The American Board of Radiology announced Friday that it’s delaying more upcoming exams, set for May and June, amid continuing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
In particular, the doc-certification group said diagnostic radiology testing slated to start next month will, instead, be shelved until Nov. 5-6 and 9-10 in Chicago and Tucson, Arizona, respectively. Exam content will still be the same in November, the ABR noted, and test takers will not be penalized for the delay.
Leadership with the Arizona-based agency, meanwhile, said they cannot honor requests to take tests at home.
“Delivering the core exam remotely is problematic,” ABR said March 27. “We have investigated many options, but the inability to adequately control image quality, the testing environment, and security would significantly threaten the fairness, reproducibility, validity and reliability of the testing instrument across 1,200 candidates.”
The American Board of Radiology first announced on March 6 that it was canceling a handful of exams “after careful consideration” to help keep candidates and staff safe. It had originally held out hope at the time that those set for May 28-29 and June 1-2, in Chicago and Tucson, respectively, could still move forward.
In addition, ABR said it’s making progress rescheduling its medical physics and radiation oncology oral exams. Leadership have pinpointed dates but have been hampered by issues at the site.
“The hotel is under extraordinary pressure during this national emergency, so the process is taking longer than usual. We hope to have everything confirmed soon and will share the details when they are available,” the board noted.
As of Friday, ABR leaders are moving forward, as planned, with scheduled testing on radiation oncology biology and physics (July 9), radiation oncology clinical (July 24), medical physics Part 1 (Aug. 3), and Part 2 (Aug. 4).
You can check here for regular updates from ABR on future exams.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.