February 2023

By Robert M. Barr, MD, ABR President, and Brent Wagner, MD, MBA, ABR Executive Director February 2023;16(1):2 In the October issue of The Beam, we shared two important strategic priorities: first, continued optimization of effective and transparent communication, and second, an ongoing focus on controlling costs. In this issue, we address six other areas of…

February 2023;16(1):11 Complete your Continuing Certification attestations by March 1 To update your Continuing Certification progress, log in to myABR and click on each red incomplete requirement tab. On the bottom right, you will see the green “I Attest” button. If all your tabs are green and your reporting status is “Certified – Meeting MOC…

February 2023;16(1):12 Congratulations to Pamela A. Propeck, MD, FACR, for being named a Fellow of the Society of Breast Imaging. The FSBI distinction is among the highest honors bestowed upon members of the Society of Breast Imaging. It is granted to members who have demonstrated excellence in the discipline of breast imaging and are recognized…

By Rodney Campbell, ABR Communications Manager February 2023;16(1):4 The ABR’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee is making progress on its first priority. The committee, which launched in late fall of 2021, has made addressing unconscious bias in oral and computer-based exams its initial focus. Committee Chair Paul J. Rochon, MD, an ABR trustee, acknowledges…

By Rodney Campbell, ABR Communications Manager February 2023;16(1):9 Research performed by Sara Hunter, MD, the ABR’s first American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Visiting Scholar, is offering physicians the opportunity to share their thoughts on Continuing Certification. Diagnostic and interventional radiologists who are participating in Online Longitudinal Assessment (OLA) should have received an email in…

February 2023;16(1):13 Longtime ABR volunteer Mary (Mimi) Newell, MD, has been named associate executive director (AED) for diagnostic radiology. She will begin her duties next summer. Current DR AED Reed Dunnick, MD, will assist Dr. Newell during the transition. Dr. Dunnick became an AED in July 2019. Dr. Newell will step down from her position on…

By Kalpana M. Kanal, PhD; Mathew B. Podgorsak, PhD; and Robert A. Pooley, PhD; ABR Trustees; and Geoffrey S. Ibbott, ABR Associate Executive Director for Medical Physics February 2023;16(1):7 The ABR Medical Physics Oral Certifying exams in the three specialties (diagnostic, therapeutic, and nuclear) are administered in five categories. To pass the exam, a candidate…

February 2023;16(1):10 By Heather S. Hopkins, ABR Communications Coordinator When the ABR switched from in-person to remote exams, we endeavored not only to make the exams secure and reliable, but also to create a positive experience for candidates. Staff from almost every department have played a role in achieving this goal: IT designed user-friendly exam…

By Andrea K. Ng, MD, MPH; Brian J. Davis, MD, PhD; John H. Suh, MD; and Catheryn Yashar, MD, ABR Trustees; and Kaled M. Alektiar, MD, ABR Governor February 2023;16(1):8 After having served as the associate executive director of radiation oncology at the ABR for 14 years, our esteemed Paul Wallner, DO, will be stepping…

By James B. Spies, MD, MPH, ABR Associate Executive Director for Interventional Radiology February 2023;16(1):6 In January, the ABR Board of Governors changed the requirement for interventional radiology residency graduates to qualify for the oral component of the ABR IR/DR Certifying Exam. Beginning with the residency class graduating in June 2024, candidates will be required…

By Donald J. Flemming, MD, ABR Governor, and Brooke Houck, PhD, ABR Psychometrician February 2023;16(1):5 Quality graduate medical education outcomes are tightly tied to excellent feedback for individuals and residency programs. External feedback, such as outcomes from secure, externally administered and psychometrically sound exams, provides valuable objective data about program quality to residency programs. In…