Survey Shows Volunteers Overwhelmingly Value Their ABR Experience
By Pamela A. Propeck, MD, ABR Trustee; M. Elizabeth Oates, MD, ABR Trustee; and Andrea K. Ng, MD, MPH, ABR Governor
2023;17(2):5
The ABR Volunteerism Committee recently administered a survey to approximately 1,300 current ABR volunteer committee members to examine potential barriers to volunteering and strategies to increase interest and engagement. The survey had a 36% response rate, and respondents included volunteers from all four radiology disciplines: diagnostic radiology, interventional radiology, medical physics, and radiation oncology.
Survey participants were in a variety of practice settings, including urban (73%), suburban (23%), and rural (4%). The majority were in an academic practice setting (79%) but community teaching setting (9%), community nonteaching setting (7%), military/VA (1.4%), imaging center (1.3%), industry (1%), public sector (1%) and teleradiology (0.2%) were also represented.
The most common length of services was three to five years (42%), with 25% serving two years or less, 18% serving six to 10 years, and 15% serving 11 years or more.
The main reasons for volunteering with the ABR were professional fulfillment (87%), keeping up with the latest knowledge (68%), networking opportunities (64%), and leadership opportunities (51%). Barriers to volunteering included increasing demands for clinical productivity in the workplace (63%), administrative duties at the workplace (50%), and required time commitment and responsibilities of volunteering (44%). The most highly rated strategies to increase volunteer interest and engagement included increased recognition by the ABR to the volunteers’ academic/group practice leaders, performance-based awards and recognition, and ABR social events at national professional meetings.
Regarding workload and time commitment, 85% of respondents thought the amount of time for creating questions and item discussion calls was appropriate, whereas 8%-13% of volunteers thought the workload was too high. Interestingly, 20%-30% of the committee chairs thought the workload/time commitment was too high for their volunteers. While 14% of volunteers thought increasing their committee size would help distribute the work better, 82% thought their committee size was appropriate. Although 13% thought the term limit of three years (plus renewal for three years) was too short, only 2.7% thought it was too long. Regarding the preference for end-of-year in-person meetings in Tucson/Chicago or virtual meetings, there was a 50/50 split among volunteers.
Regarding ABR volunteer materials, 66% of the respondents were aware of the ABR Volunteer Handbook, which is available on the ABR website and lists the criteria necessary to be considered as a volunteer plus a description of each opportunity across the four disciplines.
Most volunteers reported a high level of satisfaction with the ABR staff. In all, 97% said staff were helpful with timely responsiveness and 94% said their questions were readily answered. In addition, 92% stated they were able to ask their questions and express their ideas comfortably.
Overall, 97% of the volunteers said they were satisfied with their ABR volunteer experience, 95% thought the ABR did a good job in communicating with the volunteers, and 89% thought the ABR valued their service.
The survey demonstrates that volunteers acknowledge the support of the ABR staff and their efforts to facilitate and encourage volunteer participation in the ABR mission. The ABR is deeply grateful for our volunteers’ commitment and service and is continually striving to improve the volunteer experience. This survey has allowed us to identify specific challenges and potential strategies for increasing volunteer engagement and fostering a more fulfilling and gratifying experience. If you are not a volunteer, consider exploring the opportunities in the ABR Volunteer Handbook.
We’re Springing Into a Busy Season
By Desiree E. Morgan, MD, ABR Governor
2024;17(2):1
Spring is a time for change and rejuvenation, for welcoming longer periods of light, and for partaking in the beauty all around as winter recedes. It’s my favorite season.
For ABR volunteers and staff, it is a busy time of exam content generation, organization, and administration. These important activities hit a crescendo just as our work and family lives hectically accelerate toward summer. At the ABR, we are truly grateful for our dedicated volunteers, and I hope you enjoy learning about the people and processes behind our collective certification efforts.
In this issue …
ABR President Robert M. Barr, MD; ABR Executive Director Brent Wagner, MD, MBA; and ABR Psychometrician Brooke Houck, PhD, describe how the ABR offers two methods for diplomates to demonstrate that they “have the knowledge, clinical judgment, and skills to practice safely and effectively in the specialty,” also known as “Part 3” of the Continuing Certification program. Learn more about how Online Longitudinal Assessment provides a customized experience aligned with one’s scope of practice, while the Continuing Certification Exam measures a broader set of knowledge and skills less tailored to the individual radiologic professional.
ABR trustees Kalpana M. Kanal, PhD, and Brian J. Davis, MD, PhD, join ABR Executive Director Brent Wagner, MD, MBA, in explaining why the ABR offers two exam administrations annually for the oral certifying exams in medical physics, radiation oncology, and interventional radiology but only one administration per year for computer-based exams.
ABR Executive Director Brent Wagner, MD, MBA, and ABR Board of Trustees Chair Matthew B. Podgorsak, PhD, explain why generative artificial intelligence/ChatGPT will not be used to produce Online Longitudinal Assessment (OLA) questions or any ABR exam content. Be sure to click on the link to Dr. Podgorsak’s video on the topic to learn more.
ABR trustees Pamela A. Propeck, MD, and M. Elizabeth Oates, MD, and ABR Governor Andrea K. Ng, MD, MPH, share results from a recent survey of approximately 1,300 ABR volunteers to understand where they find value in their service to the ABR mission and how they are challenged. ABR leadership and staff are deeply grateful for our volunteers’ commitment and enthusiastic service, and we continually strive to improve the volunteer experience.
