.”
She’s proud to be a scientist and clinician at Duke. She has three technicians, an undergraduate, and a resident researcher helping in her lab, where the work involves genetic and epigenetic consequences of tumor evolution under treatment pressure.
“The initial pretreatment tumor, the tumor after a few weeks of treatment, and the tumor at the end when resistance develops looks quite different,” Dr. Eyler said. “I’m interested in describing that and seeing if there’s any sort of alternative treatment strategies that might capitalize on any Achilles heels that are revealed over that evolution process.”
Duke Health contracts with the Durham VA to provide services, giving Dr. Eyler the chance to see patients with varied conditions.
“If I’m a specialist in anything, it’s GI, but I see little bit of everything,” she said. “I think that my base of clinically relevant material has expanded considerably because I see a little bit of prostate, a little bit of breast, some brain tumors. I see a little bit of everything in addition to my GI focus. I’m constantly reviewing things because that’s a lot of stuff to stay fresh on.”
Dr. Eyler has a simple but effective way to remember cases when it’s time to develop exam questions.
“I have a little set of sticky notes,” she said. “I have sticky notes everywhere.”
Being prepared helps her feel a better kinship with the group, even over video calls. The committee hasn’t met in person since she joined.
Dr. Eyler was recruited to the team by a scientific mentor and former committee member. Despite the challenging work, she and her colleagues have a good time as they work to improve their exam.
“The people on the committee make it fun,” she said. “It says a lot that some of the members have been there for years.”
Nothing Can Eclipse Our Story Lineup This Issue
By Desiree E. Morgan, MD, ABR Governor
2024;17(3):1
What a spectacular photo of the recent eclipse! Thanks to Trustee Dan Davis for sharing his amazing capture of this rare and awe-inspiring natural phenomenon. With summer just around the corner, I hope that each of you gets out in nature to witness things great and small. Before your summer adventures with family and friends, I invite you to take a moment to check out what is happening at the ABR.
In this issue …
ABR President Robert M. Barr, MD, explains how the Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees support staff and volunteers in fulfilling the ABR’s mission and describes the qualifications of the diverse set of individuals who make up these two distinct bodies.
ABR Executive Director Brent Wagner, MD, MBA, applauds the ABR’s certification managers, who take pride in listening to candidates and diplomates and providing specific, workable solutions to their customer service issues. He also discusses upcoming enhancements that will make myABR a more personalized interface.
ABR President-elect Cheri L. Canon, MD, and I review highlights from the ABR’s presentations and activities at the annual meeting of the Association of University Radiologists (now the Association of Academic Radiology), including an overview of the new DR Oral Certifying Exam, increased interest in the International Medical Graduate (IMG) Alternate Pathway, a summary of participation in the 16 month Nuclear Radiology subspecialty certification pathway, and continued high participation in Online Longitudinal Assessment (OLA).
ABR trustees Kalpana M. Kanal, PhD, and Paul J. Rochon, MD, provide an update on diversity, equity, and inclusion training for oral examiners, a pilot of which was employed for the recent Medical Physics Oral Certifying Exam.
ABR Communications Director David Laszakovits joins me in describing how the Diagnostic Radiology Initial Certification Advisory Committee helps improve communication between the ABR and trainees.
ABR Associate Executive Director for Interventional Radiology James B. Spies, MD, explains the reasoning behind the decision to change the timing of the oral component of the IR/DR Certifying Exam from the fall after residents graduate to the following spring.
ABR Board of Trustees Chair Matthew B. Podgorsak, PhD; MP trustees Kalpana M. Kanal, PhD, and Robert A. Pooley, PhD; future MP Trustee Jennifer Stickel, PhD; and ABR Associate Executive Director for Medical Physics Geoffrey S. Ibbott, PhD, describe how MP exam committees function and spotlight the work of the Therapeutic Medical Physics Committee.
ABR Associate Executive Director for Radiation Oncology Michael Yunes, MD, discusses the importance of volunteers in supporting the ABR’s mission, extols the benefits of getting involved, and describes the ABR volunteer application process.
The three current ABR Visiting Scholars – Leslie Chang, MD, Francis Deng, MD, and Ria Mulherkar, MD – provide updates on their research projects and discuss what they have gained from the experience.
ABR Communications Manager Rodney Campbell talks with ABR volunteer Brian Funaki, MD, who appreciates the rigor of the exam development process now that he has seen inside the “Black Box” and enjoys his role as a question writer and oral examiner in helping the exams be fair and reflective of an interventional radiologist’s real world experience.
Radiation oncologist and ABR volunteer Christine Eyler, MD, speaks with ABR Communications Manager Rodney Campbell about the challenges, and unexpected fun, of developing radiation biology questions with the other members of the Biology and Physics Qualifying Exam Committee.
Continuing Certification Update
In a video and short introduction, ABR Executive Director Brent Wagner, MD, MBA, explains why a majority of ABR diplomates prefer Online Longitudinal Assessment (OLA) over a point-in-time exam to satisfy the Part 3 requirement of Continuing Certification.
ABR Communications Manager Rodney Campbell provides tips on OLA participation, including a reminder that August 4 is the last day diplomates can start answering questions and still reach their annual progress requirement for the year.
Former ABR Executive Director Gary J. Becker, MD, honors the memory of William J. Casarella, MD, a world-renowned interventional radiologist who led the ABR as president of the Board of Trustees from 1998-2000.
Radiation oncologist Kenneth Rosenzweig, MD, will be joining the ABR’s Board of Trustees at the end of the board meeting in September.
The deadline for applications for the ABMS Visiting Scholars Program is June 17.
