By Desiree E. Morgan, MD, ABR Governor, and David Laszakovits, ABR Communications Director June 2024;17(3):5 The Diagnostic Radiology Initial Certification Advisory Committee was created more than 10 years ago to allow candidates and program directors to provide feedback to the ABR in efforts to: Members of the committee, who serve a two-year term, are nominated…
By Robert M. Barr, MD, ABR President June 2024;17(3):2 ABR governance consists of two major elements: the Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees. The Board of Governors (BOG) oversees the organization’s fulfillment of the mission and is responsible for the corporate powers, business, and affairs of the ABR. This oversight role is consistent…
By Brent Wagner, MD, MBA, ABR Executive Director June 2024;17(3):3 Nearly 2,000 radiologic professionals are initially certified by the ABR each year, and more than 34,000 currently certified individuals maintain their existing certificate through our Continuing Certification program. Although most interactions with the Board are easily accomplished online, variations in professional or personal circumstances may…
By Cheri L. Canon, MD, ABR President-elect, and Desiree E. Morgan, MD, ABR Governor June 2024;17(3):4 The ABR had an opportunity to present an update at the Association of University Radiologists (now the Association of Academic Radiology [AAR]) meeting in Boston in April. Steve Simoneaux, MD, diagnostic radiology vice chair for the ABR Board of…
By James B. Spies, MD, MPH, ABR Associate Executive Director for Interventional Radiology June 2024;17(3):7 Board certification is a central goal of graduating residents in interventional radiology. Many employers and health systems require certification within a specified interval after board eligibility is established and therefore the timing of the exams is important. For IR residents,…
By Rodney Campbell, ABR Communications Manager June 2024;17(3):10 When the ABR Board of Governors approved funding to sponsor the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Visiting Scholars Program starting in 2022, it provided another avenue for residents and ABR-certified early career physicians and physicists to pursue their research goals. Four physicians have benefitted from being…
By Gary J. Becker, MD, Former ABR Executive Director June 2024;17(3):15 In February, we lost a world-renowned pioneering interventional radiologist, extraordinary medical leader, husband, father, grandpa (of 10), friend, and colleague — Bill Casarella. Born to Italian immigrant parents in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Bill grew up in Trenton, New Jersey, graduated from Yale University (cum laude…
By Rodney Campbell, ABR Communications Manager June 2024;17(3):11 Like many of his colleagues, Brian Funaki, MD, remembers what it was like to earn ABR certification as a diagnostic radiologist in the 20th century. All roads led to Louisville’s Executive West Hotel. Now a Crowne Plaza property, the hotel was the site of in-person oral certifying…
By Michael Yunes, MD, Associate Executive Director for Radiation Oncology June 2024;17(3):9 The heart and soul of the ABR is the amazing core of approximately 1,300 volunteers, including more than 300 in radiation oncology. In our profession, physicians continually give to patients and their families, but we also find time and energy to support many…
By Kalpana M. Kanal, PhD, and Paul J. Rochon, MD, ABR Trustees June 2024;17(3):5 The ABR is dedicated to incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in all its efforts and activities with candidates, diplomates, volunteers, staff, and the public. The ABR DEI Committee is responsible for making recommendations and developing and supporting initiatives to create…
By Matthew B. Podgorsak, PhD, ABR Board of Trustees Chair; Kalpana M. Kanal, PhD, and Robert A. Pooley, PhD, ABR Trustees; Jennifer Stickel, PhD, Future ABR Trustee; and Geoffrey S. Ibbott, PhD, ABR Associate Executive Director for Medical Physics June 2024;17(3):8 For medical physics (MP) candidates seeking initial board certification, the ABR administers three computer-based…
Diplomates Prefer OLA for Part 3 Continuing Certification Requirement June 2024;17(3):13 In this video, ABR Executive Director Brent Wagner, MD, MBA, talks about the Part 3 requirement (“Assessment of Knowledge, Judgment, and Skills”) for Continuing Certification. Compared with a point-in-time exam, Online Longitudinal Assessment (OLA) has been overwhelmingly preferred by ABR diplomates because it offers…
The ABR is a not-for-profit organization and member of the American Board of Medical Specialties. Our mission is to certify that our diplomates demonstrate the requisite knowledge, skill, and understanding of their disciplines to the benefit of patients. Our vision is to positively impact the lives of all patients as the foremost trusted certifying body assuring the highest standards of specialty expertise and professionalism in the radiological sciences.