ABR Communications Manager Rodney Campbell talked with Derek Johnson, MD, an ABR volunteer from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, who writes questions for two exams: IR/DR Certifying and Nuclear Radiology Subspecialty. Learn how he made his way from personal certification by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology as a practicing neuro-oncologist in 2009 to his current career after ABR certification in diagnostic radiology, neuroradiology, and his true passion, nuclear radiology.
Interventional radiologist John A. Kaufman, MD, MS, has been named president-elect of the ABR Board of Governors. Learn Dr. Kaufman’s history and listen as he shares his vision of what makes a good ABR president in the video accompanying the article.
Navneeth Hariharan, ME, an ABR MP diplomate and volunteer, explains the interconnected dynamics of the rapidly evolving technical complexity in radiation oncology coupled with advancements in clinical practice that require more tasks related to personalized treatment planning and staffing challenges. He sets this against the backdrop of resource allocation optimization and the value of dedicating scheduled time for reflection and learning amidst the busy routine workdays of clinical medical physicists.
Meet Parris Diaz, MD, who serves as a urology resident at the University of California at San Francisco but plans to enter the field of radiology during the next NRMP match cycle.
ABR Communications Manager Rodney Campbell introduces us to volunteer Elizabeth (Beth) Bossart, PhD, an associate professor of clinical radiation oncology at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. She describes her learning trajectory developing therapeutic medical physics questions and shares how this work helps her in the classroom. In addition, serving as an oral examiner in 2021 has enabled her to better understand the preparation residents need to be successful.
The Board of Trustees will welcome three members in October 2024. Meet the newest trustees: Kristopher Cummings, MD, a cardiothoracic radiologist; Umesh D. Oza, MD, a nuclear radiologist; and Jennifer Stickel, PhD, a nuclear medical physicist.
The ABR partners with the American Board of Medical Specialties to assist candidates and early career diplomates with research efforts and leadership development through the Visiting Scholars program. Applications for the 2024-’25 cohort will be accepted until June 17. Watch the video in the article to learn more.
Being an ABR volunteer can be challenging. Learning to write exam questions, for example, takes repetition, time, and patience.
At least one ABR volunteer has been battle-tested away from the committee meeting rooms. Kai Yang, PhD, coached his kids’ youth basketball teams for a couple of seasons and enjoyed the role. His daughter’s team was made up of kindergartners and his son’s squad included seventh and eighth graders.
“They were all recreation leagues, so they were playing to have fun, not anything competitive,” Dr. Yang said. “I really loved the experience.”
Dr. Yang has been a key player for the ABR for six years, writing medical physics content for the Diagnostic Radiology Qualifying Exam. He started pre-COVID when committees met in person and has adjusted to working with his colleagues over Teams calls.
The format doesn’t matter because the work remains the same. It’s an effort he finds fulfilling, performed with a group of people he likes and respects.
“I really enjoy and love it,” said Dr. Yang, who’s joining a committee in April that produces medical physics content for the IR/DR Qualifying Exam. “It’s not about personal egos. We all work toward writing good questions every time.”
Every committee that produces exam content has the same task: Make the content as fair and relevant as possible. Dr. Yang believes candidates get a fair chance, just as he did when he earned his ABR Initial Certification in 2013.
“From my experience on the exam, it’s very balanced and well designed to test common knowledge,” he said. “If you spend time working and studying, I think you shouldn’t worry. This is not a tricky exam.”
In his day job, Yang is a radiology investigator at the Mass General Research Institute and assistant professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School. He was encouraged to become a volunteer by Anthony Seibert, PhD, a former member of the ABR Board of Governors.
The two worked together at University of California, Davis, where Dr. Seibert served as Dr. Yang’s clinical mentor. Dr. Yang earned his PhD in biomedical engineering from UC Davis after completing his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering physics at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.
“(Dr. Seibert) devoted his career to education and volunteering for the ABR,” Dr. Yang said. “He had a huge impact on me. I saw all the respect he got from the field, and I really look up to him.”
Dr. Seibert was convinced that Dr. Yang would be a successful ABR volunteer, so he encouraged his colleague to apply for a position.
“Knowing Dr. Yang’s humble demeanor, desire to help others, ability to get things done, and excellent knowledge of diagnostic medical physics, it was natural for me to suggest volunteering for the ABR as an opportunity to give back to the profession in a fulfilling and meaningful way,” Dr. Seibert said. “He has contributed greatly to the diagnostic medical physics portfolio of exam content, and I am sure he will continue to do so in the years to come.”
Dr. Yang’s volunteer work extends beyond basketball and the ABR. He also gives of his time to assist the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM). Dr. Yang is part of the organization’s breast imaging, CT, and Continuing Certification subcommittees.
He has served as the director of the organization’s imaging education program and oversaw the entire education program for last year’s AAPM Annual Meeting & Exhibition, developing the educational sessions and finding speakers. He was vice chair in 2022.
Dr. Yang and his team came up with the idea of sessions that allowed radiologists to teach physicists. The conference also featured expanded joint education across medical physics sub-specialties.
“We got really positive feedback from attendees,” he said. “The ABR experience really helped me to think outside of box and more about the big picture.”
Being a volunteer has become an important part of Dr. Yang’s identity. His duties extend to his time on the job. He often identifies cases that he thinks would be good ABR exam questions.
“I really think about educational materials,” he said. “I think about what part of physics would be worth teaching or asking in the exam. It helps me think more when I’m doing clinical work.”
Serving as a volunteer is an education for him, too. Learning to write appropriate questions to judge candidate knowledge is a team effort. Dr. Yang is still learning, six years into his duties.
“Doing volunteer work and getting feedback is really fun,” he said. “People say, ‘Oh, you did a good job.’ That’s what I want. I think my knowledge is enhanced by being a volunteer and my skills are improved. It opens my mind.”
