With more than 1,300 volunteers on its dozens of committees, the ABR is fortunate to have subject matter experts who are eager to share their knowledge and limited spare time to keep board certification fair and relevant.
Volunteers from smaller subspecialties can be hard to find. That’s what makes physicians like Caitlin Connolly, MD, especially helpful. Experienced in a niche field, Dr. Connolly writes nuclear radiology questions for the Qualifying (Core) Exam.
Among the 49,470 diplomates who hold ABR diagnostic radiology or interventional radiology/diagnostic radiology certificates, only 933 are certified in nuclear radiology.
“We are definitely a smaller subspecialty and it’s important to get a mix of people in different practice types,” Dr. Connolly said. “I’ve enjoyed my time on the committee.”
Former ABR Trustee Elizabeth Oates, MD, reached out to Dr. Connolly in 2023 to see if she would be interested in volunteering. The two still serve together on the Qualifying Exam committee.
“Dr. Connolly has been an enthusiastic and dedicated volunteer,” Dr. Oates said. “She’s collaborative and contributes to the discussions. She cares about producing fair and appropriate exams and gives back without expecting anything in return.”
Dr. Connolly is the director of the radiology residency program and director of nuclear medicine at Mount Auburn Hospital and an instructor at Harvard Medical School. She enjoys working on the ABR committee with colleagues from across the country, whether meeting in person or over video calls.
It’s a learning experience, even for those who are authorities in their fields.
“It’s nice for me to see what other places are doing,” she said. “There’s quite a bit of rapid evolution going on in nuclear medicine. It’s interesting to see what folks across the country are doing and making sure that we’re teaching our residents properly, too.”
Dr. Connolly is close to completing her first year as a residency director. That learning process remains ongoing.
“I’m still getting my head around the role,” she said. “I feel like once I’ve done it a year, I’ll have a little more predictability.”
Even with their limited experience, residents keep her on her toes and bring a refreshing perspective to the workplace. She finds the interactions rewarding and fun.
“I really enjoy working with residents,” Dr. Connolly said. “They ask questions in ways that you didn’t expect or haven’t thought about and topics you haven’t considered in depth. It keeps everything fresh. They bring nice energy to the reading room, too.”
Seeing the exam compilation process through the eyes of a volunteer enables her to allay some fears that residents have as they prepare to take the Qualifying Exam. Like her fellow question writers, she’s been through the Initial Certification process and understands candidates’ worries.
“(Question writers) are really trying to make sure that you have a basic understanding,” Dr. Connelly said. “Nobody’s trying to be tricky. You shouldn’t overthink or overcomplicate things. The most obvious answer is often the correct one if you’ve read the question correctly.”
One big advantage for current examinees over when she took Initial Certification exams is the remote platform that the ABR introduced in 2021. Before that, candidates had to travel to take exams, racking up expenses and missing time from work.
Dr. Connolly had a five-month-old child when she took the Qualifying Exam as a resident at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She passed on her first attempt, but her anxiety level was noticeable.
“It seems like the residents are a bit less stressed about that side of things with it being virtual,” she said. “You don’t have to worry about your flight getting canceled because there’s a thunderstorm in Chicago. In some ways, it’s more simplified now.”
A Massachusetts native, Dr. Connelly and her family live in the Boston suburbs just two doors from her parents. She bikes to work and enjoys the city’s green space and cultural opportunities.
All in all, she enjoys her personal and professional life.
“I love the seasons,” she said. “It’s beautiful in the fall. Boston is nice. There are so many academic institutions and a lot going on. There are always concerts and lectures and book readings, whatever you’re looking for.”
Residents and early career physicians and physicists have a week left to apply for the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Visiting Scholars Program.
The ABR partners with the ABMS to assist successful applicants with their research efforts and leadership development. A one-year, part-time program, Visiting Scholars facilitates projects that address pressing health care issues and research priorities for the Member Board community. The ABR is one of 24 ABMS Member Boards.
The ABR became involved in Visiting Scholars in 2022. The goal is to fund up to four projects each year undertaken by diagnostic radiology, interventional radiology, medical physics, and radiation oncology professionals. The grant award is $15,000.
To apply, please visit the ABMS’ website. More information can be found by watching this video.
Formative Elements of Online Longitudinal Assessment (OLA)
By David Laszakovits, MBA, ABR Communications Director, and Mary S. Newell, MD, ABR Associate Executive Director for Diagnostic Radiology
2025;18(3):11
When designing Online Longitudinal Assessment (OLA), the ABR set out to create an assessment tool that not only provides a measure of summative performance but also serves as a formative evaluation instrument.
Immediately after an OLA question is answered, the participant is provided with the correct answer, a short rationale, and a reference. These formative elements are often cited by diplomates as one of the most appreciated aspects of OLA. On an OLA satisfaction survey in 2023, over 76% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that OLA helped them identify and remediate clinical knowledge gaps. One diplomate commented, “I enjoy the questions. They reveal to me where to improve my knowledge base.”
Diplomates also appreciate the learning that occurs when they answer a question incorrectly. Every OLA question has a “variant,” a question similar in scope and content. These paired questions are administered at random within the structure of a blueprint of the knowledge domain. If the diplomate incorrectly answers the first in the pair, they can review the accompanying rationale for the correct answer and, if desired, pursue more information in the provided reference. The variant question is administered three or more weeks later to directly address the knowledge gap and reinforce the teaching point. Over 1.5 million “variants” have been administered, and the percentage correct for those questions is greater than 75%.
In addition, OLA participants have access to their last 250 answered OLA questions, which allows them to sort and review answered questions using the My OLA History tab when logged in to OLA. This allows diplomates to easily determine if there are specific content areas where they may have knowledge gaps.
We thank the volunteer committees for their hard work and invaluable expertise in generating and refining OLA content, and we are very grateful for the constructive criticism offered by the diplomates (discussed in previous issues of The Beam) in support of further improvements.
OLA Reminders at Halfway Point of 2025
2025;18(3):11
An important date is coming for diplomates in Continuing Certification who haven’t started answering Online Longitudinal Assessment (OLA) questions yet this year. August 3 is the last day when they can start participating and still be able to reach their annual progress requirement which, for most, requires answering 52 questions.
Waiting until that date to begin answering questions impacts the program’s flexibility that participants enjoy. Those diplomates would need to answer all their remaining question opportunities to avoid forfeits, thus losing the ability to skip some weeks or decline questions.
Here are a couple of other things for diplomates to consider as they assess their OLA participation halfway through the year.
Avoid Forfeited Questions
Questions that are required but unanswered for a given year are considered “forfeited” and counted as incorrect responses. For example, a diplomate who is required to answer 52 questions and only answered 50 would have two questions “forfeited.”
Participants can identify if they have forfeited questions in two places:
- Annual progress dashboard for the current and previous year
- My OLA history
Two Choices After Meeting the Annual Progress Requirement
Diplomates who have met their annual progress requirements have two options regarding participation for the rest of the year:
- Take a break: They may wait until next year to resume answering questions.
- Keep going: They may choose to answer more than 52 questions. There is no penalty for continuing to participate.
Questions? Contact Us
Anyone who has fallen behind or has questions about their OLA status may contact a certification manager at information@theabr.org or 520-790-2900.
